Exposure to Alcohol Use by Parents and in Movies Correlates with Onset of Adolescent Drinking

Understanding what influences adolescents to start drinking and transition to binge drinking is critical to reduce alcohol-related harms. Investigators examined the influence of peer and family factors as well as media alcohol exposure on onset of drinking and transition to binge drinking using longitudinal data from a representative sample of 6522 U.S. adolescents (age range at baseline, 10–14 years). Respondents were surveyed about onset of alcohol use every 8 months for 2 years. Risk factors included adolescent-reported peer alcohol use, frequency of parental alcohol use, availability of alcohol at home, perceived authoritative parenting, receptivity to alcohol marketing (owning alcohol-branded merchandise), and movie alcohol exposure.

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