Employing a focus theory of normative conduct and primary socialization theory, this inquiry hypothesized that parents’ references to the negative consequences of alcohol use, to their own past use, to conditional permissive messages about use, and to drinking responsibly (all from the adolescents’ viewpoints) are indirectly linked to adolescents’ intention to drink alcohol through their pro-alcohol norms. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that parents’ alcohol consumption, as perceived by the adolescents, would mitigate these indirect associations. Employing cross-sectional survey data from 259 high school students, parents’ references to the negative consequences of alcohol use were linked to weaker pro-alcohol norms, and in turn, weaker alcohol-use intention. By contrast, parents’ conditional permissive messages and references to drinking responsibly were linked to stronger pro-alcohol norms, and in turn, stronger alcohol-use intention. Adolescents’ perceptions of their mother’s and father’s alcohol consumption were significant moderators of what they said to their children about alcohol.