How Parents of Adolescents Store and Monitor Alcohol in the Home

In this study, we explored how and where parents store alcohol in the home, and how they monitor this stored alcohol. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of youths, aged 15-18 years, in northern California. We found that parents typically stored alcohol in unsecured locations easily accessible to adolescents. Parental monitoring of alcohol included counting or marking bottles and hiding alcohol. However, parents reported that they relied primarily on their memory and intuition to monitor alcohol and admitted that they would not notice if small amounts of alcohol disappeared.