Do as I Say, Not as You Perceive: Examining the Roles of Perceived Parental Knowledge and Perceived Parental Approval in College Students’ Alcohol-Related Approval and Behavior

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study examined college students’ accuracy in their perceptions of parental approval of engaging in various alcohol-related behaviors, evaluated the mediational role of student approval in the relation between perceived parental knowledge and drinking, and determined the extent to which perceived parental approval moderated the relation between perceived parental knowledge and student approval. Design. Participants were 264 college student–parent dyads who completed independent online surveys. Results. Students overestimated parental approval of the child drinking, and parents were more approving of a “typical student” drinking than they were of their own child drinking. Student approval mediated the relation between perceived parental knowledge and student drinking, controlling for other relevant predictors. Perceived parental approval moderated the relation between perceived parental knowledge and student approval, controlling for other notable predictors. Conclusion. Parents continue to influence their child's alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors, even while in college.