I know that in Magento 1.4.2.0 one gets parent id\'s like so
list( $parentId ) = Mage::getModel(\'catalog/product_type_configurable\')
Here is another solution for magento 1.7.2
$parentIds = Mage::getSingleton('catalog/product_type_configurable')->getParentIdsByChild($mageProduct->getId());