The role of alcohol specific socialization in adolescents’ drinking behavior.

ABSTRACT Aims To determine which alcohol-specific socialization practices are related to adolescents' alcohol use, and to investigate whether parents differ in their alcohol-specific socialization towards their children. Design In a sample of 428 families, both parents and two adolescents (aged 13-16 years) completed a questionnaire at home about alcohol-specific parenting and their own alcohol use. Based on the reports of each family member, three different models of alcohol-specific socialization were formulated: from the perspective of the siblings, the mother and the father. Findings Results of structural equation modelling generally showed the same associations between alcohol-specific socialization and drinking of younger and older adolescents. The strongest association was found for providing alcoholspecific rules. Applying strict rules about alcohol use was negatively related to adolescents' alcohol use; this was also the case for having confidence in the effectiveness of alcohol-specific socialization. Unexpectedly, frequency of communication about alcohol issues was positively associated with alcohol consumption of adolescents. Conclusions This study is one of the first to examine associations between alcohol-specific socialization and adolescents' drinking using a between-and a within-family design. Results showed strong associations between alcoholspecific socialization (particularly of enforcing rules) and adolescent alcohol use. Although parents strongly differentiated their socialization practices between children, no differences in associations between alcohol-specific socialization and drinking were found between older and younger adolescents

Effectiveness of the home-based alcohol prevention program "In control: No alcohol!": study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 99285.pdf (postprint version ) (Open Access)Background: In the Netherlands, children start to drink at an early age; of the Dutch 12-year olds, 40% reports lifetime alcohol use, while 9.7% reports last-month drinking. Starting to drink at an early age puts youth at risk of developing several alcohol-related problems later in life. Recently, a home-based prevention program called "In control: No alcohol!" was developed to delay the age of alcohol onset in children. The main aim of this project is to conduct a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Methods/Design: The prevention program will be tested with an RCT among mothers and their 6 grade primary school children (11-12 years old), randomly assigned to the prevention or control condition. The program consists of five printed magazines and an activity book designed to improve parental alcohol-specific socialization. Parent-child dyads in the control group receive a factsheet information brochure, which is the standard alcohol brochure of the Trimbos Institute (the Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction). Outcome measures are initiation of alcohol use (have been drinking at least one glass of alcohol), alcohol-specific parenting, susceptibility to drinking alcohol, alcohol expectancies, self-efficacy, and frequency and intensity of child alcohol use. Questionnaires will be administered online on secured Internet webpages, with personal login codes for both mothers and children. Mothers and children in both the experimental and control condition will be surveyed at baseline and after 6, 12, and 18 months (follow-ups). Discussion: The present study protocol presents the design of an RCT evaluating the effectiveness of the home-based "In control: No alcohol!" program for 6 grade primary school children (11-12 years old). It is hypothesized that children in the prevention condition will be less likely to have their first glass of alcohol, compared to the control condition. When the prevention appears to be effective, it can easily and relatively quickly be implemented as a standard alcohol prevention program on a large scale.8 p

Bidirectional Associations Between Sibling Relationships and Parental Support During Adolescence

Sibling relationships and parental support are important for adolescents’ development and well-being, yet both are likely to change during adolescence. Since adolescents participate in both the sibling relationship and the parent–child relationship, we can expect sibling relationships and parental support to be associated with each other. Theoretically, it can be expected that there is either a spillover from one relationship to another (congruence hypothesis) or that one relationship can compensate for the other (compensation hypothesis). However, research examining these associations in adolescence is limited. The present study longitudinally investigated the bidirectional associations between sibling relationships and parental support during adolescence. For five consecutive years, data were collected using self-reports of 428 families, consisting of a father, a mother, and two adolescent siblings. The mean ages of the first-born (52.8% males) and second-born (47.7% males) were 15 and 13 years at T1, respectively. For the second-born siblings, prospective associations were found between sibling relationships and adolescent-reported parental support in early adolescence, with no differences between same-sex and mixed-sex dyads. These associations were not found for first-born siblings or for parents’ reports of support. The findings suggest a spillover from the sibling relationship to adolescent-reported parental support only in early adolescence. Findings and implications are discussed in terms of the congruence/spillover and the compensation hypothesis

Being Mum’s Confidant, a Boon or Bane? Examining Gender Differences in the Association of Maternal Disclosure with Adolescents’ Depressive Feelings

This article reports on a longitudinal study investigating gender differences in the association between maternal disclosure and adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Little research has examined the relationship of parental disclosure to adolescents’ depressive symptoms and research on sex differences is particularly lacking. In a sample of 428 families with a mean age of 13.36 (52% female) of the target adolescents, maternal and children’s disclosure and depressive symptoms were assessed twice with an interval of 4 years. Controlling for the quality of the parent–child relationship and levels of maternal depressive symptoms, the analyses revealed an interaction effect for child’s gender, moderating the effect of maternal disclosure on adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Higher levels of maternal disclosure were accompanied by lower levels of depressive symptoms in girls and higher levels of depressive symptoms in boys. Gender differences in socialization, communication, individuation and social networks might explain why daughters and sons are differently affected by maternal disclosure

Opvoedingsstijlen, ouderlijk alcoholgebruik en alcoholgebruik van adolescenten: een longitudinale studie

The aim of the present study is to explore whether parenting styles and parental drinking have an impact on the development of adolescents’ drinking behavior. Adolescents’ drinking behavior was divided into problem drinking, intensity and frequency of alcohol use. The data are collected as a part of a longitudinal study. 428 Dutch families were involved at the first measurement and 416 at the second measurement. Analysis revealed that drinking habits of parents determine adolescents’ problem drinking, intensity and frequency of alcohol use. Further, cross-sectional findings showed that an indifferent parenting style of both parents contributes to problem drinking and intensive alcohol use of adolescents. A maternal permissive parenting style was related to problem drinking and paternal permissiveness to the intensity of adolescents’ alcohol use. However, longitudinally no relation was found between parenting styles and adolescents’ drinking behavior

Parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and alcohol-specific attitudes, alcohol-specific communication, and adolescent excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems: An indirect path model.

Alcohol-specific parent–child communication has often been studied in relation to regular alcohol use of adolescents. However, it might be as important to focus on adolescent problematic alcohol use. In addition, the way parents communicate with their children about alcohol might depend on their own (problematic) drinking behaviors. Therefore, the current study examined the direct effects of parental alcohol use, alcohol related problems, and parental alcohol-specific attitudes on adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol related problems later in life. It also looked at indirect effects via alcohol-specific communication. The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from two age groups (13 and 15 years old) at T1, who have been surveyed annually for 5 years. We tested the model with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that parental alcohol-related problems were positively associated with communication about alcohol, which in turn was related with less excessive adolescent drinking and alcohol-related problems. Lenient parental attitudes about alcohol and parental alcohol-related problems were directly related to more excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems in adolescents. In conclusion, alcohol-specific communication intervenes in the relationship between parental alcohol-related problems and adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems. This indicates that in family alcohol interventions targeted at youth alcohol use, parental alcohol-related problems should be taken into account. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved

Parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and alcohol-specific attitudes, alcohol-specific communication, and adolescent excessive alcohol use and alcohol-related problems: An indirect path model

Contains fulltext : 99585.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Alcohol-specific parent-child communication has often been studied in relation to regular alcohol use of adolescents. However, it might be as important to focus on adolescent problematic alcohol use. In addition, the way parents communicate with their children about alcohol might depend on their own (problematic) drinking behaviors. Therefore, the current study examined the direct effects of parental alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and parental alcohol-specific attitudes on adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems later in life. It also looked at indirect effects via alcohol-specific communication. The sample consisted of 428 Dutch families including fathers, mothers and adolescents from two age groups (13 and 15 years old) at T1, who have been surveyed annually for 5 years. We tested the model with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that parental alcohol-related problems were positively associated with communication about alcohol, which in turn was related with less excessive adolescent drinking and alcohol-related problems. Lenient parental attitudes about alcohol and parental alcohol-related problems were directly related to more excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems in adolescents. In conclusion, alcohol-specific communication intervenes in the relationship between parental alcohol-related problems and adolescent excessive drinking and alcohol-related problems. This indicates that in family alcohol interventions targeted at youth alcohol use, parental alcohol-related problems should be taken into account

Prospective relationships between sleep problems and substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems.

While research has shown that sleep problems and substance use are reciprocally associated in adults, much less is known about this association in early adolescence. The main aim of the current longitudinal study was to explore bidirectional relationships between sleep problems, substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems in young adolescents. A prospective design was used incorporating two waves (approximately 1 year interval). A total of 555 young adolescents (290 females, M age = 13.96) participated in this study. All participants completed self-report measures in classrooms during regular school hours (questionnaires about sleep quality and sleep hygiene were used to measure sleep problems). The results indicated that sleep problems predicted changes in substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems over time, but problem behaviours did not predict changes in sleep problems, adjusted for gender, age and puberty. One exception was that alcohol use negatively predicted changes in sleep problems. This study suggests that sleep problems are important precursors of substance use, internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence

Rook- en alcoholspecifieke opvoeding; de huidige stand van zaken op het gebied van onderzoek en preventie

Contains fulltext : 90091.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access