Monday, July 1, 2013

What recent research tells us about parenting, young adult DUI, and early initiation of alcohol use


White young adults “were 50% more likely to self-report DUI than blacks, Hispanics, or Asians,” according to Driving After Drinking Among Young Adults of Different Race/Ethnicities in the United States: Unique Risk Factors in Early Adolescence? appearing in the May 2013 edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.  “Black adolescents appear the least likely to DUI as young adults.”

The articles goes on to say, “In additions, perception of easy home access to alcohol had a strong association with DUI for whites, Hispanics, and Asians . . . In 2010, among current drinkers aged 12 to 20 years old, 21.6% reported that they obtained their last use of alcohol in the past month from a parent, guardian, or other family member.  Therefore, the household environments, such as parental alcohol use, play a key independent role in shaping adolescent drinking behaviors.  In a previous study, adolescents with parents who drink or whose parents DUI are also more likely to DUI.  Our study suggests that perceived home access to alcohol is a strong predictor of DUI for all races/ethnicities, except for blacks.”
  
Childhood risk factors for early-onset drinking, published in the September 2011 Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, describes a study that examined potential risk factors for the initiation of alcohol use at age 14 or younger.  The researchers found that “the variables most-predictive of early-onset drinking were having a single parent, sipping-or tasting alcohol by age 10, having parents who also started drinking at-an early age, and parental drinking frequency.”

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