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| January 24 | |
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Peer Influences |
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We all hope that our influence as parents will keep our kids safe from bad habits, but most of us also wonder how much other kids play a part in the decisions our children make. According to a report from the National Institutes of Health, researchers surveyed more than 4,200 middle school students to better understand when attitudes towards smoking and drinking develop. Specifically, they found that adolescents and teens who had at least two friends who smoked or drank were nine times more likely to smoke and five times more likely to drink. And girls were more likely to be affected by peer pressure than boys, even in high school. The good news is that the risk was lower in children with involved parents and those who felt their parents had high expectations of them. In fact, teens that said their parents were highly involved in their lives were about half as likely to smoke or drink as those who didn’t feel their parents were involved with them. It’s also important to recognize a substance problem early and to help a child avoid growing into an adult with a substance problem. Another study, reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found that if a teen’s drinking problem is ignored or left untreated, there is a good chance that same teen will have a drinking problem as an adult, abuse other substances and may even have significant psychological problems, like depression or antisocial personality disorder. The bottom line – staying involved with your children is important and beneficial. |
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References:
Natural Course of Alcohol Use Disorders From Adolescence to Young Adulthood
Peer and Parent Influences on Smoking and Drinking Among Early Adolescents |
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