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Saturday, December 24, 2005 |
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Saturday, December 24, 2005 |
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"Much of the previous research in this area shows that adolescents make their decisions about drugs based on influence from their friends. But those studies neglect the notion we found here, that some of the family characteristics help determine who teens associate with. We also found that some steps taken by parents had a direct effect on lowering drug abuse, even in the face of peer influences," said lead researcher Stephen Bahr. According to the study, published in the new issue of Journal of Primary Prevention, the researchers conducted anonymous, random surveys of more than 4,000 seventh- through twelfth-graders. Statistical analysis revealed that the influence of peers is strong, but it is mediated by characteristics of parents. "Parents do have influence over who their kids are friends with, and they can directly influence that by monitoring their activity more closely," said study co-author John Hoffmann. The study found other actions parents took that had significant effects on drug use in addition to acting as gatekeepers over friends. For each degree of tolerance toward marijuana that teens perceive in their parents (measured on a 5-point scale), there is a 33 per cent increase in the frequency of marijuana use. The frequency of marijuana use drops by 10 per cent for each degree that teens perceive their parents are monitoring their activities, even after accounting for influence of peers. The risk of using an illicit drug drops by 14 per cent for each degree that teens believe their parents are monitoring their activities. "As long as kids are aware that their parents know what they’re doing, they’re going to be less likely to use it," Hoffmann said. The researchers advocate asking questions like: Who are your friends? Whose house are you going to? When will you be home? — ANI
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Contrary
