Parenting Behaviors as Moderators of the Relationship between Immigrant Status and Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Israel

Adolescent alcohol use is a subject of concern. Despite research showing an association between parenting behaviors and alcohol use, scarce research has examined whether associations are similar across immigrant status. This question is relevant given that immigration can disrupt parent–adolescent relations. The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating role of parenting behaviors (support, parental knowledge, and communication) on the association between immigrant status and alcohol use (drunkenness and heavy episodic drinking). The study included representative samples of first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents from the Former Soviet Union (FSU; N = 1,167) and Ethiopia (N = 385), and non-immigrant (N = 6,669) adolescents in Israel. Non-immigrant adolescents reported higher levels of parenting behaviors and lower levels of alcohol use than immigrant adolescents. Parenting behaviors were negatively associated with alcohol use, but there were no interactions between parenting behaviors and immigrant status. However, differences in parenting behaviors partly explained differences in alcohol use across groups.