# The influence of parents’ history of alcohol use on their university-going children’s drinking habits: A comparative study of students’ drinking habits

## TL;DR

This study shows that children of parents with alcohol use histories are more likely to drink heavily, which can harm their health and studies.

## Contribution

The study empirically demonstrates a significant link between parental alcohol use history and hazardous drinking in university students.

## Key findings

- Students with parents who used alcohol showed higher hazardous alcohol use scores.
- These students also exhibited more harmful alcohol use and alcohol dependence symptoms.
- The findings suggest a need for university alcohol prevention programs.

## Abstract

Parents with a history of alcohol consumption contribute to their children’s drinking behaviour.

This study aimed to investigate the influence of parents’ history of alcohol use on their children’s drinking habits.

The study was conducted at a contact learning university in South Africa.

A cross-sectional quantitative study with 350 undergraduate university students was conducted.

The independent samples t-test results revealed that students who had parents with a history of alcohol use (M = 4.20, standard deviation [s.d.] = 2.95) scored significantly higher on hazardous alcohol use compared to their counterparts whose parents did not have a history of alcohol use (M = 2.47, s.d. = 2.70). The results also showed that students who had parents with a history of alcohol use (M = 5.78, s.d. = 4.48) scored significantly higher on harmful alcohol use compared to students with parents who did not have a history of alcohol use (M = 2.98, s.d. = 3.66). Moreover, students who had parents with a history of alcohol use (M = 4.42, s.d. = 3.20) scored significantly higher on alcohol dependence symptoms than those whose parents did not have a history of alcohol use (M = 1.95, s.d. = 2.61).

Parents with a history of alcohol use influence their children’s drinking habits. The observed drinking habits can affect children’s health and interrupt their university studies.

Investing in university alcohol prevention programmes could reduce the surge of alcohol abuse among students and promote healthy drinking habits.