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Parenting Style an Influence on Teen Drinking, Study Says
Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Research Reveals: Teens
Kids who get too many cuddles drink more. Credit: DuesXFlorida, Flickr
Kids whose parents are either too strict or too lenient may be more likely to engage in binge drinking, according to a new study out of Brigham Young University.
Researchers found parenting style doesn't make a difference in whether or not your kid will try alcohol, but it does affect the relationship teens have with adult beverages.
The Los Angeles Times reports that of 5,000 teens surveyed, those who had the healthiest relationship with alcohol also had parents who strike a balance between watchful and loving.
"Authoritative parents tend to be highly demanding and highly responsive," the authors write. "They monitor their children closely and provide high levels of support and warmth. Our data suggest that peer encouragement to drink might have less impact when parents are both highly supportive and highly attentive."
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Indulgent parents more than tripled their teens' risk of heavy drinking, while kids whose parents are overly strict were twice as likely to drink to excess.
Related: Teens Should Take a Lesson From Drunken Monkeys, Study Shows
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
6-28-2010 @ 8:27PM
Kris said...It took research to figure this out? How about using common sense to come to the same conclusion!
Reply
6-28-2010 @ 8:52PM
Brenda said...Children learn what they live and unfortunately drinking is one bad habit to pass on. Http://www.homeremediesguide.info
6-28-2010 @ 10:29PM
Paul said...I was thinking the same thing Kris!!! I wonder how much money and time was spent on this research...what a waste!!
6-29-2010 @ 1:55AM
Beth said...I totally agree! As the mother of a now 19 year old daughter, and a social drinker myself, when we would have wine at dinner or an occasional cocktail in the evening, we never made a big deal oout of it. Just as my parents did with me and my brother, we were allowed to taste, and it usually ended up with us making horrible faces and going 'YUK!'. As my daughter grew older, and the conversations came around to her friends drinking at parties and such, we were always very sensible about things, stating that she was underage, the trouble she could get into by drinking with her friends, how dangerous drinking and driving is, but we weren't naive. Teens can and do drink on the sly, and we wanted her to know that if she ever made the choice to drink, not to be afraid to call us, we would always come and pick her up wherever she was, without a lecture. We would not be happy that she was drinking, but we would be much happier to pick her up than have her driving drunk.
And yes, I picked her and two girlfriends up twice after field parties when they were all 17. I was not happy to have to get dressed at 2 AM, drive out to the middle of nowhere to a field party and pick them up, then go back the next day to retrieve vehicles, but I was much happier to do that than get a call from the hospital saying my daughter had been in an accident. We talked after each occasion, and she was remorseful, but as with any teen, sometimes it takes more than once to learn a lesson. Now, she proudly calls me and tells me she is going to be late, as she is the designated driver and is taking friends hime safely. That makes me pretty happy, and I feel like I've done a pretty good job teaching her about how to have a good time with friends without drinking.
6-29-2010 @ 2:18AM
Neal said...Gee, I am so glad the rest of you have all the answers to the challenges of parenting, especially Kris. So, I am guessing you all have perfect kids. (NOT!) And besides, not everyone is as smart as you Kris. Like Harry Truman once said, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." In any event, is it really so bad to be reminded of the basics now and then?
6-29-2010 @ 5:22AM
rochemat said...Kris, I agree totally. I didn't think it would take a rocket scientist or millions of "pork" dollars to figure that out. Hey, this was a study done at Brigham Young, I didn't think they drank at all, LOL!!!
6-28-2010 @ 8:39PM
MTM said...How is this news? Everyone has known this for years.
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6-28-2010 @ 9:24PM
Srmhomer said...I think if you're a teenager, you're going to "binge" drink. That's kind of how it works nowadays.
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6-28-2010 @ 10:42PM
Jennifer said...I'm 20 and have never touched alcohol, so, I think you are over generalizing.
6-28-2010 @ 9:22PM
ajschrod said...Of course parents should never let their kids see thm drunk, but nowadays so much more influence comes from peers and THEIR parents that it probably makes no difference! In my day the legal limit was 18 and high school seniors routinely had beer parties. If parents found out they would outwardly bitch at us, but didn;t make too big of a deal overall.
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6-28-2010 @ 9:50PM
elaine said...Yeah, it took a survey/research to figure this out?? Try being a parent. This survey is skewed as far as I'm concerned and really doesn't mean much compared to the reality of raising kids.
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6-28-2010 @ 10:12PM
happygirleclipse said...My dad drinks on a daily basis WAY too much. I have learned from his mistakes. I will never pick up a drink. Maybe one glass of wine for dinner but that is it and only because it is a family tradition to have wine with our dinners. I have learned from his mistakes. DON'T DRINK!!!
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6-28-2010 @ 11:06PM
drmtobymac said...this isn't saying don't be strict..this is saying don't do anything...let your kid live their own lives! your the guardian...you have a role to play...your kid gets out of line you put em' back in!
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6-28-2010 @ 11:16PM
sidnerr said...I don't drink as a RULE~ But as a habit I do~ I only drink on days that end in Y~ I don't drink anymore well I don't drink any less either~ Doctor please tell me its not true~~ I don't have a drinking problem do I? Well my kids do but I don't. What I am trying to say here is this. what I have scribbled here makes as much sense as these idiotic stories. Good Night now I gota go mix a drink for me and my children~~~~~mak'em doubles.....
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6-28-2010 @ 11:42PM
phil said...The real issues are moderation and responsibility. In Europe, the consumption of alcohol. in moderation, is an everyday thing... the legal age in Germany for beer and wine is 15. It is what they grow up with, it is part of eating lunch or dinner or the asparagus festival. Here we rave about "light beer" so we can drink more and get more alcohol without the calories, the full feeling or the taste of good beer. Also the matter of responsibility, in Europe, you are expected to be responsible for what you do, even if you were drinking, because, well, you were drinking and that is your responsibility. Here, in the US, we have a different attitude. We drink to get drunk. We don't care what it tastes like as long as we get stoned. Shots??? Why drink something you have to throw past your tongue? Responsibility??? We have an entire legal system based on the idea that it has to be someone else's fault. I say "Let your kids drink" Andmake sure they know, if they do something stupid while they are drunk, they will be owning it when they are sober.
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6-29-2010 @ 11:59PM
ArtistMisty said...As a Grand parent I recently found out that my ex son in law was teaching my 14 year old Grand daughter how to do drinking games. This article hit home hard for me. What kind of parent does this to their child? What message is this sending to my Grand daughter?
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6-29-2010 @ 1:47AM
upurs said...undeerage drinking and drug use are quite fine..it's our government and the rich that are deadly.
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6-29-2010 @ 1:48AM
upurs said...under age partying is quite normal and good..what is really deadly in america is our government and the rich.
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6-29-2010 @ 3:39AM
K.D. said...For me, I had a problem with alcohol and I have kids and so I don't drink at all anymore. I had way too permissive parenting by my mother, who overrode my sensible and stricter father. I mean, he was totally controlled by my mother who got her way or else threatened to divorce him, pouted, sulked, gave him the silent treatment (no sex with that going on right?) My mother was into herself, into having a career, and not into being around for us kids. We got into all kinds of trouble cuz we hardly had any supervision and if we got caught, she'd hide it from my dad. So he never really knew what was going on. You career moms who leave your kids to go to work, " We need my income cuz we can't make ends meet, why did you have kids in the first place?" Kids aren't pets that you can leave home alone all day. Permissive parenting can come when your parent just isn't around to do the job. The kid sets their own boundaries and kid boundaries aren't reasonable, they are too far out. Kids can't be allowed to set their own limits or make their own rules or raise themselves.
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6-30-2010 @ 9:34PM
Shawn said...This shouldn't be hard to figure out. Like everything else in nature, balance is key. Be too strict on your kids, and they will resent you for it. Be too lenient, and they will look elsewhere for guidance. Kids needs boundaries and guidance. They don't need a parent that sits on their ass feeding their face, or tries to mold them into their perfect image. Talk to your kids, tell them what you expect. Tell them when your disappointed with them, and tell them when your happy with them. And most of all, show them which choices are the best course, but DON'T choose for them. I think you may like the results.
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