Hands-On Parents Affect Teens Positively
Kids Less Likely to Drink & Drug
CASA News ReleaseOnly one in four teens in America (27 percent, about 6.5 million) lives with "hands-on" parents--parents who have established a household culture of rules and expectations for their teen's behavior and monitor what their teens do: such as the TV shows they watch, the CD's they buy, what they access on the Internet, and where they are evenings and weekends.
These teens are at one quarter the risk of smoking, drinking and using drugs as teens with "hands-off" parents, according to a new survey of 1,000 American teens ages 12-17 released by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
The 2000 CASA National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VI - Teens for the first time correlated each teen's risk of substance abuse with a series of 12 possible actions the teen attributed to his or her parents. "Hands-on" parents consistently take at least 10 of these actions. "Hands-off" parents take five or less.
Nearly one in five teens (18 percent, about 4.3 million teens) lives with "hands-off" parents and is at four times the risk of substance abuse as teens with "hands-on" parents.
Parents Not Pals
"The loud and clear message of the survey is this: moms and dads should be parents to their children, not pals," said CASA President and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr. "Mothers and fathers who are parents rather than pals can greatly reduce the risk of their children smoking, drinking and using drugs. They can counter negative media influences and the prevalence of marijuana and other drugs in a teen's world. Whatever the family structure, whether the teen lives with both parents, a single mom or a single dad, their risk of smoking, drinking or using illegal drugs in "hands-on" households is dramatically lower than that of the average teen."
The 12 actions against which parental conduct is measured are: monitor what their teens watch on TV; monitor what they do on the Internet; put restrictions on the CD's they buy; know where their teens are after school and on weekends; are told the truth by their teens about where they really are going; are "very aware" of their teen's academic performance; impose a curfew; make clear they would be "extremely upset" if their teen used pot; eat dinner with their teens six or seven nights a week; turn off the TV during dinner; assign their teen regular chores; and have an adult present when the teen returns from school.
"Hands-on" Parents Have Better
Relationships with Their Teens
Despite the conventional wisdom that many teens don't want their parents to establish rules and expectations the survey found that teens with "hands-on" parents are much more likely to have an excellent relationship with their parents than teens with "hands-off" parents:
- 47 percent of teens living in "hands-on" households report an excellent relationship with their fathers, only 13 percent living in "hands-off" households do.
- 57 percent of teens in "hands-on" households report an excellent relationship with their mother, only 24 percent living in "hands-off" households do.
"Hands-off" parents consistently fail to set rules and monitor their teen's behavior. Teen risk goes up when parents fail to:
- monitor their teen's television and Internet viewing, and restrict the CD's they purchase. These teens are at twice the risk of those teens whose parents monitor these activities.
- know where their teen is after school and on weekends or expect their teen to tell them where they are going at night or on weekends. These teens are at twice the risk of teens whose parents do these.
- have dinner with their teens six or seven times a week. These teens are at one and a half times the risk of teens who have dinner with their parents nearly every night.
- give teen a clear message about marijuana use. Parents whose teens think they would "not be too upset" about their teen smoking pot have teens at more than three times the risk of teens who think their parents would be "extremely upset."
"It is time for every parent to look in the mirror rather than look outside to what everyone else can do," said Califano. "Parents should ask themselves: do I know where my teen is after school and on weekends? Have I set a curfew for my teen? Have I made it clear that I would be extremely upset if my teen used marijuana? Do I monitor what my teen watches on television and on the Internet, what CD's he or she buys and listens to? Do we have dinner together as a family six or seven times a week--without the television on? Parents need to ask themselves every day: 'What am I doing today to keep my kids drug-free?'"
Drugs Still Teens' Greatest ConcernFor the sixth straight year, teens said drugs are their greatest concern. In 2000, 26 percent of teens cited drugs as their biggest concern, up from 23 percent in 1999. In 2000 fewer teens said they expected to never try an illegal drug (51 percent) than in 1999 (60 percent). For the first time, CASA asked the teens who said drugs were their biggest concern what it was about drugs that concerned them most. 31 percent said "drugs can ruin your life and cause harm." 17 percent said "I feel peer pressure to use drugs." Only two percent were concerned about illegality.
Marijuana Easier to Buy, CigarettesHarder/Ecstasy Prevalent
In 2000, teens found cigarettes more difficult to buy and marijuana slightly easier to buy. As in 1999 CASA asked teens, What was easiest to buy: cigarettes, marijuana or beer? In 1999, 47 percent of teens said that cigarettes were easiest to buy; in 2000, it dropped to 33 percent. In 1999, 27 percent said marijuana was easiest to buy; in 2000, it rose to 33 percent.
For the first time CASA asked teens about their proximity to Ecstasy:
- Twenty-eight percent of teens know a friend or classmate who has used Ecstasy and 17 percent know more than one user.
- Ten percent of teens say they have been to a rave, and Ecstasy was available at 70 percent of these raves.
The survey was conducted by QEV Analytics. Interviews took place between October 20 and November 5, 2000. The margin of error is /- 3.1%.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is the only national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat all types of substance abuse as they affect all aspects of society. CASA's missions are to: inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives; assess what works in prevention, treatment and law enforcement; encourage every individual and institution to take responsibility to combat substance abuse and addiction; provide those on the front lines with tools they need to succeed; and remove the stigma of substance abuse and replace shame and despair with hope.
With a staff of 70 professionals, CASA has demonstration projects in 38 sites in 29 cities and 19 states focused on children, families and schools, and has been testing the effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment, monitoring 15,000 individuals in more than 200 programs and five drug courts in 26 states.
