Role Of Parents And Family In Children’s Drug Use

8 Pages 1916 Words

he parents’ use or abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs significantly increases the youth’s chances of using, using early, and being dependent on the substance (Conger and Rueter, 1996). Furthermore, encouraging or ignoring the youth’s use of alcohol and other drugs significantly increases their use (John et al., 1985). 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. Such involvement may include giving the youth a try, or asking the youth to get a beer or light a cigarette (Hansen etal., 1987). The parent’s attitude and parental permissiveness toward the youth’s yse is a key factor in teenage drug use, as much as, or more in some cases, than peer pressure. One 1993 study conducted by the Johnson Institute in Minneapolis found that when teenagers are allowed to drink at home, it not only increases the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic, but also to develop interests in other more severe substances such as cocaine, heroine, ecstasy etc. This is evident in Asian families, in which drinking during the Chinese New Year is supervised and encouraged, the percentage of teenage population that are alcoholics are higher than in America. The influence of family siblings appears to have both a concurrent direct effect and a delayed indirect effect on a brother or sister’s risk of becoming a heavy drinker (Conger and Rueter, 1996).

Family management practices and family communication patterns have a great impact on a youth’s attitude toward substance abuse as well. The child raised with a warm and comfortable parenting style develops firm resistance to substances...