Positive
Parenting
The
majority of teens say the greatest risk in using marijuana is
upsetting their parents (69%), followed by losing the respect of
friends and family (67.2%).
-- Partnership for a
Drug-Free America. (2005). Marijuana Report: Assessment of the
National Anti-Drug Media Campaign.
Youth who
are not regularly monitored by their parents are four times more
likely to use illicit drugs.
-- Metzler, Rusby and
Biglan. (1999). Community builders for success: monitoring
after-school activities. Oregon Research Institute.
Kids who
learn about the risks of marijuana and other illicit drugs from
their parents are far less likely to use drugs.
-- SAMHSA. (2005).
Perceived Parental Disapproval of Substance Use. National Survey
on Drug Use and Health, 2004.
Parents who
involve youth in their own use or misuse of alcohol, tobacco, or
other drugs also increase the youth's chances of using earlier
than other children. Involvement may include giving a child a
"sip" or asking your teen to get you a beer or light a cigarette
for you.
-- 18 Hansen, W.B.,
Graham, J.W., Sobel, J.L., Shelton, D.R., Flay, B.R., &
Johnson, C.A. (1987). The consistency of peer and parent
influences on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among young
adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 559-579; Brook,
J.S., Brook, D.W., Gordon, A.S., Whiteman, M., & Cohen, P.
(1990). The psychosocial etiology of adolescent drug use. A
family intersectional approach. Genetic, Social, and General
Psychology Monographs, 116(2); Jackson, C., Henriksen, L.,
Dickinson, D., & Levine, D.W. (1997). The early use of
alcohol and tobacco: Its relation to children's competence and
parents' behavior. American Journal of Public Health,
87(3/March), 359-364.
Parents' or
caregivers' use or abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs
significantly increases the youth's chances of using, using
early, and being dependent on the substance.
-- Hawkins, J.D.,
Catalano, R.F. & Miller, J.Y. (1992). Risk and protective
factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and
early adulthood: Implications for substance abuse prevention.
Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 64-105; Biglan, T., Duncan, T.E.,
Ary, D.V. & Smolkowski, K. (1995). Peer and parental
influences on adolescent tobacco use. Jounral of Behavioral
Medicine, 18(4), 315-330.
Many
studies have found that positive relationships or connectedness
between parents and adolescents is linked to avoidance or lower
use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
-- 21 Hundleby, J.D.,
& Mercer, G.W. (1987). Family and friends as social
environments and their relationship to young adolescents' use of
alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Journal of Marriage and the
Family, 49, 151-164; Resnick, M.D., Bearman, P.S., et al. (1997).
Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National
Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health, Journal of the American
Medical Association, 278(10): 823-832. As cited in Moore, K.A.,
Guzman, L., Hair, E., Lippman, L. & Garrett, S. (2004).
Parent-teen relationships and interactions: Far more positive
than not. Child Trends Research Brief, Publication
2004-25.
Adolescents
who have high-quality relationships with their parent are less
likely to initiate sex or be sexually active.
-- Miller, B.C. (1998).
Families Matter: A research sysnthesis of family influences on
adolescent pregnancy. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
When family
monitoring and rules are in place, adolescents are much less
likely to begin using drugs, primarily by affecting the teen's
choice of friends.
-- 24 Mann, A. (2003).
Relationships matter: Impact of parental, peer factors on teen,
young adult substance use. NIDA Notes, 18(2), August
2003.
Studies
show that parents who are overly permissive and unwilling to set
limits deprive teens of needed guidance and supervision, which
puts them at risk of all kinds of risk behavior. Lax,
inconsistent or excessively harsh discipline and excessive,
unrealistic demands have also been associated with youth drug
use.
-- Kumpfer, K.,
Olds, D., Alexander, J., Zucker, R., & Gary, L. (1999).
Family etiology of youth problems. In R.S. Ashery (Ed.), Research
meeting on drug abuse prevention through family intervention.
NIDA Research Monograph 177, pp. 42-78.
High school
teens whose parents communicate with them about key life
transitions are more likely to honestly report what they are
doing and with whom they are spending time with (96% vs. 77%),
are more likely to be influenced by their parents not to drink
(87% vs. 53%) and are more likely to be influenced by their
parents to not use drugs (91% vs. 69%).
-- SADD (Students
Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual. (2005). Teens
Today 2005.
Research
shows teens whose parents use a "balanced" parenting style--are
warm and involved, firm in setting limits and show respect for
their teen--do better in school, report less depression and
anxiety, have higher self-esteem and self-reliance, and are less
likely to engage in all types of risky problem behavior,
including drug and alcohol use, sex or violence.
-- Steinberg, L. (2001).
We know some things: Parent-adolescent relationships in
retrospect and prospect. Presidential Address. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 11(1), 1-19. Lamborn, S., Mounts, N.,
Steinberg, L., & Dornbusch, S. (1991). Patterns of competence
and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative,
authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful homes. Child Development,
62, 1049-1065; Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S., Darling, N., Mounts,
N., & Dornbusch, S. (1994). Over-time changes in adjustment
and competence among adolescents from authoritative,
authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful families. Child
Development, 65, 754-770; and Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S.,
Dornbusch, S., & Darling, N. (1992). Impact of parenting
practices on adolescent adjustment: Authoritative parenting,
school involvement, and encouragement to succeed. Child
Development, 63, 1266-1281.
