Parent-Child Relationships and Substance Use in Adolescence
Submitted by Ally
- 12 November 2016
Past research has often suggested parent-child connectedness and communication to be important for the prevention of substance, particularly alcohol, misuse among adolescents. A new study recently published in Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy builds on this knowledge.
It offers a literature review to determine exactly which factors of parent-child connectedness and substance-use-specific communication are effective in tackling adolescent alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse. The authors of the study concluded that:
- Open communication is characteristic of high connectedness between parent and child
- Talking about the associated health risks is linked with lower levels of substance abuse
- Parents talking about their own use in the past, or providing lax messages about substances and their consequences, are associated with higher levels of misuse
- Alcohol and tobacco are easier topics to talk about while drugs are rarely discussed
- Parental alcohol and tobacco use impacts negatively on the credibility of their professed health messages
- Parents should have open, credible and constructive two-way dialogues with their children about substance use
Click here to read the full review in Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.