Consistent with research (Bijttebier, Goethals, & Ansom, 2006; Keller, Cummings, Davies, & Mitchell, 2008), study results highlight the importance of family functioning in the relationship between parental problem drinking and adolescent outcomes. For both girls and boys, maternal and paternal problem drinking negatively predicted family cohesion. In turn, family cohesion negatively predicted adolescent rule breaking and aggressive behaviors. However, family cohesion only mediated the relationship between paternal problem drinking and externalizing behaviors. For girls, family cohesion mediated the relationship between paternal problem drinking and both rule breaking and aggressive behavior. For boys, family cohesion only mediated the relationship between paternal problem drinking and rule breaking behavior. These findings suggest that feelings of closeness with family are particularly important for adolescent outcomes in the context of paternal problem drinking. Perhaps cohesion within the family serves to protect adolescents from the adverse consequences associated with paternal drinking. By drawing attention to cohesion among family members, these findings may have implications for interventions focused on supporting adolescents and families dealing with the consequences of problematic drinking.
