Good relationship with
parents may prevent teen drinking problems
Friday, April 24,
2009
Teenagers who have a strong relationship with their parents may
start drinking at a later age -- which may, in turn, lessen their
risk of developing alcohol problems, a new study suggests.
The findings, published in the May issue of the Journal of Studies
on Alcohol and Drugs, underscore the important role parents play in
the risk of problem drinking.
Past studies have suggested that the age at which kids start
drinking is a key factor in whether they eventually develop
alcohol-related problems, like getting into fights or having
academic or work problems.
So it often has been assumed that drinking at an early age, in and
of itself, is the problem, explained the study's lead author, Dr.
Emmanuel Kuntsche, of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of
Alcohol and Drug Problems in Lausanne, Switzerland.
"Our work shows that the 'preventive effect' of a later drinking
age is likely to be a side effect of a good parent-child
relationship," Kuntsche said. "In other words, the circumstances in
which that first drinks occurs -- and how parents deal with it --
is important."
For their study, Kuntsche and his colleagues surveyed 364 teenagers
three times over two years. They found that in general, teens who
reported an earlier drinking age during the first survey tended to
be drinking more heavily by the second survey, and were at greater
risk of drinking-related problems by the third survey.
But a closer look at the data revealed the importance of parents'
influence. In fact, only teenagers who reported both a later
drinking age and a high-quality relationship with their parents had
a lower risk of drinking problems compared with their peers.
A high-quality relationship was one where teenagers felt they could
discuss their problems with their parents and that their parents
respected their feelings.
The findings, Kuntsche and his colleagues say, suggest that such
parent-child relationships can "trigger a spiral of healthy
development during adolescence" that may lead to a lower risk of
alcohol problems.
Parents, Kuntsche said, should remember how important they are when
it comes to their children's risk of substance abuse. Being
attentive to their children's needs in general, he noted, may be
one way to protect them from developing drinking problems.
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Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Thanks to Journal of Studies on
Alcohol and Drugs for this article.
