Parents get hope in anti-drug fight

PROVO — Peer pressure plays a major role in teenage drug use, but parents can counter that pressure and significantly influence their teens, according to a new study by Brigham Young University researchers.

Parents can affect the choices their teenagers make about friends and also maintain some influence even if their teens begin to use drugs, according to the study published today in the peer-reviewed Journal of Primary Prevention.

"The fact that parents can make a difference in peer choices, or even after those peer

choices are made, is an important message to get out there," said John Hoffman, a BYU sociology professor. "Parents, you shouldn't throw up your hands, even if you find out your kids are starting to hang around with kids who use drugs."

Past research has been divided, with some studies finding that peers hold such powerful sway that parental influence is small or irrelevant. But parents have tools to fight back, said Stephen Bahr, a BYU sociology professor and lead author of the study.

"There is a belief that peers are so powerful that there's not much parents can do," Bahr said. "Some have argued that parents don't matter at all. But we found evidence of family characteristics that help determine who teens associate with. We also found that some steps taken by parents have a direct effect on lowering drug abuse, even if their teenager is under the negative influence of peers."

The new analysis revealed four family characteristics that affect teen drug use — parental attitudes about drugs, parental monitoring, parent-child bonding and sibling behavior.

For example, when parents display a tolerance toward marijuana, teens are far more likely to use that drug. The more teens believe their parents are monitoring their activities, the less likely they are to use marijuana. Those findings held up across each drug type, from alcohol to hard drugs like heroin.

Finally, when older brothers or sisters use drugs, younger siblings often follow suit. An older child using marijuana increases the younger child's likelihood of doing the same by 58 percent.

"It's important children know their parents' standards and that a clear standard is communicated," Bahr said. "I remember my father said I could make my own decisions but told me what he thought and why. It wasn't, if I did this I couldn't come home, but it was clear what my standard was."