Parents v.s adults who are not parents attitudes towards alcohol use among minors and risks associated with alcohol use

Previous surveys indicate that a majority (>90%) of adults in a north central region of Kentucky believe it is wrong to supply alcohol to underage youth. Surveys of underage youth in that same region, however, reveal that other adults, adult siblings, parents, and friends' parents are the most common suppliers of alcohol. Clearly, there is a disconnect between adults' perception of “wrongness” in supplying alcohol to underage youth and where youth reportedly get alcohol. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in knowledge of risks of alcohol use and perceptions of harm in supplying alcohol to underage youth between adults who are parents and adults who are not parents. A cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data collected from 494 adults from 5 counties in a north central region of Kentucky. More parents than adults who are not parents strongly agree they would be upset if an adult provided alcohol to and let teens drink at their homes. Adults who are not parents were less likely to report to legal authorities a store selling alcohol to underage youth than adults who are parents. More parents consider 1-2 drinks to be low risk drinking for an adult and more adults who are not parents report 3-5 drinks as low risk drinking for an adult. These findings suggest practitioners should use different messages to target adults who are not parents versus adults who are parents in terms of risks associated with underage drinking.