Social scientists have often assumed that parental influence is sharply curtailed at adolescence because of the rising counterinfluence of peer groups, over which parents have little control. The present study tested a conceptual model that challenged this view by arguing that parents retain a notable but indirect influence over their teenage child's peer associates. Data from a sample of 3,781 high school students (ages 15–19) indicated that specific parenting practices (monitoring, encouragement of achievement, joint decision making) were significantly associated with specific adolescent behaviors (academic achievement, drug use, self-reliance), which in turn were significantly related to membership in common adolescent crowds (jocks, druggies, etc.). Findings encourage investigators to assess more carefully parents' role in adolescents' peer group affiliations.

https://website.education.wisc.edu/prsg/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Brown-et-al-1993-Par-prac-PG-affil.pdf

Parenting Practices and Peer Group Affiliation in Adolescence

SummaryRecently, there has been increased attention to the validity of self-reported alcohol use. Yet, much of theliterature appears to be inappropriately seeking the definitive answer to a relative question, e.g. are self-reportsof alcohol use valid.^. The literature on the validity of self-reported alcohol use was reviewed with a primaryfocus on concurrent criterion-oriented validity. Validity studies using collateral reports, diaries, official records,different interviewing methods, laboratory tests and multiple measures were assessed. It is concluded thatresearch on the validity of self-reported alcohol use should emphasize the interactions of the respondent, theinterviewer, the information being obtained and the context of the interview to determine under whichconditions valid responses can be maximized. Further, research on validity should focus on specific processesinvolved in providing accurate responses. Emphasis should be placed on developing a range of strategies anddetermining their appropriateness for obtaining more accurate reports from specific populations.IntroductionControversy surrounding the validity of self-reported alcohol use has heightened in the last fewyears. The fact that such a controversy existsconcerning this complex issue in the field of alcoholstudies is a healthy sign that more rigorous examina-tion of important methodological issues is occurringwithin the clinical and research communities.Recently, two viewpoints have been emergingconcerning the use of self-reports of alcohol use.The first is represented by Watson and his colleag-ues (1984; 1985) who found only a modest corre-spondence between reports of alcohol consumptionby alcoholics and their significant others (collater-als) over time. "The data, then, casts serious doubton the utility of self-report follow-up studies, and

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00526.x

Validity of Self‐reported Alcohol Use: a literature review and assessment*

We examine the belief that physical abuse of wives is strongly determined by drunkenness and socioeconomic status using interview data from a nationally representative sample of 5,159 families. Our findings show that excessive drinking is associated with higher wife abuse rates, but alcohol use is not an immediate antecedent ofviolence in the majority of families. The combination of blue-collar status, drinking, and approval of violence is significantly associated with the highest rate of wife abuse. Of the three factors, cultural approval of violence by men against women has the strongest association with wife abuse. Although our results provide support for the drunken bum theory of wife beating, they also demythologize the stereotype because they show that alcohol is far from being a necessary or sufficient cause of wife abuse.

The “Drunken Bum” Theory of Wife Beating

This paper estimates the effects of beer prices, alcohol availability, and policies related to driving under the influence of alcohol on drinking and binge drinking among youths and young adults. Data are from a nationally representative survey of students in U.S. colleges and universities. Separate estimates are obtained for underage male and female students, as well as for older male and female students. The estimates indicate that the drinking practices of male college students are generally insensitive to the price of beer. However, underage drinking and binge drinking by female students do respond significantly to price, although both are relatively inelastic. The results also show that strong drunk driving policies targeting youths and young adults significantly reduce drinking and binge drinking by male students. Similarly, these policies reduce drinking among female college students but appear to have little impact on their binge drinking. Instead, the results indicate that many elements of campus life (including participation in a fraternity or sorority, living on campus, and the ready availability of alcoholic beverages) are among the most important determinants of drinking and binge drinking among college students.

Binge drinking in college: the impact of price, availability, and alcohol control policies

Studies of alcohol-related birth defects in humans rely heavily on maternal self-reports of alcohol use. The accuracy of self-reports, and thus of related risk levels, is of concern to investigators, to public health professionals, and to persons advising pregnant women. We contrasted quantitative reports of drinking in pregnancy by 238 women with retrospective reports obtained 5 years later. Although correlated (r = 0.67, p less than 0.0001), marked discrepancies suggested underreporting during pregnancy by a significant proportion of the women. The validity of the retrospective index was indicated in that it was somewhat more highly related to scores on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and to a tally of alcohol-related craniofacial anomalies in the neonate than was the in-pregnancy index. Furthermore, the retrospective index and the MAST score were significant predictors of other neonatal anomalies; the in-pregnancy index was not. The only variable related to underreporting was MAST score, i.e., the higher the MAST score the greater the underreporting. The results suggest that previously reported thresholds of effect based on self-report data may be underestimates. The results also suggest that questions regarding alcohol-related problems may be more effective than direct consumption questions in the identification of women who drink heavily in pregnancy.

Polich Jm

Papers

The validity of self-reports in alcoholism research.