Table 2.

Studies examining the association between parental SES and alcohol consumption.

SN	Authors	Methodology description						Findings	Key strengths and limitations	Quality score
		Study design	Sample size (n)	Continent/country	Age range	Measure	Method of analysis
1	Moore and Littlecot (2015)	Cross-sectional	9,194	Wales	11–16 years	SES	The mixed-effects logistic regression model	Children and adolescents with high SES were found to be at a greater risk of drinking alcohol than those who were from low SES.	Families with higher SES backgrounds provide a suitable home environment for drinking alcohol. However, this cross-sectional study lacks to established causal association between the high SES and lower teenage smoking association.	8
2	Simetin et al. (2013)	Cross-sectional	1,601	Croatia	15 years	SES	Multi-level logistic regression	Adolescents from high SES had a higher chance of drunkenness (OR: 1.446; S.E.: 0.16) compared to those from low SES.	Predominantly, higher parental social status increases the probability of drinking alcohol in children and adolescents. However, adolescents’ resilience to socioeconomic inequalities may affect the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and risk behaviors.	8
3	Richter et al. (2009)	Cross-national	86,667	Europe (n = 26) North America (n = 2)	13–15 years	SES, parental occupation	Logistic regression	Low SES adolescents in most European regions had lower alcohol consumption rates, except in Spain and Latvia. Conversely, low SES North American adolescents, except in Canada, had higher alcohol consumption rates. Adolescents in Southern, Northern, and Western Europe with low parental occupation levels showed less alcohol consumption, except in Ireland and Wales. In contrast, adolescents from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and North America (excluding Canada) with low parental occupation levels had a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption compared to high-occupation level counterparts.	Interestingly, low parental SES and low level of occupation level enhance the heavy alcohol drinking problem in adolescents. However, methodological constraints limit conclusive results.	8
4	Liu et al. (2013)	Cross-national	3,690	China and Finland	11–5 years	SES	Logistic regression	High SES children and adolescents were more likely to initiate alcohol use at an early age (Girls: OR 1.55; Boys: OR 1.92) compared to their counterparts.	HIGH-SES adolescents are more likely to consume alcohol under parental supervision. However, self-reporting questionnaires related to alcohol use may be biased due to social desirability.	8
5	Poulain et al. (2019)	Longitudinal	992	German	3–8 years	SES, maternal education, maternal occupation	Mixed-effect model	Children and adolescents with highly educated mothers (OR: 1.04, 95% CI 0.91–1.18) and mothers in high-occupational positions (OR: 1.01, 95% CI 0.83–1.23) were more likely to engage in alcohol consumption compared to those with lower maternal education and occupation levels.	The availability of alcohol at home for various reasons (i.e., cultural activities, and celebrations) increased the chance of drinking alcohol. However, this study may have limited representativeness across socioeconomic classes, potentially limiting its broader applicability.	9
6	Melotti et al. (2011)	Longitudinal	5,699	UK	13 years	Family income, maternal education, occupation	Multiple logistic regression models	Adolescents with illiterate mothers had higher odds of alcohol consumption (OR: 1.26, 95% CI 1.05–1.52) compared to those with literate mothers. Similarly, adolescents from lower social class backgrounds also had higher odds of alcohol consumption (OR: 1.22, 95% CI 0.88–1.71). Conversely, lower family income was associated with lower odds of alcohol consumption (OR: 0.87, 95% CI 0.68–1.11)	Lower literacy levels and awareness seem to be effective in increasing the consumption of alcohol in adolescents. However, the study exhibits significant gaps in data, potentially impacting the validity and reliability of the conclusions.	10
7	Richter et al. (2006)	Cross-national	142,868	28 countries, including United State of America	11–15 years	SES	The multivariate logistic regression model	Low parental SES was associated with a reduced risk of drunkenness in children and adolescents across most European countries. However, boys from low parental occupation levels had a higher risk of drunkenness in several countries, while girls had a higher risk in most countries with low parental occupation, compared to their counterparts in high parental occupation.	There is a difference in accessing the resources. Indicating that alcohol is expensive, and lower-income families may prioritize basic needs over alcohol purchases. So, adolescents from low SES backgrounds are less likely to consume alcohol than those from high SES backgrounds. However, several methodological aspects limit the explanatory capacity of these results	8
8	Park and Hwang (2017)	Cross-sectional	72,435	South-Korea	13–18 years	SES	Multivariate logistic regression	Adolescents from low SES backgrounds had significantly lower alcohol consumption (OR: 0.809, 95% CI 0.782–0.869) compared to their counterparts.	The level of health literacy seems to decline in the consumption of alcohol in individuals. Thus, adolescents from low SES backgrounds had lower levels of health literacy and were more prone to consume alcohol compared with their counterparts. Nevertheless, there are certain methodological limitations in the study	8
9	Andersen et al. (2007)	Cross-sectional	1,302	Denmark	15 years	Parental social class	Multivariate logistic regression	Adolescents from high parental social class backgrounds were less likely to consume alcohol (Boys: OR: 0.53, 95% CI 0.28–1.01; Girls: OR: 0.55, 95% CI 0.27–1.13) compared to those from low parental social class.	Social prestige seems to be effective in decreasing the consumption of alcohol in adolescents. However, it did not provide a causal relationship between SES and drinking alcohol behavior.	8
10	Johansen et al. (2006)	Cross-sectional	3,458	Denmark	14–16 years	Maternal occupation	GEE logistic regression	Adolescents with unemployed mothers had a significantly reduced risk of weekly alcohol consumption (OR: 0.48, 95% CI 0.34–0.68) compared to their counterparts.	Being unemployed often means having limited financial resources. So, those who were from low SES backgrounds seemed to consume less alcohol compared with their counterparts. However, the study failed to establish a causal association between SES and drinking alcohol behavior.	6
11	Melotti et al. (2013)	Longitudinal	6,170	United Kingdom	11 years	Maternal education	Multivariable logistic regression	Children with mothers who had higher education were less likely to start drinking alcohol early (OR: 0.91, 95% CI 0.84–0.99) compared to their counterparts.	Educated individuals may have a better understanding of the potential negative consequences of alcohol consumption at a young age. Thus, those adolescents belonging to high parental education levels were found to have low alcohol consumption in their children. However, there might be a chance of reporting bias. So findings may be inconsistent.	10
12	Doku et al. (2012)	Cross-sectional	1,195	Ghana	12–18 years	SES	Logistic regression	Adolescents with low parental SES were found to have more drunkenness (OR: 2.3, 95% CI, 1.4–3.9) compared to those with high parental SES.	Adolescents have more free time and fewer constructive ways to spend it, potentially leading to alcohol use. However, data was collected using self-report measures and utilized a cross-sectional research design. So, it cannot establish a causal association and there might be a chance of biases in the findings.	7
13	Simetin et al. (2011)	Cross-sectional.	3,296	Croatia	11–15 years	SES	Binary logistic regression	Children and adolescents with high parental SES were found to have a higher chance of drunkenness (OR: 1.1, 95% CI 0.7–1.7) compared to those with low parental SES.	Social opportunities and the availability of alcohol at home seem to increase the chance of drinking alcohol in children and adolescents. Self-reporting bias and lack of causation limit conclusions on the high SES and drinking alcohol.	8
14	Pedroni et al. (2021)	Cross-sectional	4,364	Belgium	10–14 years	SES	Pearson’s chi-square tests and logistic regression	Children and adolescents from low parental SES were less likely to have consumed alcohol (Boys: OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.32–0.98; Girls: OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.40–1.23) compared to their high SES counterpart	Not all adolescents from low SES backgrounds will abstain from alcohol, and many factors, including personal choices, peer influences, and cultural contexts, can influence outcomes. However, the findings did not provide sufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship.	7
15	Lazzeri et al. (2014)	Cross-sectional	3,291	Italy	11–115 years	SES	Logistic regression	Children from households with high parental income had a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption (Children: OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.68–2.37) compared to those from low-income households. Conversely, adolescents with high parental income had a lower likelihood of alcohol consumption (Adolescents: OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52–0.96) compared to their low-income counterparts.	High parental income often provides children with greater financial resources, allowing them to afford alcohol or attend social events where alcohol is readily available. However, the self-reported questionnaire in this study may contain biases that influence the conclusions.	6
16	Sweeting and Hunt (2015)	Cross-sectional	2,503	Scotland	13–15	SES	Logistic regression	Adolescents with low parental SES were significantly found higher chance of ever drinking alcohol (OR: 1.18,95% CI, 0.69–2.01) compared to those with high parental SES.	Maybe some lower-income communities may contribute to a higher acceptance of alcohol consumption, as a social norm or coping mechanism. However, these results were influenced by potential bias.	9
17	Pape et al. (2018)	Cross-sectional	12,966	Norway	14–17 years	Parental education	Poisson regression	Adolescents with low parental education were found to have a higher chance of drinking alcohol (RR: 1.42, 95% CI 1.24–1.62) compared to their counterparts.	Adolescents with low parental education may have fewer opportunities for extracurricular activities. This can lead to more idle time and an increased likelihood of experimenting with alcohol. However, the findings were influenced by the way of measuring the drinking alcohol leading to unusual results.	8
18	Andersen et al. (2008)	Longitudinal	729	Denmark	15 years	SES	Multivariate logistic regression model	Adolescents from low SES were more likely to drink alcohol (Boys: OR: 1.67, 95% CI, 0.76–3.65) and (Girls: OR: 1.30, 95% CI, 0.47–3.58) than those from high SES.	Adolescents from families with low SES face additional stressors related to financial instability or other challenges. So, adolescents may turn to alcohol as a way to cope with these stressors. However, methodological constraints might influence the results of the study.	10