Susanne Tanski (Photo by Mark Washburn)
Adolescents who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to begin drinking at an early age, according to a recent study by Susanne Tanski, a Dartmouth Medical School professor, and James D. Sargent of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Tanski and Sargent interviewed students (Grades 5-8) from across New England schools regarding alcohol use, parenting style, and various social and demographic factors.
The initial survey asked participants if they had any prior experience with alcohol. It also asked the students how often their parents allowed them to watch R-rated movies.
The baseline survey addressed a number of other variables among participants, including demographic information like gender, social factors like the use of alcohol among peers, and personal characteristics like self-esteem.
Students also assessed the general style of parenting in their household. According to the authors, authoritative parenting does not always include strict control over media exposure.
The researchers gave a follow-up survey 18 months later to students who reported having no prior alcohol experience. They were asked whether or not they had begun drinking in that period and whether or not their parents had changed their attitudes towards viewing R-rated movies.
Among the final sample of 2,406 students, 14.8% of students had begun drinking during the survey interval. According to the authors, those who reported greater leniency among their parents over that span of time were more likely to have tried alcohol. For example, 16% of those reporting more lax restrictions had tried alcohol, compared to only 6.9% of those who reported stricter parental control.
In addition, nearly a third of the students who reported alcohol-use among peers began using alcohol themselves in the 18-month period between surveys. When alcohol was not present among peers, however, only 2.9% had initiated drinking by the time of the follow-up.
The authors reported a strong causal relationship between parental movie restriction and the early onset of alcohol use. According to the authors, this study was able to isolate the impact of parental restriction on media exposure, regardless of the style of parenting in general. In the end, adolescents who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are over three times more likely begin using alcohol than those who are never allowed by their parents.
As previous studies have suggested, the early onset of alcohol is strongly linked to heavy use and addiction during adulthood. The results of this study, however, suggest a possible means of reducing these risks at a young age.