Investigators
Robyn Johnston, Briana Guerrini, Esther Santoso, Vincent Mancini, and Francis Mitrou
Project description
Children and young people are influenced by the environments in which they live. Evidence suggests that cumulative exposure to alcohol stimuli in community settings (e.g., alcohol marketing, alcohol sales, alcohol outlets, and alcohol use by others) can normalise alcohol use for children and young people and increase their risk of alcohol-related harms, including an increased likelihood of early alcohol use. To reduce potential harms to children and young people, there is value in reducing their exposure to alcohol stimuli in community settings. There has been limited research exploring parents’ attitudes, beliefs and values related to their children’s exposure to alcohol stimuli in community settings and their views on the effects of this exposure. Developing a clearer understanding of WA parents’ perceptions surrounding children and young people’s exposure to alcohol in community settings will inform prevention approaches.
This project aimed to explore the views of Western Australian parents of children aged 3-17 years about children’s exposure to alcohol stimuli in community settings in WA. The specific project objectives were to:
- Explore current attitudes of WA parents to the exposure of children and young people to alcohol-related stimuli.
- Explore current awareness of WA parents regarding risks associated with the exposure of children and young people to alcohol-related stimuli.
- Identify WA parents’ support for action to reduce the exposure of children and young people to alcohol-related stimuli in community settings.
Project findings
Parents provided a number of insights into their awareness, attitudes, beliefs and understandings about children’s exposure to alcohol stimuli in community settings. Parents also discussed features of community settings that influence their concern about the availability of alcohol stimuli and suggested a range of strategies to reduce harms from young people’s exposure to alcohol stimuli. For a full description of this research, the report can be accessed below.
Funders
Cancer Council WA with support from Heathway