XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
  Depression
  Neuropsychiatry
  Personality Disorders
  Bulimia
  Anxiety
  Substance Abuse
   Alcohol
   Smoking
   Amphetamine
   Opiates
   Cannabis
   Cocaine
  Suicide
  CFS
  Psychoses
  Child Psychiatry
  Learning-Disabilities
  Psychology
  Forensic Psychiatry
  Mood Disorders
  Sleep Disorders
  Peri-Natal Psychiatry
  Psychotherapy
  Anorexia Nervosa
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
Search

Last Updated: Nov 17th, 2006 - 22:35:04

Substance Abuse Channel
subscribe to Substance Abuse newsletter

Latest Research : Psychiatry : Substance Abuse

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Today's Parents Maintain Complacent Attitudes About Drug Risks in Kids- Study Shows
Feb 23, 2005, 08:34, Reviewed by: Dr.

"In total, parents are seeing less risk in a variety of drugs and fewer parents are talking with kids just when teens are facing new drugs and new drug threats. All of this adds up to a potentially dangerous convergence in the trends -- one that we must interrupt."

 
When it comes to today's parents and their views about drugs, it appears old attitudes are like old habits -- they die hard, and sometimes, not at all.

In its 17th annual tracking study of parents' attitudes toward drugs and teen drug use, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America(R) today reports that the current generation of parents -- the most drug-experienced group on record -- sees less risk in a wide variety of illicit drugs, and are significantly less likely to be talking with their teens about drug abuse, when compared to moms and dads just a few years ago.

"While the vast majority of parents have left old habits behind, they're carrying old attitudes and beliefs forward," said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership. "If old habits die hard, the data suggest that lax attitudes about drugs die even harder."

Released today at a press briefing in New York, the 2004 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) surveyed 1,205 parents across the country (margin of error = +/- 2.8 percent).

Top-line findings of this study show that:

1. Today's parents see less risk in drugs like marijuana, cocaine and even inhalants, when compared to parents just a few years ago.

2. The number of parents who report never talking with their child about drugs has doubled in the past six years, from 6 percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2004.

3. Just 51 percent of today's parents said they would be upset if their child experimented with marijuana.

4. While most parents believe it's important that parents discuss drugs with their children, fewer than one in three teens (roughly 30 percent)say they've learned a lot about the risks of drugs at home.

Many of today's parents (those with pre-teens and teens) were high school students themselves during the late '70s and early '80s -- a period when teen drug use reached its absolute high point.

In fact, when compared to high school seniors today, teen drug use rates were significantly higher in the late '70s and early '80s. "It's not all that uncommon today to come across teenagers who've never use drugs who have parents who have," Pasierb said.

While few of today's parents use drugs today (11 percent report smoking marijuana in the past year), 58 percent have tried marijuana at least once in their lives, according to the Partnership's study. Significant percentages report trying other illicit substances as well.

Despite their first-hand knowledge about the issue, the Partnership's study finds that today's parents significantly underestimate the presence of drugs in their teens' lives.

1) Just one in five parents (21 percent) believes their teenager has friends who use marijuana.Yet 62 percent of teens report having friends who use the drug.

2) Fewer than one in five parents (18 percent) believe their teen has smoked marijuana, yet many more (39 percent) already are experimenting with the drug.

3) This perceptual disconnect is even more pronounced when it comes to drugs that weren't around when today's parents were teenagers.Only one in every 100 parents -- one percent -- believes their teen may have used MDMA, commonly referred to as Ecstasy.

The reality is quite different:

Some nine percent of all teens -- 2.1 million teens in America -- used Ecstasy for the first time last year, down from a peak of 12 percent in 2001.

Pasierb noted that the drug scene in America is vastly different today than it was back in the late '70s and '80s. "Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine -- parents know these drugs," he said. "Today's teens, however, are exposed to new drugs of abuse -- Ecstasy, GHB, crystal meth and increasingly, a wide variety of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

"In total, parents are seeing less risk in a variety of drugs and fewer parents are talking with kids just when teens are facing new drugs and new drug threats. All of this adds up to a potentially dangerous convergence in the trends -- one that we must interrupt."

The Partnership's tracking data underscore the powerful influence parents can have on teen decision-making about drugs. Teens who report learning a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to half as likely to use drugs, according to the data.

"To be clear, parents don't want their kids using drugs -- any drugs," Pasierb said. "But the data tell us today's parents don't regard drug use as seriously as past generations of parents. Our challenge is getting parents to look at this issue anew, and in ways that penetrate their current beliefs and attitudes."

Today, the Partnership launched a new, national communications effort designed to reach parents with new, compelling information about the evolving nature of the drug problem in America.

The program -- called Partnering with Families -- includes advertising campaigns, a parent-centric Web community, Web resources for parents and a parent-driven campaign to recruit families that have dealt with substance abuse to spread the word.Kindly visit the company's website for full details regarding the program.
 

- The Partnership for a Drug-Free America
 

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America

 
Subscribe to Substance Abuse Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America(R) is a private, non-profit coalition of professionals from the communications industry. Best known for its national, drug-education advertising campaign, The Partnership exists to help kids and teens reject substance abuse by influencing attitudes through persuasive information. The Partnership's State/City Alliance Program supports The Partnership's mission at the local level. The Partnership receives major funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and financial support from more than 200 private sector corporations. The Partnership accepts no money from alcohol or tobacco manufacturers. All actors in The Partnership's ads appear pro bono through the generosity of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Related Substance Abuse News

Scientists design simple dipstick test for cocaine, other drugs
C. elegans provides model for the genetics of nicotine dependence
Research links 'ecstasy' to survival of key movement-related cells in brain
Smoking Ban Associated With Rapid Improvement In Health Of Bar Workers in Scotland
Smoking media literacy (SML) is a valuable tool in efforts to discourage teens from smoking
DNA highly-promising predictor for successful treatment of alcoholics
Hold the Hookah
Weight concerns affects women's motivations to stay smoke-free after delivery
Nicotine Withdrawal Begins Within 30 Minutes
Varenicline Appears Effective In Helping Smokers Kick The Habit


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us