Adolescent drinking in Spain: Family relationship quality, rules, communication, and behaviors

•Examined associations between adolescent alcohol use in Spain and family factors•Better relationship quality & parents knowing with whom one goes out at night were negatively associated with alcohol use•Mothers permitting alcohol use & fathers’ drinking behaviors were positively associated with adolescents’ alcohol use•Results suggest that the family unit may be one vehicle for intervening to reduce alcohol use in adolescents in Spain

This study examined associations between adolescent alcohol use in Spain and family relationship quality, parental rules, sources of information about substances, and family behaviors. A sample of 565 students in Alicante, Spain completed measures of these constructs. After controlling for age and type of school, family relationship quality explained 3.7% of the variance in adolescents' alcohol use, family rules explained 7.0%, sources of information 2.8%, and parental behaviors 2.6%. A comprehensive model with all unique predictors from these four models explained 10.6% of the variance in adolescents' alcohol use. Within this final model, higher family relationship quality and parents knowing with whom one goes out at night were uniquely and negatively associated with adolescents' alcohol use, but mothers permitting alcohol consumption and fathers' drinking behaviors were positively associated. These findings suggest that the family unit may be ideal for intervening to reduce alcohol use in adolescents in Spain.