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Alcohol
Children who see their parents drunk are twice as likely to drink themselves
New report in the UK says that parents and friends can greatly influence a teenager’s drinking habits.
CHILDREN WHO SEE their parents drunk are twice as likely to regularly get drunk themselves according to a new survey.
A study conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK has found that poor parental supervision also raises the likelihood of teenage drinking with the behaviour of friends and the more time teenagers spend with their friends also likely to be a big factor.
The survey of 5,700 children in the UK aged between 13 and 16 also found that one in five claimed to have been drunk by the time they were 14.
Half of those questioned said they were drunk by the age of 16.
The report says that the odds of a teenager getting drunk repeatedly is twice as great if they see their parents getting drunk even if only a few times.
The authors of the report add that parental supervision is important as the study found that if they do not know where their children are on a Saturday night or let them watch an 18 certificate film unsupervised, they are more likely to have had an alcoholic drink.
The influence of friends was also highlighted with the research finding that teenagers who spend every evening with friends are four times more likely to engage in excessive drinking.
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