Posted on March 9, 2010

Much attention has been given to the role of peers in adolescents’ decisions about substance abuse. Programs focus on peer pressure and the importance of school environment and how extracurricular activities may also play a role in shaping behaviors related to drugs and alcohol.

While teenagers spend more time with their peers than they do their parents, to what extent can parents have a place in impacting their child’s decisions about substance abuse? A recent study looks at the protective factors parents can provide for their children.

Piko and Kovacs recently examined the possible protective factors involved in an adolescent’s choices, as well as the combined role of parental protection and school-related protection.

The study focused on adolescents in Hungary, with 881 participants from give randomly-chosen high schools in Szeged. The students were all between the ages of 14 and 20 years old.

The questionnaires were administered after a brief explanation of study objectives and were completed voluntarily and confidentially by the students. The questionnaires sought to establish the level of involvement the students had with smoking, binge drinking and marijuana.

The questionnaires were also used to evaluate the relationship each student enjoyed with their parents and their satisfaction and involvement at school. Questions were asked to assess the level of satisfaction in the parent/child relationship, establishing the closeness and influence each parent had on the participant.

The questions about parents related to such areas as how appreciated the child felt by his or her parents, whether the student often talked with his or her parents about personal problems, and how often the students ate dinner with parents. School questions examined areas such as academic success, satisfaction with the school and relationships with teachers.

The results of the study show that, despite the increasing importance of peers in the lives of adolescents, the role of the parents is still an important protection against substance use in certain parental variables. For example, parental monitoring may prevent risky situations where substance use may occur, and having dinner with the family was a predictor of lower substance use.

High academic achievement was found to be the most important predictor for school-related protection from substance use. Satisfaction with the school and personal relationships with teachers also impacted the protection for adolescents, indicating that drug use is more influenced by emotional factors than rational.

The study’s limitations include the specific cultural context of the study, the cross-sectional study design and the use of self-report to collect data on substance use, parental and school-related variables.

The study’s findings indicate a need to further understand the changes that occur in the parent-child relationship during the adolescent years and how protective factors are influenced by that change. Though it is only in specific variables that parents are able to play a significant role, it is important to recognize that parents are still significantly involved in the student’s decisions.