Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to harms from alcohol (e.g., adverse neural, cognitive and behavioural outcomes). Parental supply of alcohol is a key factor contributing to risky teenage drinking behaviour and earlier alcohol initiation. Parents are the most common source of alcohol for underage drinkers, with many (inadvertently) assuming it will teach ‘responsible drinking’ and will minimise harms. This webinar will provide a summary of current parental supply practices in Australia, parents’ associated beliefs, and the harms implicated in parental alcohol supply. It will then outline factors associated with supply and the role of parenting style from a large survey of Australian parents, recently led by NCETA with national collaborators. Finally, messaging and strategies that are most likely to discourage supply will be discussed in the context of existing Australian and international campaigns, based on our in-depth qualitative research with parents.
About the speaker
Professor Jacqueline Bowden is Director of the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) based at Flinders University. She is a behavioural scientist who has worked at the interface of research and public health policy for more than twenty years (particularly in tobacco and alcohol control, and more recently other drugs). Jacqueline has a background in both psychology (BA (Hons) and PhD) and public health (MPH). Jacqueline has received NHMRC and Beat Cancer Project funding to lead a series of studies investigating ways to reduce parental supply of alcohol to teenagers in Australia.