Forbidden Fruit

Maia Szalavitz writes,

A recent study conducted by Wake Forest University researchers as part of the National Evaluation of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program, found in fact, that kids who drink with their parents at home are less likely to binge drink with peers. That same study also showed that parents who throw parties for teens which involve drinking have teens who drink more—but this is in the context of such parties being illegal, suggesting that those who do so under these circumstances may not be representative of those who would where a risk reduction approach was encouraged.

More details:

The...study shows that teens are more likely to binge drink if their parents or friends' parents provide alcohol at their home for a party...

...respondents who drank with their parents were about half as likely to indicate that they had drunk alcohol in the last 30 days and about one-third as likely to binge drink. "It appears that parents who model responsible drinking behaviors have the potential to teach their children the same," [Kristie Foley, Ph.D., a researcher at Wake Forest Baptist and the principal investigator of the study] said. "We did not investigate the context in which the alcohol was provided, for example, as part of a religious service or at a one-time celebration, but it appears that once something is not taboo in a household it reduces the likelihood that it will be abused. We need to do follow up studies to explore this issue further."