The Role of Social Norms in Predicting Parental Supply of Alcohol to Underage Adolescents

Introduction: Parents play an instrumental role in socializing adolescents into adult drinking practices. Many parents supply alcohol to their adolescent in the belief that it will ‘teach’ their adolescent to drink responsibly, but recent evidence suggests that parental supply is associated with an earlier age of onset and risky drinking (Ryan, et al., 2010). Parental supply behaviors may be influenced by parent’s perceptions about what constitutes normal behavior among other parents in their reference group. Drawing on the social norms theory, this study examines whether parents estimates of the supply behaviors of others parents (injunctive norms), are related to their own alcohol supply behaviors in different contexts.

Method: This study included 276 parents/guardians (192 mothers, 74 fathers, 10 guardians) of adolescents between the ages of 12-18 (133 females; 142 males; mean age = 16). Three contexts of parental supply are considered: (1) supply at home with meals; (2) supply at supervised parties; (3) supply in unsupervised settings. Predictors included parent’s attitudes and parent’s beliefs about the percentage of other parents that supply alcohol at home and in unsupervised settings. Logistic regression models controlled for age and sex of parents and adolescents. 

Results: Seventy-five percent of parents reported supplying their adolescent with alcohol; 80% supplied at home, 20% at supervised parties, and 15% in unsupervised settings. Thirty-eight percent of parents believed that allowing their adolescent to drink at home “will help prevent risky behavior”. This belief was associated with a greater likelihood of supplying alcohol at supervised parties (OR: 11.40; 95% CI: 4.05-32.13) and in unsupervised settings (OR: 10.65; 95% CI: 3.43-33.07). Parent’s perception of how many other parents supply alcohol to drink at home significantly predicted participants supply of alcohol at home (OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.23-3.67), at supervised parties (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.15-2.68), and in unsupervised settings (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.14-2.85). Further, perception of other parents supply in unsupervised settings, was associated with a greater likelihood of supply at supervised parties (OR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.10-2.88), and in unsupervised settings (OR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.20-3.47).

Conclusions: Beliefs about other’s parenting practices have an important influence on parental supply behaviors, particular for supply in more risky contexts such as at supervised or unsupervised parties. Understanding the mechanisms that influence parental practices can help us develop appropriate interventions to aid parents in making informed decisions. Findings suggest that correcting parental norm misperceptions may be one viable option to consider.