Parents' perspectives and behaviors regarding their child's access to alcohol: Variation by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Setting rules about alcohol use and minimizing its availability in the home are known effective parent-level strategies for reducing underage drinking risk. However, parents' restrictions and their perceptions of their child's alcohol access have rarely been considered in combination (e.g., determining if rule-setting consistently accompanies perceived easy access), despite the potential to inform targeted prevention. The current study identified patterns in six parent-reported indicators of their child's alcohol restrictions and access and characterized them with respect to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, community type (urban, suburban, or rural), and neighborhood (dis)advantage. METHODS: Latent profile analysis was applied to Follow-up Year 2 data from the parents of Black, Latinx, and White participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (n = 9586; youth mean age = 12.05; 47.50% girl, 51.32% boy, 0.32% other gender; 14.29% Black, 25.97% Latinx, and 59.74% White) to derive distinct profiles. RESULTS: Four profiles (subgroups) emerged: High Restrictions/No Drinkers in Household (32.18%), Low Restrictions/High Access (29.58%), High Restrictions/High Access (26.38%), and High Restrictions/Low Access (11.86%). Black and Latinx youth and parents with relatively low educational attainment and income were overrepresented in the High Restrictions/No Drinkers in Household and High Restrictions/Low Access subgroups. By contrast, the low restrictions subgroups were composed primarily of parents of White youth living in advantaged neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the notion that parents' perspectives and behaviors around youth alcohol access cannot be divided simply into restrictive and permissive. Further, the observed differences by demographic and neighborhood factors suggest the value of tailoring parent-level prevention approaches to consider community norms.

Source: Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research

DOI: 10.1111/acer.15498

Authors: Carolyn E. Sartor, Shawn J. Latendresse, Kristina M. Jackson, Mai‐Ly N. Steers, Sharon Lipperman‐Kreda, Tim Slade, Tammy Chung

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Baylor University, Duquesne University, Pacific Institute For Research and Evaluation, The University of Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,110

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

OpenAlex ID: W4405584299