Relationship between general parent-child communication and college students' perceived parental approval of drinking

Previous research has found that college freshmen who perceive more parental approval for their drinking are more likely to report drinking problems. Likewise, students who report greater parent-student, alcohol-specific communication report more drinking problems and drink more in college. This study tested the hypothesis that, when alcohol specific communication is controlled, student reports of better general parent-student communication would be associated with less perceived parental approval for drinking. A web-based survey was conducted among 265 first year students living on the campus of a mid-Atlantic university during their second semester. Regression was used to examine the relationship between general parent-student communication, parent-student alcohol specific communication, mother and father's drinking habits and students' perceptions of their parent's approval of their drinking. Students who reported better general parent-student communication were more likely to report that their parents approved of their drinking (ßmother = .218, p = .000; ßfather = .192, p = .002). Possible explanations for these findings and directions for future investigation will be discussed.