Parental drinking and gender factors in the prediction of early adolescent alcohol use

This study examines the relationship between children's reports of their parents' drinking patterns, and the child's alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in early adolescence. Subjects were 2,213 fifth and sixth grade students. Data on the child's alcohol use and misuse, and parent alcohol use, were derived from classroom-administered questionnaires. Increased reported level of drinking by mother or by father was significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use among the children; these results held for both boys and girls when examined separately. Examination for possible confounding effects of assortative mating by parental drinking suggests that reports of heavy drinking in either parent increases the risk of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in children. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.