Posted on 08/19/2010 8:11:37 AM PDT by decimon
Italian youths whose parents allowed them to have alcohol with meals while they were growing up are less likely to develop harmful drinking patterns in the future, according to a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.
In a paper published in the journal Addiction, Research and Theory, a research team led by Lee Strunin, PhD, a professor of community health sciences at BUSPH, detailed their study of the drinking patterns and histories of 160 Italian adolescents and young adults who identified themselves as regular or heavy drinkers. The authors concluded that the introduction of a moderate amount of alcohol in a family setting could prevent young people from binge drinking and nurture healthier drinking behaviors.
"Young people allowed alcohol with meals when growing up were more likely to never drink 5 [or more drinks] or get drunk," the authors wrote. If they did drink more heavily, it was typically at a "later age than participants who weren't allowed alcohol in a family setting."
The researchers interviewed two groups of young people in the Italian regions of Abruzzo and Umbria. One consisted of 80 young adults aged 25-30; the second consisted of 80 adolescents, 16 to18 years old. "We were fortunate to be able to have such a large study sample to interview to help us understand this phenomenon," said Strunin.
Although the results focused on Italy, Strunin said they could be applied to different countries and could "assist in the design of policies to reduce alcohol problems and harmful behavior among young people."
Other reports have also suggested that alcohol introduced in a family setting may reduce alcohol-related risk behavior among young people, according to Strunin. Part of the reason, she said, could be that when alcohol is allowed, it is in a context in which there is openness about drinking, and moderate drinking with meals is considered normal.
"Youths in these cultures learn to drink more responsibly than their U.S. counterparts because drinking is culturally normative, exposure occurs at a younger age, and alcohol is part of the fabric of family mores," said the report.
It is important to note, the authors wrote, that the study focused on youths and young adults who drank wine during a meal with their family. "In talking about drinking in the family, we are talking about meal drinking, not sitting down with your child watching the football or baseball game with a six-pack," Strunin said. "The wine drinking is part of the meal."
In addition to Strunin, co-authors of the study are: Kirstin Lindeman of BUSPH; Enrico Tempesta and Simona Anav of Osservatorio Permanente sui Giovani e lAlcool, Rome, Italy; and Pierluigi Ascani and Luza Parisi of Format Research, Rome, Italy.
Funding for this study came from a grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
The paper is titled "Familial drinking in Italy: Harmful or protective factors" and is published online at the journal Addiction, Research and Theory.
Salut ping.
We experienced the same growing up in New Orleans. By the time I got to college, I didn’t have any desire for binge drinking. Many of my classmates did. I always thought, ‘what’s the big deal?’. But, college was the first time most of my classmates had the chance to drink.
I was brought up this way. There were never any alcoholics in my family or any families we knew.
Red wine, especially, contains resveratrol and other anti-oxidants which are suspected of removing free radicals and are a circulatory aid, as well.
Drinking age should be lowered to 18 too.
My parents took all the fun out of drinking. We never had to sneak around because beer and wine were not forbidden at home when we got to be about 17 or so.
We always had wine with Saturday dinner, and beer was available if we wanted to have a couple. The rules were simple, have it at home when the parents were present, no giving it to friends, and no driving or swimming.
So by high school senior year, I was not inclined to go out and drink. The thrill was gone.
I drank a small glass of pinot noir every evening during my pregnancy. Gasp!
I guess if the parents commonly drink wine at dinner, there's probably no harm in letting older teens participate. If the parents don't drink, then obviously, they shouldn't go out of their way to "expose" their teens to alcohol.
In that order. Circular. Balanced. Healthy.
What is UNHEALTHY is behavior in many US bars, people standing up, drink in hand, swigging like crazy, no food, not even a snack in sight, and no meaningful conversation...just ear splitting music.
In my opnion, this is anthetical to Italian style family drink...this (the latter) in my mind, encourages binges, barfing and alcoholism. I think it is all the manner in which you introduce alcohol into your system, and being social and communal about it is a big plus.
It was just horrible.
I suspect we are not Italian but I don't know for sure. Anyone have an idea?
perhaps the wine was past its ‘enjoy responsibly by’ date?
No, it's the "NOT ITALIAN" part Fur Shur.
Everybody? You mean the children? Barring some allergic reaction, this makes no sense.
My two cents. I think people are born alcoholic and perhaps there are lower rates of alcoholism in Italian’s genetic makeup.
My Catholic School permitted alcohol at school parties after the ninth grade...I am not a bum.
It’s utterly unsurprising though.
My parents did this with us..Gramps homemade Dago Red. I did it with both my boys and neither one is a heavy drinker as adults. Nothing wrong with enjoying a pasta dinner with family & friends and little vino.
I did have one mother flip out on me for having wine on the table when her son was there. He is now parked at the bar every night
There are over 1 billion people in the world with this condition. I strongly suspect NONE of them are Italian.
I think there is probably a scale of genetic alcoholic propensity.
The story, as I understand it, is that countries with wine as the primary drink have had low rates of alcoholism and countries with hard liquor have had high rates. I've read that alcoholism in Italy has risen as people have become more prosperous and switched to higher status drink like scotch. That, at least, is what I've read.
My father was Italian and I never liked that stuff. I also never liked beer though I drank it cuz I could afford it. I did like whiskey. Not scotch but real whiskey. ;-)
I think I've never had alcoholic tendencies because alcohol never made the world go away for me.
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