Parental provision of alcohol: A TPB-framed review of the literature

Abstract

There is evidence that parents are a common source of alcohol provision for teenagers, and increasing evidence that this provision is associated with current and future drinking. This review examines the current literature on parental provision of alcohol to children and teenagers, through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior: attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. A search of the databases ProQuest, PsycINFO, Medline, Expanded Academic, Scopus and PBSC identified 826 articles. Of these, 810 did not meet the inclusion criteria, and 16 were included in the review. In summary, the reviewed articles demonstrated positive attitudes toward parental supply of alcohol (often driven by misperceptions), strong subjective norms, but little exploration of perceived behavioral control. There is a need for further research which clearly differentiates between adolescents of different ages and genders, and which explores the predictors and role of perceived behavioral control. There is also a need for further research to more fully understand this behavior and to develop appropriate interventions which address all three predictors (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control).