Social support network of adolescents: relation to family alcohol abuse

While there is considerable literature examining the relationship between the social functioning and alcohol abuse of adults, less is known about the social resources of adolescents in relation to their drinking or that of their parents. Various sources of social support were examined among 187 male and female adolescents from alcohol-abusing and nonabusing populations. Adolescent groups were divided into those whose family history was positive for alcohol abuse and those whose family history was negative for alcohol abuse. The data indicate that teens with alcoholic parents were less likely to identify their parents as a source of support than teens from nonabusing families. Alcohol-abusing teens appear to rely on friends more, and parents less, than demographically comparable nonabusing teens. Teens with abusing parents reported less parental support and more sibling support than teens from nonabusing families. The theoretical relevance of these findings as well as the implications for both abusing adolescents and nonabusing adolescent offspring of alcoholics are discussed.