CHILDREN WHO regularly see their parents drink are twice as likely to binge on alcohol themselves, a British survey has found.
The report also found that youths left unsupervised were also more likely to drink.
Researchers for Ipsos Mori questioned 5,700 teenagers in England and found one in four 13- to 14-year-olds had been drunk more than once, compared to just over half of children (52 per cent) aged 15 to 16.
Responding to the findings, Drinkaware.ie chief executive Fionnuala Sheehan said research commissioned by her organisation in Ireland had shown that “to influence the behaviour of the underage drinker, it was essential to try and address the issue of parents”.
Ms Sheehan: “When you drink, how you drink and why you drink all influences your child’s attitude to alcohol. Our message is, the next time you pour yourself a few at home or head to the pub with the family in tow, think about the message you are sending your children, because they are watching and listening.”
The survey was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charity that looks at the root cause of social problems.
It showed that children who said they had seen their parents inebriated were twice as likely to have been drunk several times. The odds of a teenager having ever had an alcoholic drink were also greater if their parents did not know where they were on a Saturday night, or if they were allowed to watch 18-rated films unsupervised.
Claire Turner from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said: “This research shows that parents can have more influence on their teenagers’ behaviour than perhaps many assumed.
“Both what parents say and how they behave have a strong impact on their teenagers’ drinking – drinking regularly and drinking to excess.”
The report also revealed the influence of friends was the most significant factor, as the likelihood of youths drinking to excess more than doubled if they spent more than two nights a week socialising. Spending every night with friends multiplied the odds of drinking heavily by more than four times.
Referring to the 2007 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs, which looked at alcohol use by 16-year-olds in more than 30 countries including Ireland, Ms Sheehan said it found 74 per cent of Irish 16-year-olds had not been drunk in the previous month, up from 47 per cent in 2003, “so there was an improvement”.
The Health Research Board has highlighted a rise in alcoholic liver disease morbidity and mortality in the years from 1995 to 2007, with recent figures showing the rate of hospital discharges had increased by 247 per cent for 15- to 34-year-olds.
