Associations between parental and adolescent alcohol use: The role of gender and familism support.

INTRODUCTION

This study examined the role of gender and familism support in the associations between parental and adolescent drinking behaviors in a sample of Mexican adolescents.

METHOD

Mexican adolescents (49% girls; N = 724) aged 12-19 completed measures assessing familism support, self-reported drinking behaviors, and perceptions of parental drinking behaviors.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that both gender and familism support moderate the relationship between parental drinking behaviors and adolescent drinking behaviors. For instance, the association between mothers' alcohol use frequency and adolescent binge drinking was stronger for girls. In contrast, the association between fathers' amount per drinking day and adolescent binge drinking was stronger for boys. Mother's amount per drinking day was associated with less alcohol use per drinking day among adolescents reporting high familism support. The current study expands our understanding of parental modeling on Mexican adolescent drinking behavior.