The role of parenting styles and alcohol expectancies in teen binge drinking: A preliminary investigation among Italian adolescents and their parents

As adolescents' alcohol abuse is more widespread almost everywhere, the aim of this study was to better understand the influence of both alcohol expectancies and parenting styles on this risky behaviour in order to allow the development of future prevention programmes, by evaluating the correlation between these variables. A total of 1500 subjects participated in this study: 500 high school students were asked to complete different questionnaires concerning their consumption attitude, and their beliefs on alcohol, whereas their parents (N = 1000) were asked to evaluate parenting styles. According to previous studies, the sample was classified into non-drinkers, social, binge and heavy drinkers. Consistent with the hypothesis, statistical analysis showed that both alcohol expectancies and parenting style significantly differ within these groups, thus being powerful predictors of high-risk drinking patterns.