Teens who have seen their parents drunk are two times as likely to get drunk in a typical month and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes than their peers who have not seen their parents drunk, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents, the 14th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. The CASA survey revealed that 51 percent of 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk; and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk. Further, the survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year old boys say their fathers approve of their drinking. Seventeen percent of 16- and 17-year old teens say their fathers are okay with their drinking.

“Some Moms’ and Dads’ behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers—parents who send their 12- to 17-year olds a message that it’s okay to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs like marijuana,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. “Teens’ behavior is strongly associated with their parents’ behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs.”

The survey also asked 12- to 17-year olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can obtain prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour. When asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were from the home, parents and even other family members and friends. For the second year in a row more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer.

The CASA survey also revealed that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year olds who drink monthly, report that they get drunk at least once in a one-month period. Eighty-five percent of 17-year old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month. The survey found that one-third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers, who say that when they drink they usually drink to get intoxicated, do so at least once a month. 

Other findings indicate that compared to their non-drinking peers, teens who get drunk are:18 times likelier to have tried marijuana; four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour; almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses prescription drugs; more than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and more than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth, ecstasy or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.

Also, compared to their peers who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk at least once a month are as likely to know a girl who was forced into a nonconsensual sexual activity; and nearly four times likelier to know a male friend who uses drugs or alcohol to hook up.

Between 2007 and 2009 the survey charted a 37 percent increase in the number of 12- to 17-year olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent). Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal, are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.

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ctaylor  - proper wording   |63.173.11.xxx |2009-12-16 12:11:09 nonconsensual sexual activity is rape. It needs to be called what it is. Reply 0   0

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