School District Variation in Parental Influence on Underage Drinking Behaviors

PurposeWe examined the relationship between alcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental characteristics with occasional alcohol drinking in early adolescence and probed potential school district variation.MethodsA total of 1,581 fourth and sixth graders (age range: 10-12 years) were ascertained from 17 elementary schools in a cohort study conducted in northern Taiwan in 2006, with three waves of follow-up between 2007 and 2009. Information on alcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental attributes was obtained from the first two waves of self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires; occasional drinking, defined by having drunk on three or more occasions in the past year, was assessed at fourth wave. School district characteristics were retrieved from official statistics and self-report. Multilevel analyses were used to evaluate strength of association, with stratification by disadvantaged status of school districts.ResultsThirteen percent (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.1%-15.8%) of young adolescents reported to drink occasionally; higher grade level, childhood drinking experience, lower parental education, maternal drinking, and positive parental attitude toward drinking were significant predictors. Nonalcohol parental predictors, including not living with both parents (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.21-4.53) and parental involvement/reinforcement (aOR = .44; 95% CI = .22-.87), were only significant for the children of socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts. As to alcohol-specific parental characteristics, the effects of maternal drinking appear more salient in socioeconomically advantaged school districts (aOR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.66-4.18).ConclusionsAlcohol-specific and nonalcohol-specific parental influence may operate differentially across school districts sub-grouped by socioeconomic attributes. Preventive strategies raising the awareness of underage drinking and strengthening parenting skills should be devised and implemented in the perspective of social context.