Text Messages Conveying Parental Drinking Limits: A Potential Avenue for Preventing and Reducing Alcohol Use in College Students

Previous studies have shown that when students perceive their parents set strict limits on underage drinking, they tend to consume less alcohol. However, the best ways to communicate these limits effectively remain unclear. To explore this, a recent study examined the potential impact of hypothetical text messages focused on drinking limits on students' estimated alcohol consumption.

The study involved 253 undergraduate students who participated in an online survey. They were asked to imagine a scenario where they planned to attend a night event that involved drinking. Each participant was randomly assigned to receive one of four hypothetical text messages from either their mother or father, which outlined varying drinking limits. The students then reported how much alcohol they would realistically consume if they were, and were not, expected to check in with their parent at the end of the night.

The results indicated that text messages from parents that included lower drinking limits were associated with lower estimated alcohol consumption among the students. Messages specifying a limit of zero drinks led to the lowest expected consumption, but setting a limit of 1–2 drinks had a similar effect, especially if parents required their student to check in at the end of the night.

These findings suggest that future research could further investigate how setting specific limits through parental text messages might influence college students' drinking behavior. Additionally, the study highlights the potential effectiveness of parents requesting their children to check in, which could reinforce the impact of the set limits.