Mr. Ian O'Sullivan:

Using univariate logistic regression, we investigated the impact of the father on his adolescent's hazardous drinking pattern. We found that hazardous-drinking adolescents are three times more likely to have a father who is a hazardous drinker, six times more likely to have a father who agrees that it is okay for his child to get drunk sometimes, four times more likely to have a father who agrees that getting drunk is part of having fun as a teenager, five times more likely to have a father who would allow another parent to supply his adolescent with alcohol, almost five times more likely to have a father who would not be concerned by his adolescent consuming four pints of alcohol once a month, and five times more likely to have a father who believes that it is okay for pupils to drink on special occasions.

Similarly, for the mother, we found that if an adolescent is a hazardous drinker then his or her mother is 4.5 times more likely to agree that it is okay for the adolescent to get drunk sometimes, 3.5 times more likely to agree that getting drunk is part of having fun as an adolescent, almost twice as likely to think that it is a good idea to introduce alcohol to adolescents in the home environment, half as likely to think that adolescents should not drink at all, over three times as likely to think that it is okay for adolescents to drink on special occasions, 3.5 times more likely to consent to another parent providing alcohol to her adolescent under supervision, and three times more likely not to be concerned by the adolescent consuming four pints of beer once a month. Whether the adolescent’s mother is a hazardous drinker or believes that she sets a good example for her adolescent has no effect on whether the adolescent is a hazardous drinker.

Multivariate logistic regression applying backward elimination, which takes all variables into consideration, uncovered the most pertinent factors where an adolescent reported hazardous alcohol consumption. These were, first, having a father who reported hazardous alcohol consumption; second, having a father who believes it is okay for their teenager to get drunk sometimes; third, having a father with reduced well-being; fourth, having a father who is almost four times more likely to report allowing their child to consume alcohol on special occasions; and fifth, having a mother who is over three times more likely to report allowing the child to consume alcohol on special occasions.