Parenting strategies regarding teen behavior: Parent and teen perceptions

Objective: To examine parents' awareness of their adolescents' alcohol-related behavior and compare parent and teen perceptions of parent strategies to manage teen behavior. Methods: Four hundred twenty-eight parents and their adolescents were recruited via random digit dialing for telephone interviews. Results: Parents underestimated their adolescents' alcohol-related behavior. Although most parents reported appropriate parenting strategies, they relied primarily on passive strategies to supervise teen behavior. Conclusion: Parents employed a limited repertoire of strategies to manage teen behavior. Parent education programs should foster proactive parenting by broadening parents' repertoire of strategies to monitor and manage their teens' behavior.