POLICY Changing Parental Behaviour to Reduce Risky Drinking Among Adolescents: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Aims: Risky drinking among young people is an issue of public concern globally. In Australia and elsewhere, there has been a steady increase in alcohol-related harms among young people in recent years. The aims of this study were to review the nature of parental supply of alcohol to adolescents aged 13–17 years, explore parental social networks as a potential avenue for intervention, and propose future directions for research with a view to informing public policy and the development of interventions to reduce risky drinking. Methods: Narrative review. Results: While a large literature exists concerning parental influence on children’s drinking, exploration of the volume of alcohol and context of parental supply is lacking. Results from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on the impact of parental factors such as monitoring, rule setting, alcohol supply and supervision of drinking present an unclear picture. Consequently, translation of research findings into advice for parents is problematic. Conclusion: We propose that future research seeks to (a) gain a better understanding of the volume and contexts of parental supply of alcohol, (b) explore the structure of social networks among adolescents and their parents, (c) determine the accuracy of parents’ perceptions of other parents’ behaviours and beliefs, (d) develop an analytic approach for quantifying aspects of parental networks and (e) evaluate low-intensity parental interventions including web programmes.