International Journal of Drug Policy 25 (2014) 133–141 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Drug Policy jo ur nal ho me p age: www.elsevier.com/locate/drugpo Research paper Trends in alcohol-specific parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use between 2007 and 2011 in the Netherlands Margaretha de Looze a,∗ , Evelien Vermeulen-Smit b , Tom F.M. ter Bogt a , Saskia A.F.M. van Dorsselaer b , Jacqueline Verdurmen b , Ingrid Schulten b , Rutger C.M.E. Engels c , Wilma A.M. Vollebergh a a Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands b Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), P.O. Box 725, 3500 AS Utrecht, The Netherlands c Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 29 January 2013 Received in revised form 23 August 2013 Accepted 18 September 2013 Keywords: Adolescent alcohol use Alcohol-specific parenting Prevention Trends over time The Netherlands a b s t r a c t Background: Following increased research and policy attention on the harmful effects of alcohol use among adolescents and the implementation of prevention programs aimed at reducing adolescent alcohol use, this study examined whether alcohol-specific parenting practices have become stricter and whether adolescent alcohol use has declined between 2007 and 2011 in the Netherlands. Methods: Data were derived from three nationally representative cross-sectional studies of 12 to 16-year old adolescents – the Dutch National School Survey on Substance Use (2007 and 2011) and the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (2009). These data were obtained using self-report questionnaires in the classroom (adolescents, M age = 13.8 years, SD = .04) and at home (parents). Results: Between 2007 and 2011, Dutch parents increasingly adopted strict alcohol-specific practices, except for parents of 16-year old adolescents. Furthermore, adolescent reports of lifetime and last month alcohol use decreased, except for 16-year olds. The quantity of alcohol consumed by adolescents did not change between 2007 and 2011. Alcohol-specific parenting practices were associated with lower adolescent alcohol use. These associations were generally stable over time. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with the recent increased awareness in research, policy and the media about the harmful effects of alcohol on young people. Specifically, they are consistent with the focus of recent prevention efforts aimed at parents to postpone the alcohol use of their child at least until the age of 16. Future prevention programs should also target older age groups (i.e., age 16 years and older) and address the quantity of alcohol consumed by adolescents when they drink. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Background Adolescence is a peak period for the initiation and use of substances, and many adolescents experiment with or consume alcohol regularly. Although some experimentation is normative (Engels and ter Bogt, 2001), prevention of early and excessive alcohol use among adolescents is important, particularly because it is associated with adverse psychological, social and physical health consequences, including brain damage, academic failure, violence, injuries, and unprotected sexual intercourse (Gmel, Rehm, & Kuntsche, 2003; Perkins, 2002). Parents are important socialization agents when it comes to whether and how adolescents start or develop their alcohol use. Besides general parenting practices, such as providing support and ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 649830253. E-mail address: M.E.deLooze@uu.nl (M. de Looze). control (for a review see Ryan, Jorm, & Lubman, 2010), alcohol- specific parenting practices have been shown to be important deterrents of adolescents’ drinking behaviors. Specifically, parental attitudes (i.e., disapproval of alcohol use among adolescents) have been related to later initiation of adolescent alcohol use (Koning, Engels, Verdurmen, & Vollebergh, 2010) and lower levels of adoles- cent alcohol use (Bahr, Hoffmann & Yang, 2005; Koning et al., 2010; Koning, van den Eijnden, Verdurmen, Engels, & Vollebergh, 2012; Ryan et al., 2010). In addition, the quality of alcohol-specific com- munication (i.e., conversations about alcohol between parents and children in which parents can express their thoughts, rules and con- cerns about alcohol to their children) has been found to correlate with reduced prevalence and intensity of adolescent alcohol use (Miller-Day & Kam, 2010; Spijkerman, van den Eijnden, & Huiberts, 2008; Van Der Vorst, Burk & Engels, 2010). Finally, alcohol-specific rules, which entail parents imposing rules on their children regard- ing their alcohol use inside and outside the house, have been found to be one of the strongest parenting practices associated with later 0955-3959/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.09.007