Parenting styles can soften the impact of parents' drinking and drug use on teens. Digest
Children are more likely to end up drinking alcohol or using drugs if their parents do, but that pattern is not inevitable. In a study from Brazil, researchers examined whether parenting styles can influence how closely adolescents' substance use mirrors that of their parents.
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The researchers analyzed survey responses from 4,280 students aged 12 to 17. They grouped parents and adolescents according to their overall patterns of substance use, then examined how closely those patterns aligned within families. Next, they tested whether parenting style affected the strength of that link. Parenting style was based on how adolescents described their parents' behavior. The substances assessed were alcohol use, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, vaping, and cannabis use.
- Both parents and adolescents fell into three broad groups: an abstainer group, a group that mainly drank alcohol, and a higher-risk group that used multiple substances. Most adolescents (79%) were in the abstainer group, compared with 50% of parents.
- The strongest similarity between parents and children was in the abstainer group. When parents were in the abstainer group, 89% of their children were also abstainers.
- Risk was higher when parents used substances. When parents were mainly drinkers, about 24% of their children fell into the drinking group. When parents used multiple substances, 17% of their children were in the drinking group and 28% were in the multiple-substance group. Even in these higher-risk families, most teenagers, 55%, were still abstainers.
- An authoritative parenting style, characterized by warmth and support combined with clear rules and expectations, showed the clearest protective pattern overall: adolescents in higher-risk families were 76% less likely to use multiple substances.
- An authoritarian parenting style, characterized by strict control but less emotional responsiveness, was also strongly associated with lower levels of multiple-substance use. However, in families where parents mainly drank alcohol, this strict style was associated with a higher likelihood of teen drinking.
- Permissive and neglectful parenting styles did not show a protective pattern.
Parents may influence their children through role modeling, easier access to substances at home, and shaping what behaviors seem normal. An authoritative approach may counteract these influences by strengthening adolescents' self-regulation and reducing opportunities for risky behavior. Alcohol may be more difficult to buffer against because it is widely accepted in many social settings, which can reduce the impact of parental rules.
The findings suggest a practical message: both parents' own substance use and their parenting practices may influence whether adolescents use alcohol or other drugs. Long-term studies are now needed to determine whether strengthening warm, consistent parenting can actively reduce adolescent substance use. In episode #93, I explore the science, myths, controversies, and health effects of alcohol.