The associations between parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use across mid- and late adolescence: A cohort study from Sweden

Background and aims: The aim of the present study is to examine the associations between parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use in a longitudinal sample of adolescents from Sweden. Data and methods: A prospective longitudinal sample of 3,999 adolescents in a nationwide study (2017-2019) in Sweden filled out questionnaires. Baseline data (T1) was collected at age 15/16 and a two-year follow-up (T2) was conducted at age 17/18. Alcohol use was measured with AUDIT-C. Parental support and monitoring was measured at both time points with two questions for each dimension. Cross-sectional and prospective associations are examined using linear regressions. Findings: A significant negative association was found for both support and monitoring at both time-points in the crude models. Only monitoring remained significant in the adjusted models. Monitoring at T1 had a significant negative association with alcohol use at T2. Increases in both parenting practices between T1 and T2 was significantly associated with lower alcohol use at T2. Conclusions: Parenting factors during adolescence are closely associated with adolescent drinking. These findings underscore the importance of ongoing parental engagement, particularly in terms of parental monitoring, throughout mid- and late adolescence to prevent drinking.