Binge drinking Alcohol consumption of children is shaped by the parents

Parents are often poor role models in drinking alcohol
Parents should be role models for your children. This also applies to the handling of alcohol. Recent DAK health studies show that parents regularly increase their risk of alcohol abuse by drinking their kids too. Almost a third of mothers and fathers show a risky drinking behavior, according to the DAK.

One-third of parents show risky drinking habits
Whether or how much alcohol children and adolescents drink depends heavily on the drinking habits of their parents. This emerges from current studies of DAK health. For example, a representative parents' survey of the health insurance found that two-thirds of the parents surveyed assume that they would have to serve as an example for drinking alcohol - but one-third (32 percent) of mothers and fathers even show a risky drinking behavior, the fathers even come up 39 percent.

Many parents are a rather bad role model when it comes to dealing with alcohol. (Image: Antonioguillem / fotolia.com)

A quarter of parents (23 percent) have at least once a month an alcohol intoxication - a behavior that can have consequences for the offspring: "With high alcohol consumption of parents also increases their children's risk of intoxicating," said Professor. Reiner Hanewinkel according to the DAK communication.

Influence of parental behavior greater than suspected
On behalf of the health insurance fund, the Forsa Institute surveyed 1,000 mothers and fathers with children between the ages of 12 and 17 for the representative study of intoxicating adolescents. It turned out that nationwide 20 percent of boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17 already had experiences with an alcohol frenzy. In the 16- to 17-year-olds, already every tenth had multiple intoxicating. Getting alcohol is often not a problem for adolescents because in most families (65 percent) minors have easy access to beer, wine or schnapps, according to the DAK.

"Twelve-year-olds whose parents consume alcohol on a regular basis are three times more likely to drink intoxicates during adulthood than children from families who never drink alcohol," Hanewinkel continued. The director of the Institute for Therapy and Health Research (IFT-Nord) has been researching the development of risky alcohol behavior in children and adolescents over a nine-year period as part of a nationwide unique long-term study. "Our study shows that when drinking the influence of parenting behavior is stronger than previously thought," stresses Hanewinkel.

Talk openly and be a role model
In view of the study results, the Federal Government Drugs Commissioner, Marlene Mortler (CSU), appealed to parents' role model role in alcohol: "[...] It is good that parents today are much more open than before with their children to talk about alcohol. But it is important that they do justice to their role model function. It is impossible to preach water and drink wine, "Mortler is quoted in the message.

In order to provide more information, DAK-Gesundheit, together with the Federal Drug Commissioner and singer Grace Capristo, is launching the 8th round of the nationwide awareness campaign "bunt statt blau" in Berlin, which focuses on excessive alcohol consumption among young people. "The investigations show how important early education about the risks and dangers of alcohol abuse is," said DAK CEO Andreas Storm. (No)