According to the Explorer Newspaper, a recent survey done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 90 percent of binge drinking is done by teenagers. By age 18, over 70 percent of teenagers have had at least some type of alcoholic drink.

Some parents believe that letting their teens consume at home is actually safer than worrying about them drinking at other places and then driving. But how can they control what happens after teens leave their home? Are they really monitoring their kids every second? Not to mention this practice is against the law.

Fire Captain Adam Goldberg says teen binge drinking 911 calls are becoming far too common. Teens are passing out at parties or found abandoned on front porches of their homes because friends are too scared of the consequences and hide the truth about what really happened. Parents, paramedics and ER doctors have no idea how much or what type of alcohol was consumed and they are involved in a "guessing" game of how to treat the patient.

Goldberg understands a parent wanting to keep their child safe, but he vehemently disagrees with the idea of allowing kids who are underage to drink at all, under any circumstances. One of the largest problems with binge drinking is that a vast percentage of these teenagers become repeat offenders who then go on to abuse other types of illicit substances.

Denise Walker, co-director of the University of Washington’s Innovative Programs Research Group, said that marijuana is not a risk-free drug, and that although many people use marijuana without experiencing any problems, other people become addicted and want to stop but don’t know how to.

Walker is the lead author of a report demonstrating that brief, voluntary conversations with an adult led to a significant decrease (up to 20%) in marijuana use for teenagers who frequently used marijuana.

Walker, who is also a UW research assistant professor of social work, said that teens face greater risks from regular marijuana use compared wit adults, because adolescence is a developmental period for learning adult roles, and regular marijuana use can impede this development and academic performance, and also lays the foundation for other risky behaviors.

The researchers examined how a two-session approach called Teen Marijuana Check-Up could help reduce marijuana use in teens. Walker said that most people who need help aren’t getting it because they don’t think they need it, and that they tend to be ambivalent about their drug use.

Despite this, many teens are concerned about their drug use, even if they aren’t sharing their concerns with friends or family members. Walker added that offering teens an opportunity to weigh the pros and cons of marijuana use in a way that isn’t “shaming or blaming” is an effective approach that many teens will participate in voluntarily.

For the study, the researchers visited high-school classrooms and gave short presentations about the myths and facts regarding marijuana, common reasons why teens use the drug, and its behavioral and health consequences. The researchers told the students the study was to give feedback on the students’ marijuana use, not to treat them, and that students could volunteer to participate privately.

About 619 students volunteered and 310 smoked marijuana regularly. The participants, who attended public high schools in Seattle, had one-on-one meetings with health educators two separate times, with each meeting lasting 30-60 minutes over a two-week period. The health educators used one of two approaches: motivational interviewing, in which the student and educator discussed the student’s marijuana use and how it might be affecting the student’s life, or an educational approach in which a PowerPoint presentation described the health and behavioral effects of marijuana use through current marijuana research.

Those in the motivational interviewing group entered the study using marijuana 40 out of the previous 60 days. Three months after counseling began, their use had decreased by 20 percent, using 32 out of 60 days. After a year, they showed a 15 percent decrease, using 34 days out of 60.

Those in the educational group reported only an 8 percent decrease after three months of counseling, going from using 38 days out of the previous 60 days to 35 days out of 60. A year later, they reported using marijuana 34 of 60 days, an 11 percent overall decrease.

The researchers said these findings were encouraging, in that significant reductions in marijuana use resulted from brief meetings and were sustained over a year’s time.

Walker said the researchers hope the low-cost program could be used by drug and alcohol counselors in schools, because the program is designed to attract people who aren’t ready for full treatment such as marijuana rehab but are interested in talking with a professional about their concerns regarding marijuana use.

Source: Science Daily, Two Talks With Teens Leads to Less Marijuana Use for at Least a Year, Study Finds, June 27, 2011

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College surveyed 264 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 living in the United States, and found that teens who reported drinking alcohol in the last months used a computer recreationally more hours per week than those who did not drink. Drinking was also associated with more time spent on social networking sites and downloading (and listening to) music. There was no distinct link between alcohol use and using the computer for educational purposes, nor was there a link between drinking and video games or drinking and online shopping.

Dr. Jennifer Epstein, public health researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College, said that it seems that adolescents are experimenting with drinking and activities on the Internet. Online exposure to alcohol advertising or peers who are drinking alcohol and sharing this information on social networking sites could influence more teens to drink. She added that children are exposed to computers and the Internet at younger ages, so it’s important for parents to be actively involved in monitoring their children’s computer use, as well as their exposure to alcohol.

Dr. Epstein explained that a national study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than half of parents of teenagers had installed filters on their children’s computers, blocking certain content; however, many parents did not monitor their children’s use of the Internet, especially among parents of older teens.

Dr. Epstein said she and her colleagues would like to collect more data on the association between teen drinking and computer use, including the amount of alcohol they tend to drink and the duration of their drinking habits.

Many adolescents start experimenting with alcohol at age 12 or 13, and risk factors for problem drinking include the lack of parental supervision and poor parental communication, conflict within the family, inconsistent or harsh discipline, and a family history of substance abuse.

Dr. Gil Botvin, professor of public health and chief of the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior at Weill Cornell Medical College, said that this study is important for understanding the potential influence that the Internet may have on today’s youth. He added that while the Internet provides many opportunities for intellectual and social enrichment, there is clearly also a negative side. He concluded that more research is needed to better understand these potential risk factors and how to avoid them.

Source: Medical News Today, Teenage Alcohol Consumption Associated with Computer Use, May 9, 2011

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.

Half of the 21-year-olds in the study reported having used cannabis in their lifetime, and 21 percent were classified as having a cannabis use disorder. Males were much more likely than females to have experienced cannabis abuse or dependence.

Children whose mothers frequently changed their marital status or who experienced sexual abuse at childhood were more likely to develop a cannabis use disorder by 21 years.

Those who showed aggressive or delinquent behavior at 14 years were more than twice as likely as other children to develop a cannabis use disorder by 21 years. Young adults who reported poor academic performance or had smoked a cigarette or consumed alcohol by 14 years were more likely to use and develop a cannabis disorder than others who had not.

Dr. Reza Hayatbakhsh, a researcher at the Queensland Alcohol Drug Research and Education Centre at UQ’s School of Population Health and lead author of the paper, believes that the study is a breakthrough for policy makers and health professionals.

“The majority of those who experience a cannabis disorder by 21 years of age are at moderate to high risk, based upon our data,” Dr. Hayatbakhsh said. “Policy makers could focus on addressing the health needs of young persons with aggressive or delinquent behavior, to limit the tobacco use of young people, and to the prevention of childhood sexual abuse.”

“Clinicians and health workers treating cannabis-related problems should consider the individual’s background as a possible contributor not only to their use of cannabis, but factors which may continue to limit the effectiveness of a treatment program,” Dr. Hayatbakhsh continued.

The study is based on the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy, Australia’s largest longitudinal study, which has tracked more than 8,000 mothers and their children over a 21-year period.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by adolescents, with almost 42% of high school seniors admitting to having experimented with it. Continued marijuana use may result in a number of serious consequences including depression, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer. It is critical to prevent marijuana use by adolescents, and numerous behavioral and medical scientists have been trying to establish the best means of prevention.

Many studies have focused on parents as being the best avenue for preventing adolescent marijuana use. Parental monitoring (when the parents know where their children are, who they are with, and what they are doing) has been seen as attenuating a number of negative adolescent behaviors, including gambling, sexual activity, and drug use. However, the strength of the relationship between monitoring and marijuana usage has been unclear; for example, if adolescents use marijuana, they may be more likely to hide that from their parents, compared to other behaviors. Despite this uncertainty, millions of dollars are spent annually on programs and media campaigns that urge parents to monitor their children’s behavior.

Psychologists Andrew Lac and William Crano from Claremont Graduate University reviewed numerous studies to examine the connection between parental monitoring and adolescent marijuana use. For this review, Lac and Crano selected 17 studies from the literature, which contained data on more than 35,000 participants. Criteria the researchers used for selecting studies included using adolescent participants, focusing exclusively on marijuana, and evaluating monitoring by adolescent self-reports, not parents’ reports of their own monitoring behavior.

Results of this comprehensive analysis, reported in the current issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveal that there is in a fact a strong, reliable link between parental monitoring and decreased marijuana usage in adolescents. In addition, the strongest effects were seen in the female-only studies.

The authors note, “Our review suggests that parents are far from irrelevant, even when it comes to an illegal and often secretive behavior on the part of their children.” They conclude that the information gleaned from this analysis may be useful for marijuana-based prevention programs that target parents and might provide some insight into alleviating risky adolescent behavior.

With marijuana being one of the drugs most abused by teens, along with alcohol and nicotine, parents who discover their teens smoking pot may be overwhelmed and confused about what to do. Clinical psychologists and practitioners who treat substance abuse agree that communication, understanding the risks of smoking pot, and setting and enforcing family rules are all critical elements in helping parents deal with pot-smoking teens.

Establish Open Communication
How much trust and honesty exists between you and your teen? Do you have an open communication channel where you freely discuss concerns, problems, and solutions, as well as positive aspects of your teen’s life? If so, and the issue of pot smoking comes up, it is easier to deal with. If not, it’s important to set up and maintain good communication with your teen. In fact, it is critical to effective parental-teen relationships.

Questions to Ask if You Discover Your Teen Smokes Pot
Let’s say your teen openly admits to smoking pot and says he sees nothing wrong with it. This shows that your teen is honest. Acknowledge that and say something such as, “I don’t like what you just said, but I’m glad that you’re being honest.” This opens the door to discussion. Sometimes, however, when teens are openly defiant about smoking pot, it really means they are asking for some kind of parental limits to be imposed.

You may have accidentally discovered your teen’s stash of marijuana, or caught him smoking with his friends in the house. The truth is in the act. Now it’s time for discussion. An important note here is that you don’t ask all of the following questions at once. It will overwhelm your teen. Make a few initial points and say you want to think about it and talk again later. Finding the right time to talk to your teen may take some effort, as they have to be in the mood to talk. One opportunity may be when you and your teen are driving somewhere together.

When you are alone with your teen (and it should be one parent at a time, not ganged up at this point), first try to find out what it is about smoking pot that your teen is experiencing. Act as if your teen is the expert and you’re trying to learn more. It’s important that you don’t threaten or shout, as this will only alienate your teen and close the door to any further discussion. Ask questions such as:

• What do you feel like when you’re high?
• Is it easy to get pot?
• How much does marijuana cost?
• What kinds of marijuana are available now?
• I’ve read that marijuana is a lot stronger today than when I was growing up. Is that true?
• What do you get out of smoking pot? What are the benefits to you?

Determine Who Your Teen Smokes Pot With and Why
Parents need to know who their teens are smoking pot with and why. While smoking a joint with friends on the weekend still isn’t acceptable, experts say it is a less risky recreational form of pot smoking.

Who are these friends he smokes with? Is it the usual group of friends? If so, it may change your opinion of the friends you thought shared the values you and your teen have set up in the family. If it’s a new group, however, your teen may be getting influenced by a fringe group. Try to determine why the old group of friends is no longer around. Have they moved on? Are they no longer cool because they don’t smoke pot?

The most frequent abuse of marijuana is for self-medication. This is often true in teens with attention deficit disorder (ADD) who use pot to calm down. Similarly, teens who are depressed may smoke pot to stop the overwhelmingly negative feelings and thoughts. These teens are more likely to smoke alone and with others than teens who do not have ADD or depression. It’s important for parents to identify the underlying problem, if any, and get help to address that problem.

Determine How Often, How Much, and Under What Circumstances
Ask your teen how often he smokes pot, how much, when, and where. This is a discussion point you can make if your teen says, “I’m not a druggie always getting high. I only smoke now and then.” But even if your teen doesn’t say these exact words, there will be some disclaimer about usage. Use that as your starting point to get further information. You might ask, “When is it not good to smoke pot? Can you tell the difference?” This will clarify your teen’s ability to acknowledge that there are risks of abuse with smoking pot. Chronic use, defined as daily pot smoking for a month or longer, will typically cause the user to become depressed and experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop.

Pot smoking has other negative impacts that parents can see and be on the lookout for. Teens who habitually smoke pot become apathetic—“I don’t care. Why should I worry or get involved?” They also procrastinate, put things off, or don’t care about things that are usually important to them. The clues here are not doing homework, getting poor grades, and losing interest in after-school activities, sports, or other events.

After the Facts are In
Once the reasons and usage patterns are known, parents need to express displeasure with their teen’s pot-smoking behavior. First, it’s illegal. Your teen needs to know he could be arrested, which will stay on his record for years. Secondly, many employers now routinely drug test applicants and employees. Marijuana traces remain in the system for about a month, so your teen may not be able to get a job. He could also get fired from a part-time job due to a positive drug screen. Thirdly, make it very clear that you have a zero-tolerance rule: You won’t allow an illegal substance in your home.

Be calm, but firm—no crying, hysterics, or unreasonable threats. Tell your teen you don’t approve and won’t condone pot smoking. Make sure he understands that while you can’t control his behavior, there are consequences for breaking the rules.

Enforcing the Rules
If your teen breaks the rule and brings pot into the home, he needs to understand that there’ll be no more privacy. Instead, there will be periodic room searches as well as searches of his backpack, car, etc.

You might insist on mandatory adult supervision, telling your teen that he cannot be home alone unsupervised for a period of time. You may also impose a curfew. After your teen successfully complies with tasks (at home and at school) at least 75 percent of the time, you may lift or extend the curfew or increase the amount of time he can be left alone without close supervision. But you still need to monitor your teen’s actions and friends.

If your teen has a driver’s license, make sure he knows the same rules for drinking and driving apply to smoking marijuana and driving, and that research shows that pot and alcohol both delay reaction times and raise accident risks.

Parents’ main concern is that pot may lead to more serious drugs. While this is not generally true for all teens, the risk is there, as marijuana is often referred to as a gateway drug. But there is significant potential for teens to become addicted psychologically. They may smoke pot because they feel they need to reduce stress or to fit in with their peers. Look for signs that casual pot use has become abuse, such as your teen’s behavior and personality changes. If you believe there’s serious addiction, take stronger steps. You may need to involve the police, insist on routine drug testing, and mandate individual and family counseling with a substance abuse specialist.

Help Teens Earn Your Trust
Your teen needs to develop the psychological ability to make good decisions. Keep an open line of communication with your teen based on accurate information, establishment of family values and rules, and enforcement. Encourage your teen to make the proper choices. Praise your teen for their efforts—and success—at good behavior.

In the end, with diligence, love, and good communication, parents can be assured they’ve done all they can to help their teens quit smoking pot. In fact, the demonstration of your teen’s newfound ability to make the right choices will be one of the most important life lessons they learn.
 

A recent Science Daily report found that a program called Tobacco-Free Duo, started in 1993 through collaboration between the Country Council of Västerbotten County and the schools in the county’s municipalities, demonstrated that a clear commitment from adults against the use of tobacco is expected by their children.

These findings were part of research from Umeå University in Sweden and also demonstrated that this commitment from adults can prevent teenagers from starting to smoke or use snuff.

A central component of the Tobacco-Free Duo program was to include adults in the task of supporting adolescents in saying no to tobacco. Maria Nilsson evaluates the effects of the program in her dissertation and examines how adults and especially parents should approach the use of tobacco among children.

While no change in smoking among children was observed at the national level, it did decline for Tobacco-Free Duo, which paired one adult with one teenager. The program has proven to be viable in the municipalities throughout the years.

An interview study was conducted which found that 15-year old smokers engage in the activity as a way to gain control of their feelings and their situation during the tumultuous teen years. These teens expect grown-ups to intervene against their smoking and attribute close adult relationships with smoking less or attempting to quit.

Maria Nilsson shared in the Science Daily report: “Children expect adults to work against tobacco. They say this is important and that grown-ups can make a difference by showing a clear and positive commitment.”

Through Sheriffs Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers, families can register their cars with the sheriff’s department, who will supply red windshield decals to alert officers to contact the parents of young drivers whenever they are stopped by law enforcement officials.

“We hope it will be a deterrent because if a parent signs up for this program, they really are being very proactive,” DeMarco said at a news conference. “This gives the parent a tool to monitor them, and you would hope that the child knows that if they’re stopped that the parent will find out.”

Newsday.com reports that if an officer stops a marked car whose driver is younger than 21, the officer will report the details of the stop, including the number of people in the vehicle, the reason for the stop, and whether any tickets were issued. The officer will then send a notification through a phone call, letter, or e-mail to parents.

DeMarco said he would ask other law enforcement agencies on Long Island and in other states to honor the decal program. He said he is trying to make a dent in statistics that show that in 2007, 6 percent of licensed Suffolk drivers were between the ages of 16 and 20, and 14 percent of them were involved in accidents with injuries or fatalities.

“This will inform parents about risky behaviors,” Cohen said. “We need to let our parents know what their kids are doing on the roads.”

Beedenbender said the program has potential to save lives. “If you’re not going to drive appropriately and you’re not going to drive responsibly, you’re not going to drive at all,” he said. “Anything we can do to prevent more of our young people from passing away on the roads because they’re making poor decisions is certainly a great step forward.”

It’s important to set expectations with your teen ahead of time. Make sure he or she knows that you will not allow alcohol or drugs of any kind at the party, and make sure this is communicated to all guests. Inform your neighbors of the party and ask that they keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.

Be involved in making the guest list with your teen, and make sure you have contact information for each guest’s parent. Ask about any concerns your teen might have about any of the guests or any situations that could arise. Be sure to limit the number of guests so you can ensure adequate chaperonage.

Make sure guests and their parents know that if a guest leaves the party, he or she won’t be allowed to return and their parents will be called. In addition, make sure parents who won’t be chaperoning know the start and end times of the party and will prearrange transportation.

Limit guests’ access to certain areas of the house and property, and lock up all valuables, alcohol, prescription drugs, and weapons. Plan activities to occupy the guests and provide plenty of snacks, soda, and water. It’s also a good idea to set an example by not providing alcohol for the adults who will be there.

Regularly move through the party to check any off-limits areas, and collect all keys so you can keep track of who is arriving and leaving. Speak to each guest before they leave and check for signs of impairment. If a guest arrives at the party already under the influence, keep them there and call their parent to pick them up. If he or she leaves and someone is injured, you could be held responsible.

Lastly, make sure your teen and his or her friends are having fun in a safe, healthy way.