News Archive

Jan 15, 2015

Parents should think twice about allowing their teenagers have a drink on special occasions if they do not want them to develop bad alcohol habits, say the 2015 BT Young Scientist winners.
Ian O’Sullivan and Eimear Murphy also believe any future plans to tackle teenage drinking should examine attitudes of fathers towards alcohol, and how much they drink.
Using statistical analysis standards required of third-level students, they found that teens who reported hazardous use of alcohol were:

  • Over three times more likely to have a father who reported hazardous alcohol consumption.
  • Over three times more likely to be allowed by both parents to drink on special occasions, although more so by fathers.
  • Almost four times more likely to have fathers who believe it is OK for teens to get drunk sometimes.

Young people whose fathers had reduced well-being were also more likely to drink hazardously, they found. While more than a third of surveyed teens reported being hazardous drinkers, it was much more prevalent among boys (40%) than girls (30%).

Niall Murray Education Correspondent Irish Examiner 13 January 2015

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/parents-must-rethink-teen-drinking-306577.html