Parents’ Drinking Affects Teens 2 Ways

Teenagers of parents who drink alcohol a lot are more likely to drink themselves. A new study suggests two reasons for this. Apparently, they copy their parents and also get away with more because the parents pay less attention. But the parents who drink a lot also punish their teens more. These findings are from a survey of 4,700 teens and their parents. They were asked about their own drinking. They also were asked about parenting styles. Reuters Health news service wrote about the study February 12. It was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.