“Alcohol consumption: Does the apple fall far from the tree?” –
BT Young Scientist Winning Project, 2015
Mr. Ian O'Sullivan and Ms. Eimear Murphy, transition year students,
Coláiste Treasa, Kanturk, County Cork
The World Health Organisation has identified Europe as the heaviest drinking region in the world. It’s
noteworthy that the Irish population consume more alcohol than the European average. Alcohol
plays a complex role in Irish society. It represents an integral part of modern culture and is generally
consumed for reasons of relaxation, enjoyment and sociability. However alcohol is a leading cause of
global suffering, implicated in over 60 diseases and numerous premature deaths each year. Our
Assistant State Pathologist Dr. Margaret Bolster notes that the majority of her cases are alcohol
related.
In Ireland, many of those aged between 12 and 18 years are drinking regularly, and young Irish
people report being drunk more often than their European counterparts. It’s been reported that
young people who drink alcohol before the age of 15 years are four times more likely to develop
alcohol dependency than those who wait until they are 21. Each additional year of delayed drinking
reduces the likelihood of alcohol dependence by 14%. A number of factors influence the age at
which individuals start using alcohol. These include peer pressure, societal factors, and parental
factors. Parents serve as role models for their children in imparting important health-related
knowledge and appropriate behaviour. Parents are the most influential factor on their children
during their formative years. The alcohol consumption pattern of the parent observed by the child is
taken to be the norm and this is a behaviour which they are likely to emulate. As one child noted in a
recent ISPCC report “If you see your parents get drunk whether you like it or not, it will have an
effect on your life”.
A recent systematic review highlights that previous research on the subject of parent child
relationship and alcohol use have found inconclusive or weak evidence. Mongan et al has previously
noted the need to investigate the relationship between parental attitude and consumption of
alcohol and adolescent consumption of alcohol in an Irish context. Personally, we observed different
drinking patterns among our peers. We found this interesting because it is well known that peer
pressure is one of the principal factors in relation to alcohol consumption amongst adolescents. We
realised there must be other influences impacting adolescent drinking behaviour. Thus, the aim of
our research was to investigate the relationship between parental attitude and consumption of
alcohol and their adolescents’ alcohol consumption.
So, a cross-sectional survey was undertaken. The topics included in this questionnaire were alcohol
use, self-reported height and weight, smoking status and mental health and well-being questions, all
of which were previously validated. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption
(AUDIT-C), which is a series three questions that indicate whether or not someone is a hazardous
drinker, was employed. Parental attitude questions were taken from Research New Zealand papers
and consisted of a statement which parents disagreed, felt neutral or agreed with. It determined
what parents considered to be social norms and also what they thought about their own drinking
behaviour.
The questionnaire was distributed to all fifth and sixth year pupils as well as their parents in the
Kanturk-Mallow local electorate area, during the academic year 2014-2015. Each parent and pupil
had a corresponding number on their questionnaire in order to link their results. This gave us a
sample size of 982 fifth and sixth year students in the in 8 schools. We received a response rate of
37% which was made up of 360 students and their parents. Ethical approval for the survey was
granted in October from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals. The
data was entered in an excel document and transferred to IBM SPSS Statistics 20 for statistical
analysis. AUDIT-C and BMI scores were calculated according to specific instrument guidelines.
Analysis included descriptive analysis, frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis.
The mean age of adolescents was 16.89 years (minimum 15, maximum 19). The mean age of parents
participating in the survey was 49.69 years for father’s (minimum 35, maximum 68) and 47.53 years
for mother’s (minimum 33,maximum 68). Notably 87% of adolescents reported having a normal
BMI whereas 47% of parents surveyed reported having a normal BMI, (32.1% fathers, 61.4% of
mothers). In addition, less than 10% of adolescents had smoked 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and
although 46% of the parents surveyed had smoked 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, the majority of
these were ex-smokers (72.6%).
But of course our study focused on hazardous alcohol consumption. The AUDIT-C results showed
that 34% of adolescents surveyed displayed a hazardous drinking pattern. This was reported by
39.6% of males compared to 29.9% of females. 47% of all parents surveyed were hazardous drinkers.
This was reported by 50% of fathers and 46.8% of mothers. In relation to parental attitudes, over
90% of parents disagreed with allowing their adolescents to get drunk sometimes and rejected the
idea that getting drunk is part of having fun as an adolescent. Also more than 80% of all parents
surveyed believed they set a good example for their adolescent in relation to alcohol consumption.
Notably, some parents (16.8%) said they would not be worried if their adolescent consumed four
pints of alcohol once a month. In addition to this almost one-fifth of parents surveyed were not
concerned if another parent was to supply their adolescent with alcohol. More than 40% of parents
agreed with allowing their adolescent to drink on special occasions. It is also notable that mothers
were more likely to believe that their adolescent had consumed too much alcohol.
Using univariate logistic regression we investigated the impact of the father on his adolescents
hazardous drinking pattern. We found that hazardous drinking adolescents are:
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Three times more likely to have a father who is a hazardous drinker,
Six times more likely to have a father who agrees that it’s ‘okay for his child to get drunk
sometimes
Four times more likely to have a father who agrees that ‘getting drunk is part of having fun
as a teenager’
Five times more likely to have a father who would allow another parent to supply his
adolescent with alcohol
Almost five times more likely to have a father who would not be concerned by his
adolescent consuming four pints of alcohol once a month
And five times more likely to have a father who believes that it’s O.K. for pupils to drink on
special occasions.
Similarly for the mother we found that if an adolescent is a hazardous drinker then:
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Their mother is 4.5 times more likely to agree that it’s O.K for their adolescent to get drunk
sometimes
She is 3.5 times more likely to agree that getting drunk is part of having fun as an adolescent
Almost twice as likely to think that it is a good idea to introduce alcohol to adolescents in a
controlled home environment,
50% less likely to think that adolescents shouldn’t drink at all
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Over 3 times as likely to think that it is okay for adolescents to drink on special occasions,
3.5 times more likely to consent to another parent providing alcohol to their adolescent
under supervision
And 3 times more likely to not be concerned by their adolescent consuming four pints of
beer once a month.
Whether or not the adolescent’s mother is a hazardous drinker or believes that she sets a good
example for her adolescent has no effect on the adolescent being a hazardous drinker themselves.
Multivariate logistic regression applying backward elimination, which takes all variables into
consideration, uncovered the most pertinent factors where an adolescent reported hazardous
alcohol consumption. These were:
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Having a father who reported hazardous alcohol consumption
Having a father who believes it is ok for their teenager to get drunk sometimes
Having a father with reduced well-being
Having a father who is almost four times more likely to report allowing their child to
consume alcohol on special occasions.
And having a mother who is over three times more likely to report allowing their child to
consume alcohol on special occasions.
The findings from this research highlight the need for some important public policy measures.
Previous research has noted the importance of a minimum age for consumption. Exposure to alcohol
in adolescence can have detrimental effects on brain development and intellectual capabilities and
increases the likelihood for later alcohol dependence. The current study notes that the majority of
hazardous adolescent drinkers (68.2%) were under the legal age of consumption. Therefore offlicences and pubs should be monitored continuously. There needs to be improved policing of the law
regarding under age adolescents purchasing alcohol in addition to responsible bar staff training.
Previous research has noted the impact of advertising and marketing which is aimed at adolescents
in their formative years. The promotion of alcohol in areas such as sport and music is becoming
increasingly prevalent and evidence shows alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that
adolescents will begin to drink and secondly will drink more if they already consume alcohol. The
protective effects of a full ban on alcohol sponsorship of sporting events has been demonstrated in
previous studies. We believe that this evidence based approach in reducing alcohol related harm
should be introduced by this government.
We are pleased to see the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol is proposed in the
current bill. This has been proven to be an effective measure when tackling hazardous alcohol
consumption across the population.
Over the previous number of decades alcohol consumption has continued to increase despite public
health efforts. Education campaigns were regularly favoured when tackling alcohol consumption.
However, these campaigns have been shown to be ineffective. Currently, the cost of hazardous
alcohol consumption in Ireland to the taxpayer is 3.7 billion euro annually. By introducing this
current bill you have the opportunity to improve the lives of Irish people. You have the opportunity
to save 88 lives every month which are currently lost to an alcohol related disease. You have the
opportunity to protect vulnerable children affected by their parent’s alcohol consumption seen in
every community across this country. You have the opportunity to make a difference.