Parental beliefs, initiation of alcohol consumption, and binge drinking among Brazilian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

to analyze the association between adolescent alcohol consumption and parental beliefs.

METHOD: a cross-sectional study nested within a cluster randomized controlled trial that evaluated the effectiveness of a program to strengthen family bonds in preventing drug use among adolescents. A total of 859 families with adolescents aged 10-14 years participated in the study. Participants completed a virtual questionnaire, and descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of interest.

RESULTS

parents who believed it was safer to teach their children to drink at home doubled the chances of their children starting to use alcohol (OR= 2.10). The belief that "if a teenager only drinks at parties, it will not affect their development" almost tripled (OR= 2.61) the chances of their children engaging in binge drinking. The study found that parents/guardians who used alcohol harmfully or were likely to be dependent increased the chances of their children consuming alcohol eightfold.

CONCLUSION

the results suggest that more permissive parental beliefs about harmful alcohol consumption by parents can significantly increase the chances of early initiation and binge drinking in adolescence.