The Influence of Parental Drinking Attitudes and Behavior on the Drinking Patterns of Black and White Adults

Abstract

The importance of parents as a source of influence on drinking behaviour has been emphasized in socialization theories which stress the primacy of parent-child relationships and the critical roles parents play as role models and as agents for imparting moral values and normative codes. This study examines parental attitudes and drinking frequency and their effects on the drinking patterns of 1947 black and 1777 white adults. Black respondents reported that their parents held more conservative drinking attitudes and drank less often than white respondents. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parental influences predict current drinking patterns in both racial groups even when controlling for age, religious factors, region and socio-economic status. However, important racial and gender differences were observed in the effects of parents’ attitudes versus parents’ drinking frequency on respondents current alcohol use: Black men differed from white men and women of both races in showing no association between parent attitudes and drinking patterns; the frequency of parental drinking was a more important predictor of drinking patterns among blacks, particularly men, than it was for whites; and heavier drinking among women was not correlated with parent drinking attitudes but was associated with parental drinking behavior. These results were attributed to racial differences in the social context of drinking and family structure and to gender differences in the prevalence of heavier drinking.