Parental Guidance in Relation to Teen Substance Use

According to current statistics released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “In the United States in 2011, there were an estimated 25.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17. In the past year, more than one quarter of adolescents drank alcohol, approximately one fifth used an illicit drug, and almost one eighth smoked cigarettes” ("A Day in the Life of American Adolescents," 2013, para. 1). Substance abuse is major problem amongst adolescents. Some are experimenting, but some adolescents may become dependent on a particular substance. If one becomes dependent on a substance as an adolescent it could be detrimental to their future health and success as an adult. Spear (2003) stated in an article titled Alcohol’s

Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95.

Drug use by parents and/or older siblings, coupled with tolerant parental viewpoints concerning drug usage by young people, can put youth at a greater risk of drug and alcohol use (Yu, 2003). Close parental supervision along with strongly promoted household rules influence and help deter the use of alcohol/drugs among youth (Yu, 2003). 7 million of American adolescents younger than 18 years old have parents that are alcoholics (Yu, 2003). Children of alcohol abusers have a greater chance of having behavioral and medical problems. This includes criminal behavior, learning disabilities, ADHD, emotional/ mental conditions, and problematic drinking or alcoholism once they’re adults (Yu,

Adolescent substance abuse is a phenomenon in our country that has been steadily inclining ever since the 2000’s. The effects of this incline are very straight forward and call for action. The facts are that alcohol and drugs are the leading causes of crime among youth and that alcohol and drugs are the leading factors in teenage suicide. (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 2014) Because adolescence is such a crucial developmental age the effects of alcohol and drug use are catastrophic. To fully understand this phenomenon we must firs operationalize all of the factors we are trying to study. The DSM V classifies substance abuse as,

Per Alati, Baker, Betts, Connor, Little, Sanson, and Olsson (2014), heavy parental alcohol consumption has played a role in early alcohol consumption of adolescents between twelve and fifteen years old. Mothers who drink heavily when their children are young also contribute to the development of an alcohol disorder in male adolescents and young adults (Alati et al, 2014). Parental use and abuse of drugs and alcohol is associated with adolescents as young as twelve years of age experimenting with drugs and alcohol (Sittner, 2015). Parents who use drugs and alcohol demonstrate to their children that drug and alcohol use is normal and acceptable. Thus, adolescents believe there is nothing wrong with using drugs and alcohol because their parents are using drugs and alcohol. In addition to parental substance use contributing to adolescent substance use, poor parent-child relationships also play a

Adolescent substance abuse is a major problem in society. There are many risk factors that can contribute to adolescent substance abuse. One of the main risk factors is peer pressure. When adolescents start at a young age there is an increase in health problems, addiction, and over all poor social outcomes. Parental influence has substantial effect on adolescents because the adolescent sees their parents and they learn by their example. Media plays a role in the use of drug and alcohol use among young people. Many school systems have implemented programs that teach adolescents about the problems of substance abuse that is funded

In today 's society substance abuse is a common problem throughout the United States of America. The objective of the experiment is to show the correlation between substance use behaviors of parents and their children’s substance use initiation and other risky behaviors. The experiment is focused on the role of mothers and fathers as a separate study. The surveys that take place through a series of interviews include two people from a selected household, one parent and one child. This topic was of interest to me because I grew up with an alcoholic father. Alcoholism has affected my family in many ways, and I am interested in seeing the correlation between my behavior and my fathers.

Parental substance abuse is something that both directly and indirectly affects a child. Intervention programs have been designed to help eliminate certain risk factors that some adolescents are prone to if they live with at least one parent who has some type of substance abuse problem. Intervention programs vary in many different types and styles. Some intervention programs focus on individuals and others focus on communities or the entire family as as unit. A study done by Lewis, A. J., Holmes, N., Watkins, B., & Mathers, D. (2015) focused on trying to answer whether or not intervention programs aided in reducing the outcomes of parental substance abuse. For this study, the intervention program of focus was named Supporting Kids and

Parents in particular can have either a positive or negative influence. Parents can help their children avoid alcohol problems by talking about the dangers of drinking, drinking responsibly, if they choose to drink, serving as positive role models in general, not making alcohol available, getting to know their children’s friends, having regular conversations about life in general, connecting with other parents about sending clear messages about the importance of not drinking alcohol, supervising all parties to make sure there is no alcohol, encouraging kids to participate in healthy and fun activities that do not involve alcohol. Research shows that children whose parents are actively involved in their lives are less likely to drink alcohol. On the other hand, research shows that a child with a parent who binge drinks is much more likely to binge drink than a child whose parents do not binge

The authors of the article realized there is a problem with adolescents participating in heavy drinking acts prior to the onset of college. It is believed that when an adolescent reaches the point of drinking more than five drinks at a time, it will eventually turn into drinking problem later on in life. The cause for adolescent alcohol use are often the social influences around them.1 Therefore, in order to get to the bottom of this issue, parents and peers became a big factor of the investigation of how they impact adolescent drinking. Research suggests that there is a relationship between teen drinking and their parent’s morals and attitudes towards drinking.2 Although there has been previous research done on adolescent’s alcohol consumption, research has been geared to the reasons as to why adolescents take part in this kind of behavior in the first place.1

According to recent statistics, data regarding teen drinking indicates that youth usually drink less frequently than adults, but tend to drink more when they choose to use alcohol. In terms of gender,

Drug addiction is a serious issue in not only America today, but globally. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, substance addiction is a “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite the harmful consequences” (“What is drug addiction?”). Drug abuse affects not only the user, but those around the user as well. The actions of a drug user place a significant amount of worry on the people that are closest to them such as friends and family. Children with parents who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be severely affected by the actions of their parents which can cause them much harm in terms of biological and

Cassandra J. Dorius, Stephen J. Bahr, and colleges (2004) examined the buffering effects of closeness to the mother, closeness to the father, parental support and parental monitoring on adolescent use of marijuana and association with peers who use drugs. Results showed closeness to the father and an adolescent’s perception of being caught for breaking the rules helped defend against marijuana use and negative peer associations (Dorius et al 2004). Fathers have traditionally been the disciplinarians of the family. Closeness to the father may indicate adolescents place a greater emphasis on impressing the father and making him proud. Disappointing the father, coupled with disciplinary

The purpose of this brief overview is to outline the different effects of drugs and alcohol on youths and their families. Addictions have become a problem for many households. Many parents don’t realize that the youth has an addiction problem until the problem has gotten out of control and to the point that family is in a crisis. Parents may feel as if it's their fault and the addition has torn the family apart. In the study, it reviews how parents seek to understand and gain experience on how to cope with substance abuse issues emerging with their adolescence.

This knowledge is shared with parents, who may then conclude that adolescent drinking is happening right under their nose. This is not always the case. In a study done by McGillicuddy et al. (2012), they looked at the agreement between parent and adolescent reports on the adolescent’s alcohol use. That is, they asked parents and adolescents to report on how much the adolescent drank and compared the reports. What they found was that reports were in “poor” agreement regarding if the adolescent used alcohol at all, and were “fair-to-good” regarding alcohol consumption. Oftentimes, the parent overestimated use or reported they were using when the adolescent reported no use. This helps to show that parents may overestimate their adolescent’s alcohol use.