In cities across India, weekend gatherings and college parties often come with the clink of glasses and a quiet sense of expectation that drinking is part of belonging. For many young adults, saying “no” to alcohol is not simply about self-control; it’s about resisting a tide of social pressure.
Yet new psychological insights suggest that the ability to do so may be shaped long before the first drink is ever offered. A recent quantitative study I conducted, titled “Parenting Styles, Peer Pressure and Alcohol Consumption among College Students in Bangalore”, conducted among nearly 200 college students aged 18 to 25, explored how family dynamics and social influence intersect to shape drinking behaviour.
“The study found that those raised by authoritative parents, who are warm, supportive, yet firm, were significantly less likely to give in to peer pressure or engage in risky drinking. The combination of emotional closeness and consistent boundaries appears to nurture confidence and independent decision-making, qualities that protect young adults when social norms demand conformity.”
By contrast, parenting styles that are either overly strict or overly lenient offer weaker safeguards.
Summary: Authoritative parenting—warm, supportive, and firm—reduces susceptibility to peer pressure and risky drinking in college students, while extreme parenting styles offer weaker protection.