Underage drinking remains too common among our nation’s teenage girls. A survey commissioned by The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by distillers, finds that mothers of teenage daughters underestimate and misjudge the seriousness of their daughters’ underage drinking. Additionally, nearly 50% of mothers say it is acceptable for their teenage daughters to drink alcohol under some circumstances. This acceptance shows a misunderstanding on the mother’s part. The Century Council believes Girl Talk can help improve communication between moms and daughters.

The communication gap between mothers and daughters can be made smaller by educating mothers and daughters and encouraging discussion about the dangers of underage drinking. Although it’s clear that parents talking to their kids about drinking can greatly reduce the problem, parents often struggle with how to best start this conversation. Providing girls with accurate and relevant information is an important part of helping them make the right choice about alcohol.

The Century Council commissioned Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), a research firm that specializes in this age group, to conduct two phases of research to better understand the dynamics of underage drinking, in particular the relationship between mothers and daughters. The research was completed in March and April 2005.

TRU conducted eight mini-focus groups among mothers and daughters, including four focus groups of mother-daughter pairs. Based on the key findings from this qualitative phase of research, a quantitative survey was developed to better understand the dynamics of attitudes toward and conversations about alcohol and underage drinking between mothers and daughters. This survey was conducted April 12-19, 2005 among a national online sample a total of 875 respondents (496 daughters and 379 mothers). The margin of error for a sample this size at the 95 percent confidence level is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Sources
1. Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J.G. & Schulenberg, J. E. (2005). Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2004. (NIH Publication No. 05-5726). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2006). Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-30, DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-4194). Rockville, MD
3. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol: A Women's Health Issue. NIH Publication No. 04-4956, Revised 2005.
4. Hanna, E. Z. Hsiao-ye, Y., Dufour, M. C., et al. The relationship of drinking and other substance abuse alone and in combination to health and behavior problems among youth ages 12-16: Findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey. Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society of Alcoholism, June 24-29, 2000, Denver, CO.
5. Donovan, J. E., "Gender differences in alcohol involvement in children and adolescents: a review of the literature," Women and Alcohol: Issues for Prevention Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Research Monograph No. 32, Bethesda, MD, 1996.
6. Windle, M.A., "Alcohol use, suicidal behavior, and risky activities among adolescents," Journal of Research on Adolescence, Volume 2(4), 1992.
7. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol and Women. Alcohol Alert No. 10, 1990.
8. Department of Health and Human Services (1992). Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences (Office of Inspector General). Washington, D.C.
9. Schoen, C., Davis, K., Scott Collins, K, et al. (1997). The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adoclescent Girls.