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Parents may have a reason to be concerned about the results of a recent study sponsored by the MetLife Foundation. After a decade of reports showing decline, the study released Tuesday found alcohol and marijuana use among teens is on the rise. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America conducted a study with teens in grades 9 through 12, where 3,287 teens were surveyed by researchers. Data was collected from teens who filled out questionnaires anonymously from March to June 2009.
Up until last year pot and alcohol use had been steadily declining since 1998, but, now 50 percent of teens reported drinking in the last month and 27 percent used marijuana. Today, for whatever reason, teenagers are not as worried about the long term effects of using drugs and alcohol. Marijuana has certainly become more acceptable in households around the country as a result of medical marijuana - but alcohol is any one's guess. The study showed that teens are more accepting of their friends using drugs and alcohol even if they, themselves, do not.
The annual survey found:
Teens in grades 9 through 12 who reported drinking alcohol in the last month rose 11 percent last year - about 6.5 million teens reporting alcohol use. Up from 35 percent in 2008.
25 percent of teens reported smoking marijuana in the last month, up from 19 percent.
Six percent of teens said they used Ecstasy in the past month, up from 4 percent.
About 1 in 7 teens reported abusing a prescription pain medication in the last year.
About 8 percent of the teens questioned reported over-the-counter cough medicine abuse in the past year.
Teen steroid and heroin use remained low at 5 percent for lifetime use.
If you believe that your child might be abusing drugs or alcohol it is crucial for you to step in. Early detection of addiction can be so important for getting your child the help they need; the longer the problem is left unchecked the harder it will be to intervene. Fortunately, with the rising numbers of reported use there are plenty of options available to seek out for guidance. Sean Clarkin, director of strategy at The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said, "Monitor them more closely, talk with them about drugs, set rules and consult outside help, like a counselor, doctor, clergy or other resource".
A new study has shown that parents providing alcohol for the teenagers at home may be the wrong thing to do. The study which was published in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs claims that although parents may have good intentions by teaching responsible drinking, it appears to have the opposite effect on teenagers. There are some experts who claim that parents that drink with their teenage children are teaching them how to drink responsibly and that it will also limit the amount of alcohol outside of the home. The recent study conducted flies in the face of that line of reasoning.
Researchers worked with 428 Dutch families in order to conduct the study. The 428 families had two children between the ages of 13 and 15; they answered questionnaires on their drinking habits at the outset of the study and again one and two years later. The results showed that the more teenagers were allowed to consume alcohol at home, the more alcohol they would drink outside the home; in turn the children had a greater propensity for problems. The study also showed that children who drank under their parents' supervision had a heightened risk of encountering alcohol involved problems.
The idea that children will model their parent behavior when it comes to drinking is absolutely unfounded and untrue. The leader of the study Dr. Haske van der Vorst of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands claims that the old belief was based off common sense and not scientific evidence. "For example, the thinking is that if parents show good behavior -- here, modest drinking -- then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that parents can control their child's drinking by drinking with the child, I would advise parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion", said van der Vorst. The best way to promote responsible drinking is to limit the teenager's exposure, who children drink with or where children drink alcohol does not have the effect that doctors had once hoped.
Parents in New York City and in other areas around the country have begun to drug test their kids. Home drug tests can be found at any pharmacy in the United States for a reasonable price. Discovering that there is a drug problem early can make a huge difference regarding how severe a drug problem gets. The quicker the problem is recognized the sooner it can be addressed; many drug addicts go undetected, by the time a problem is realized the addiction has gone completely out of control. It is for this reason that there are many adolescent drug treatment facilities available for parents to consider sending their children to for treatment.
Teenage years are the most critical years, the more drugs that are consumed in those years means the more developmental damage done. Parents suspecting their children of using drugs should test their kids; it could be that test that saves their life. In some places you can even get home drug tests for free from the police. ABC News reports, "Heroin is an epidemic here in Suffolk County [Long Island]," Sheriff Vincent DeMarco said. "I see the pain in parents' eyes. They're looking for something to combat their children's drug use". On Nov. 19, Suffolk County announced that it had purchased 16,000 drug testing kits, available for free for parents who want to test their children. The kits use litmus paper to test urine for six different drugs including methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, Vicodin and Xanax. Since the program started parents have picked up nearly 450 of them".
It's never too early to intervene, but, sometimes it's too late. Your kids may think you're over parenting, that's simply not true; you are protecting your child's life. I encourage you to watch the Dr. Nancy Video dealing with this subject:
"Dec. 1: As drug testing for children gains in popularity nationwide, some parents in New York City are getting free at-home kits from the police. Are the testing kits really the best way to prevent drug use in kids?"
