The Influence of Parental Marital Status on Teen Drinking Outcomes
Open Access
- Author:
- Mc Hugh, Matthew
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Robert J Turrisi, Thesis Supervisor
Marie P Cross, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Drinking
Alcohol
Parent-teen intervention - Abstract:
- The study examines the influence of parental marital status on teen drinking outcomes (parent-teen communication, teen drinking frequency, teens’ alcohol-related consequences, and teen-perceived parental permissiveness). Participants included 160 parent-teen dyads who engaged with the REAL Parenting (RP) application, a pilot trial intervention designed to provide parents with information and advice about teen alcohol use. The app included brief videos and text designed to prevent alcohol outcomes among teens, and the app tracked parent interaction with the material. Parents (Mage=45.64 [SD=7.18]; 52.5% female; 11.3% Hispanic; 47.5% White; 12.5% Black; 5.0% Other; 1.3% two or more races) and teens (Mage=16.31 [SD=0.95]; 51.9% female; 25.6% Hispanic; 73.1% White; 18.8% Black or African American; 2.5% American Indian or Alaskan Native; 7.5% Asian; 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; 4.4% Mixed) completed an initial survey (T1) and a follow-up survey 3 months later (T2). Teens completed 3 additional surveys at 3-month intervals (T3, T4, T5). Parents were grouped together by whether they were married (n=126; 78.8%) or unmarried (n=34; 21.3%). Parents rated the usefulness and interestingness of the app as well as the quality of their communication with their teens about various topics. Teens reported the frequency of their drinking habits, the consequences they experienced from drinking, and their perception of their parents’ permissiveness towards drinking. Results indicated that children of unmarried parents experienced significantly greater consequences from drinking than children of married parents. Parental marital status did not influence how parents responded to the RP program, and it did not affect any additional drinking variable outcomes. Future research should target children of unmarried parents for intervention to prevent further adverse health consequences.