Abstract
BackgroundMost adolescents begin alcohol consumption during adolescence, heavy alcohol use by adolescents is common, and alcohol-related harm amongst adolescents is a major public health burden. Parents are a common source of alcohol amongst adolescents, but little is known about how parental supply of alcohol has changed over recent years. This study examines national trends in parental supply of alcohol to adolescent children in Australia since 1998.MethodsSix Australian National Drug Strategy Household Surveys (1998–2013) yielded rates of parental supply of current and first ever alcohol consumed. Lifetime and current alcohol use were also estimated. The surveys were conducted for households across all Australian states and territories. Surveyed adolescents were aged 14–17 years (N = 7357, 47.6 % male). Measures included the reported source of currently consumed alcohol and first ever alcoholic beverage (parents/friends/others), lifetime alcohol use, number of standard alcohol units consumed on drinking days, and frequency of alcohol use. Corrected Pearson chi-squared tests were used to compare survey years.ResultsThere was a significant drop in parental supply of current alcohol use from 21.3 % in 2004 to 11.79 % in 2013 (p < .001). The lower prevalence of parental supply coincided with legislative changes on parental supply of alcohol to adolescents, but causality cannot be established because of the variation in the timing and reach of parental supply legislation, and small samples in some states. There were downward trends in adolescent experimentation, quantity and frequency of alcohol use across years, with the largest drop in alcohol use in 2010 and 2013.ConclusionsIn Australia, there has been a substantial reduction in parental supply of alcohol to adolescents from 2010, and this factor may partially account for reductions in adolescent alcohol use.
Highlights
Most adolescents begin alcohol consumption during adolescence, heavy alcohol use by adolescents is common, and alcohol-related harm amongst adolescents is a major public health burden
In response to the high prevalence of adolescent alcohol use/misuse an parental supply of alcohol, national guidelines in Australia and the United Kingdom on alcohol use recommend that people under 18 years of age delay the initiation of alcohol use for as long as possible, and that people under 15 years of age should abstain from any alcohol use [5, 19]
We focused on adolescents aged 14–17 years of age because these cover the years immediately prior to when alcohol purchase and licensed venue entry is legal in Australia
Summary
Most adolescents begin alcohol consumption during adolescence, heavy alcohol use by adolescents is common, and alcohol-related harm amongst adolescents is a major public health burden. Parents are a common source of alcohol amongst adolescents, but little is known about how parental supply of alcohol has changed over recent years. In the United States, 68.2 % of 12th Graders (18–19 years of age) have consumed alcohol and 50 % report that they. The high prevalence of alcohol use amongst minors indicates that adolescents frequently obtain alcohol from other sources, most often parents and/or peers [10]. In response to the high prevalence of adolescent alcohol use/misuse an parental supply of alcohol, national guidelines in Australia and the United Kingdom on alcohol use recommend that people under 18 years of age delay the initiation of alcohol use for as long as possible, and that people under 15 years of age should abstain from any alcohol use [5, 19]. Over the period 2010–2014, a number of Australian states legislated to make it a criminal offence for adults other than parents/guardians or those acting with the permission of parents to provide alcohol to persons under the legal age for alcohol purchase
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