(PS1-21) Parent and Family Factors of Alcohol Use in a Sample of Rural Middle School Students

Alcohol is the most popular substance among youth, with as many as 13.4 million users under 21 years in the United States. Early substance use has considerable developmental consequences for adolescents, and alcohol use specifically has been linked with health problems (e.g., accidental injury, unprotected sex) and psychosocial risks (e.g., depression). Despite its prevalence and consequences, the influences of parental behaviors and attitudes on alcohol use among early adolescents are not entirely understood, particularly among rural youth who may be more at-risk for alcohol use and subsequent alcohol-related problems. Using a social learning framework, the current study considered how parental alcohol use and approval of alcohol inform adolescents’ self-use via processes of social modeling and reinforcement. The current study also evaluated the role of family belonging in these processes.
Participants (N=254, 52.0% male) were recruited from the only public middle school in a small, rural community. Adolescents reported their perceptions of their parents’ lifetime alcohol use, their perceptions of their parents’ approval of adolescents’ own alcohol use, family belonging, and alcohol self-use. Path analyses were used to test associations between perceived parental factors and adolescent self-use. Family belonging was included as a moderator for associations between parental factors and self-use.
Consistent with prior research, perceived parental alcohol use was positively associated with adolescent self-use (β=.195, SE=.058, p=.001). Contrary to study hypotheses, perceived parental approval was not uniquely associated with youth self-use (β=.168, SE =.092, p=.066). Youth endorsing parental use and higher levels of family belonging were expected to be at increased risk of alcohol self-use. However, family belonging did not moderate associations between either perceived parental alcohol use (β=-.043, SE=.062, p=.490) or approval and adolescent self-use (β=-.228, SE .294, p=.437). Findings of this study emphasize the importance of parental modeling in adolescent alcohol use. Results suggest that prevention efforts for early adolescent substance use may wish to target parents’ own alcohol use, as opposed to parents’ attitudes about alcohol use.