Interactions between parental alcohol-specific rules and risk personalities in the prediction of adolescent alcohol use.

Abstract

To examine the impact of an important context variable (alcohol-specific parental rules) and an important person variable (risky personality traits) and their interaction on prospective adolescent drinking. Participants were 252 adolescents, 67.9% female, between 13 and 16 years old. Data were collected via online assessments during 2 years with four time points of assessments. We examined membership of alcohol use trajectories as a function of parental alcohol-specific rules, moderated by risk-associated personality traits. Permissive parental rules predicted early onset and trajectories of heavy drinking. High scores on Sensation Seeking and Hopelessness also predicted early onset and heavy drinking, but there was no evidence for moderation. The influence of parental rule setting and risk personality was confirmed, but no evidence was found that the impact of risk personality on adolescent drinking is moderated by parental rules. Implications of these findings, and limitations of the study, are discussed.