Curbing adolescents’ risky ‘drinking’ behavior with authenticity

They’re inexperienced, their developing brains are more susceptible to permanent damage, and they’re more likely to engage in risky behaviour.¹ The best scenario is for young people to abstain from drinking until their brains are full developed, however, in a culture of drinking this is difficult. If you’re a parent, or even a marketer or policy maker, how do you convince adolescents to drink responsibly? You might stress the negative consequences, using fear as your motivator. New research from Dr David Jaud, however, points to an alternative approach.

Dr David Jaud is the Wine Business Program Director at the University of Adelaide. Together with researchers from New Zealand and France, Jaud investigated how to reduce risky behaviour in adolescents. Their investigation placed special emphasis on authenticity. ‘From an adolescent’s perspective,’ says Jaud, ‘authenticity is fundamentally about a sense of being one’s true self and engaging with “others” (family, friends, teachers) who are perceived as open, genuine, and trustworthy.’

This idea goes back thousands of years to the time of Confucius, who saw a connection between obedience and sincerity.² Conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies, Jaud and his research partners examined what authenticity can do to help young people through the turbulent years of adolescence.
They began with four proposals. The first is about authentic messaging. When we communicate about alcohol consumption, if we stress the negatives and ignore the positives, then our message might conflict with an adolescent’s experience. This may lead the adolescent to distrust the message. Would you follow advice you didn’t trust? In both studies, Jaud and his research partners found that young people are more likely to engage with messages that acknowledge the good and the bad. Young people perceive these messages as more authentic, and hence more trustworthy.

The next two proposals are about authentic behaviour in parents. Adolescents are more likely to trust authentic messaging if it comes from parents who: Are open about their own past experiences with alcohol, and who model the behaviour they expect of their adolescents. Parents who model responsible drinking, for example, can expect their young person to follow their advice as the parents  ‘walk the talk’. Similarly, parents who share details about their own adolescent experiences come across more authentic. 
‘[Our findings suggest that] being open and consistent makes the key messages more authentic and trustworthy.’

The last proposal is about authentic behaviour in the adolescents themselves. Often parents think the most obvious way to stop their adolescents drinking irresponsibly is to prevent them drinking altogether. Parents stand to earn more trust by giving their adolescents the space to experience and learn about drinking responsibly, while setting age-appropriate boundaries.

‘I had to find my own limits,’ says an adolescent interviewed for the study. ‘[My parents are] not going to be able to teach me what I can drink and not. You’ve got to do it cautiously, in the right environment.’

The University of Adelaide, a place of discovery for many young people, is eager to expand the world’s knowledge for adolescent health and well-being. Jaud and colleagues’ research was done in the context of alcohol consumption, but they believe it has the potential to apply to risky behaviour more broadly. From drugs to social media to dangerous feats of physical daring, adolescents are beset by risks on all sides. The transition from childhood to adulthood is slow, uncomfortable and confusing. Authenticity, openness and trust might be what we post-adolescents need to help them through to the other side.

¹ Australian Government (2017) National Drug Strategy 2017–2026. Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Health). Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-drug-strategy… (Accessed: 8 February 2025).

² ‘There is a way to being obedient to one’s parents;-if one, on turning his thoughts in upon himself, finds a want of sincerity, he will not be obedient to his parents.’ Confucius and Legge, J. (2016) The Doctrine of the Mean, in Confucianism: The Four Books and Five Classics — Collected Works of Confucius. Hastings, East Sussex: Delphi Classics. Available at: www.delphiclassics.com (Accessed: 09 February 2025).
 

Article reference

Hess, A. C., Dodds, S., Jaud, D. A., Garnier, C., & Gergaud, O. (2025). Curbing Adolescents’ Risky Drinking Behavior with Authenticity. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/07439156241291476