Impact of parental alcohol use and family strength on the onset of adolescent alcohol use

Abstract

This correlational study was designed to investigate the relationship between perceived parental alcohol use and the onset of adolescent alcohol use. It was also designed to investigate the relationship between perceived family strength during adolescence and the onset of adolescent alcohol use. A convenience sample of 25 graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout completed three surveys in addition to a demographic information form. A portion of the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale measured onset of adolescent alcohol use. The Family Strengths scale measured perceived family strength during adolescence and the Parental Substance Use Scale measured the adolescent’s perceptions of frequency of parental alcohol use. Three Pearson’s correlational tests were performed on the data for the above subject sample to investigate the relationships of interest. It was expected that a negative relationship would exist yielding a result that indicates that adolescents with perceptions of high frequency of parental alcohol use, both mother and father use, would correspond with low age of onset of adolescent alcohol use. It was also expected that a positive relationship would exist yielding a result that indicates that high perceived family strength would correspond with high age of onset of adolescent alcohol use. When looking at perceived parental alcohol use and onset of adolescent alcohol use, parental alcohol use was divided into perceived alcohol use by the adolescent’s mother and perceived alcohol use by the adolescent’s father. The results indicate that a significant negative relationship exits between perceived alcohol use by the adolescent’s mother and onset of adolescent alcohol use. However, no significant relationship was found between perceived alcohol use by the adolescent’s father and onset of adolescent alcohol use. In addition, the results indicate that no significant relationship exists between family strength and onset of adolescent alcohol use