Do parents who drink influence their kids’ future alcohol habits?

By Stephen Beech

Parents' boozy habits really do rub off on their children, according to new research.

The alcohol and drug use of moms and dads has a major influence on their children's future consumption, the study suggests.

But stricter parenting styles can break the “like father, like son" intergenerational boozing patterns, according to the findings.

Brazilian researchers analyzed data on the behavior of 4,280 adolescents and their parents or guardians.

The findings, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, showed that parental attitudes are one of the most relevant factors in preventing alcohol and drug use among young people.

However, the way moms and dads educate their children can significantly mitigate the risk - even in families where caregivers use substances including cigarettes, vapes and cannabis.

The reduction in risk was more significant when the relationship between generations is marked by bonding, presence, dialogue, and clear rules of conduct – characteristics of the so-called “authoritative” parenting style, which combines acceptance and monitoring.

Four parenting styles were analyzed in total.

The other styles were authoritarian, which reduced the risk of drug use but had less impact on alcohol, as well as permissive and neglectful. The latter two did not have any protective effects.

Consumption profiles were divided into three groups: abstainers, those who only drink alcohol, and those who use two or more substances.

Alcohol consumption by parents was associated with a 24% probability of their children using alcoholic beverages and a 6% probability of their children using two or more drugs.

If parents consume multiple substances, the risk of young people using them rises to 17% and 28%, respectively.

Lead author Professor Zila Sanchez said: "With this study, we reinforce the fact that parents’ patterns of alcohol and other drug use influence their children’s.

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"However, if they set rules and limits at home and show affection, these protective factors greatly minimize the risk they themselves pose when they consume these substances.

"In addition, the greatest predictor of abstinence among young people is non-use by their guardians.

"When they’re abstinent, 89% of adolescents also don’t use alcohol or other legal or illegal drugs.

"This was the strongest association we found.”

A previous study by Sanchez and her colleagues at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) showed a "gradual" association between parenting styles and drug use by adolescents.

At the time, the results showed that young people with negligent parents were more likely to attend class under the influence of drugs.

The data for the new study was collected from 2023 to 2024 in four Brazilian towns.

The average age of the adolescents was 14.7, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls participating.

The most frequent behaviors among the children were alcohol consumption in the last month (19.9%) and episodic excessive consumption (11.4%).

Among parents, the figures were 56.4% and 20.3%, respectively.

There was no separate analysis for whether the guardian was the father or the mother.

Sanchez pointed out that, even in families with good parenting practices, adolescent alcohol use is associated with parental alcohol consumption, which she says reinforces the need for caution when normalizing such behavior at home.

She added: “When consumption is frequent and treated as something trivial, it translates into greater risk, regardless of the existing emotional bond."

Despite the prohibition of alcohol sales to under-18s in Brazil, more than half the population (56%) tried alcohol before that age, and 25.5% began regular drinking at that stage, according to official figures.