‘Du kan få tag i det överallt’ : Föräldrars syn på sina möjligheter att påverka ungdomars förhållningssätt till alkohol och droger

Author: Johanna Lövall Title: ‘ You can get it everywhere’. Parents' views on their ability to influence young people's approach to alcohol and drugs. Supervisor: Teres Hjärpe Assessor: Katarina Jacobsson Background: There is extensive research from different national contexts pointing out parents and some specific parenting approaches as important in preventing or counteracting youth alcohol and drug use. In Swedish research, young people themselves have pointed out the importance of their own parents when it comes to their views on “use” and “misuse”. The aim of the study was to investigate how parents look at their role and their ability to influence children's approach to drugs and alcohol. To answer the purpose, qualitative interviews were conducted with parents of adolescents soon to start high school. The selection was made through a non-probability selection and convenience selection. The analysis, based on four interviews with in total six parents resulted in the following reflections: First of all, the interviews showed that in line with knowledge from research, parents see themselves as having a big responsibility in preventing teenagers from the use of alcohol and drugs and that this is partly related to feelings of social shame. Another result was that monitoring and authoritative parenting approaches such as information and communication towards the teenager was the main strategy that parents referred to when talking about active initiatives to prevent. Further: Most parents stated that they drink “modestly” in front of their children, but not use any kinds of drugs. Finally; parents did not worry more or less over sons’ and daughters’ potential use, however they worried over different consequences for girls and boys. A conclusion from this study is that parents seems well aware of results from previous research and theory pointing at the important role parents have in preventing drug use of young people, according to what they say. A question for further research is to what extent they really apply this knowledge in more unreflected parenting. Keywords: adolescents, alcohol, drugs, parents, preventive wor