Digital Communication Between Parents and College Students: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Alcohol Use and Daily-Level Associations

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT College student alcohol use is a significant public health concern, contributing to injury, assault, and long-term risk for alcohol use disorder1. While peer influence is well-established, parents are receiving growing attention as the second-most important influence on student drinking behavior, with frequency, tone, and content of parent-student conversations having protective, neutral, or even harmful impacts2–8. Although students now rely heavily on digital platforms (e.g., texting, online messaging) for communication with their parents9, prior research has largely examined parent-student communication in general, without attending to distinct features of digital interactions. Little is known about how digital communication specifically relates to student drinking behavior, and even less is known about the actual content of these messages. Moreover, most existing studies have relied on cross-sectional and self-report data. No study to date has investigated how digital parent- student communication is associated with student alcohol use, how it unfolds within individuals over time, or which student characteristics moderate these associations. The proposed study will use an innovative, mixed- methods approach to address these gaps using a sample of college students who report frequent alcohol use and digital parent-student communication. Aim 1 will qualitatively assess experiences of digital parent-student communication among 15 parent-student dyads. Aim 2 will use ambulatory assessment methods with 100 students over 5 weekends to estimate the average within-family lagged effect of daily digital parent-student communication (via self-report and content analysis of screenshots of communication) on subsequent student alcohol use, enhancing temporal inference and capturing day-to-day fluctuations. Certain features of communication (e.g., affirming tone, timing before drinking events) are hypothesized to be associated with lower alcohol use and fewer consequences, with small to moderate effect sizes, consistent with prior literature. Aim 3 will consist of novel tests of moderation to understand which factors might modulate the influence of parent-student communication on the drinking outcome. Digital communication is expected to be most protective for those earlier in college with lower baseline alcohol risk, stricter perceived parental and peer norms, lower perceived peer alcohol use, and stronger parent relationships. Findings will provide novel, ecologically valid insights into digital parent-student communication and student alcohol use. These insights will directly inform future prevention efforts aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm and align with NIAAA’s mission by identifying promising messaging strategies and modifiable intervention targets. The proposed project will be well supported by a rigorous training plan, extensive resources, and mentorship within a highly supportive, collaborative research environment. Funding provided by this award will be essential for the applicant’s development as an independent researcher focused on parental influences on alcohol use.