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Thomas S. May, M.A.Medical Writer |
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Bring in the Parents: Preventing Teen Drug Abuse
Thomas S. May, Medical Writer Introduction Studies show that teens who start using drugs are more likely to become addicted to them than people who start using after age 21. And most people who abuse drugs start in their teenage years, while they are still living with their parents. This gives parents a unique opportunity (and responsibility) to stop the problem before it starts. "Although all children and teens are at risk for drug use, some are at greater risk than others," says Carol Loveland-Cherry, PhD, associate dean at University of Michigan's School of Nursing. She cites drug use by family members; lack of a nurturing, supportive family environment; and a lack of clear and consistently enforced rules among the risk factors. Early problem behavior often leads to drug abuse, according to Anthony Biglan, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon. "There appears to be a subgroup [of children] that are more likely than most kids to get into drug use and abuse. One of the most important risk factors is an early history of aggressive social behavior," Dr. Biglan says. "Young children who engage in high levels of aggressive and disruptive behavior are likely to continue this behavior in the absence of some sort of school-based or family-focused intervention. Such children often do poorly in school and tend to become friends with other young people who engage in disruptive or risky behaviors. It is in this context that young people begin using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs," Dr. Biglan explains. Several studies have shown that family interventions can play a significant role in reducing the risk factors associated with drug use, says David Hawkins, PhD, director of the Social Development Research Group at University of Washington in Seattle. "The first thing that parents can do is to be very clear about what their standards are, and if they want to reduce the risk they should encourage their children to delay the use of alcohol until they are of legal drinking age," Hawkins says. "Just being clear about your standards as a parent and communicating those explicitly to your child is a very important thing to do during adolescence, he adds.
Setting clear standards and establishing limits are crucial for preventing
teen drug abuse. Don't Just Say No
Setting clear standards and establishing limits are crucial for preventing
teen drug abuse, but there are many other things parents can do as well,
according to Hawkins. "We also know that good family management practices
are very important," he says.
"When parents set clear expectations, when they monitor their children, and when they are consistent and moderate in their discipline, that good family management is associated with a reduced risk for an initiation of drug use. You should also recognize and reward positive behavior," Hawkins adds.
It
is also important to set standards that children can agree to and make a
commitment to live by, according to Hawkins. "Once a child or a teenager
has made a commitment to not using drugs, then it is important for that
teenager to have the skills to be able to resist peer influences and other
social influences to use drugs. So it is useful for parents to teach their
children so-called refusal skills--skills for how to say no to trouble and
still keep their friends and have a good time," he says. Not Even a Drop? Many people believe that allowing older adolescents to drink small amounts of alcohol in the home--with their parents present--may teach them to drink in controlled ways, and that prohibiting it entirely may result in their learning to binge drink through their drinking bouts with friends. Most experts disagree with this position, though.
For example, Hawkins says that the earlier children begin to drink, the
greater the risk that they will misuse alcohol. Harold Holder, PhD,
director of the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, California,
agrees: "Some parents believe that providing alcohol to adolescents (for
example via 'keg parties' in which the parents are present) is good," he
says.
He also points out that "not only are parents liable if adolescents (other than their own children) are given alcohol, they are also in violation of all [US] state laws. Alcohol is not like milk or soda."
"However, there is clear evidence that this encourages heavy consumption and communicates the acceptability of drinking to adolescents--even though the laws of all states specify 21 years [as the minimum legal drinking age]. It also increases the availability of alcohol to kids, and increasing the availability of alcohol to adolescents increases the risk of heavy drinking, drinking problems, and drinking-related harm," Holder says.
According to Dr. Hawkins, parents should also make sure that if they
themselves drink alcohol in the home, they should do so responsibly, in
moderation: "If you are a parent and you drink responsibly--in other
words, you're not modeling binge drinking but you're modeling responsible
alcohol use for your children--there doesn't appear to be any risk
associated with the parental drinking."
Thomas S. May is a medical
journalist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has a master's degree in
psychology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Source: Medscape Health
Reprinted from Medscape Health for Consumers.
Thomas S. May is a medical
journalist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has a master's degree in
psychology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Source: Medscape Health
Reprinted from Medscape Health for Consumers.
Thomas S. May is a medical
journalist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has a master's degree in
psychology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Source: Medscape Health
Reprinted from Medscape Health for Consumers.
Thomas S. May is a medical
journalist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has a master's degree in
psychology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Source: Medscape Health
Reprinted from Medscape Health for Consumers.
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