Families, parenting and harmful drinking

The Demos report Under the Influence found that parenting style has a significant impact on young people’s likelihood of engaging in harmful drinking behaviour in later life.

Through quantitative analysis of longitudinal data sets, the research found that ‘tough love’ parenting, which combines high levels of emotional warmth with firm and consistent discipline, protects against problematic alcohol consumption among their children: both at the age of 16 and later in life at 34.   

This second phase of this research looks more closely at how a problematic relationship with alcohol among at least one parent can impact on parenting and children’s perceptions of alcohol. This includes assessing the impact of ‘family-based interventions’ and the extent to which they focus on parenting support and preventing the transference of problem behaviour to the children of alcoholics.

In addition to further quantitative analysis, Demos is conducting in-depth qualitative interviews with over 35 families across the UK, including both parents and children within each family. The research will be launched in the autumn of 2012 and will aim to inform the Government’s policy agendas around alcohol and so-called ‘problem families’.

This is the second Demos project supported by SAB Miller plc and is overseen by an independent steering committee of health experts, charities, campaigners, advocacy groups and industry representatives.