Alcohol-specific parenting, adolescents' self-control, and alcohol use: A moderated mediation model

Abstract

Objective: There is convincing evidence that parental rules about alcohol are important in curbing adolescents' alcohol use. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which the direct link between alcohol-specifi c parenting and alcohol use is obtained. In this study, we investigated the mediating effect of adolescent self-control on the relationship between alcohol-specifi c rules and adolescents' drinking behavior and whether this mediation effect depends on the level of quality of communication. Method: A total of 883 adolescents participated in this longitudinal study at ages 13, 14, and 15 years. Results: Strict rules predicted lower rates of drinking, but no direct effect of the quality of communication on adolescents' alcohol use was found. A higher level of self-control was related to lower rates of drinking in adolescents. The indirect effect of rules about alcohol through adolescents' self-control was statistically signifi cant, yet only in adolescents with high qualitative parent-child communication about alcohol. In adolescents with low quality of parent-child communication, self-control was not related to drinking. Conclusions: These fi ndings imply that strict rule setting in combination with qualitative parent-child communication is an important target for prevention. In addition, fi ndings point at the importance of high qualitative parent-child communication for adolescents' motivation to engage in self-control to avoid drinking.