Parenting Style Plays a Role In Teen Drinking

Issues: Binge Drinking, Underage drinking
Coalition resources: Data Analysis
Drug type: Alcohol
Researchers at Brigham Young University have found that teenagers who grow up with parents who are either too strict or too permissive tend to binge drink more than their peers. The study was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

"While parents didn't have much of an effect on whether their teens tried alcohol, they can have a significant impact on the more dangerous type of drinking," study author Stephen Bahr, a professor of sociology at BYU, told National Public Radio.

As part of the survey of 5,000 teens, researchers asked 7th- to 12th-grade students a series of questions about their alcohol such as how frequently they binge drink, how often they communicated, in general, with their parents, and what kind of parenting style did they think their parents possessed.

The teens being raised by “indulgent” parents who tend to give their children praise and warmth, but who don’t monitor bad behavior were among the biggest alcohol abusers.

"They were about three times more likely to participate in heavy drinking," Bahr said.

This was also true for teens whose parents were strict.

"Kids in that environment tend not to internalize the values and understand why they shouldn't drink," Bahr said. They were more than twice as likely to binge drink.

The parenting style that led to the lowest levels of problem drinking struck a balance between both styles: accountability and support.

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Pharmaceutical Misuse and Abuse ED Visits by Older Adults

Nearly one ton of old and unused medicines were turned in and destroyed.

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marijuana use increased -cocaine use decreased

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NEARLY 700 POUNDS!!!!!!

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Survey Reveals 17 Million Americans Drive Drunk

Issues: Drunk/Impaired driving
Coalition resources: Data Analysis
Drug type: Alcohol

Twenty percent of American drivers have gotten behind the wheel within two hours of drinking, and 8 percent have driven when they considered themselves drunk, Join Together reports.

The findings are the result of a 2008 survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The survey also found 8 percent of adults overall, and nearly one-quarter of men aged 21 to 24, accepted rides from someone they thought was drunk. This is in contrast to additional survey data indicating that four out of five Americans see drunk driving as a “major threat” to their own and their family's safety.

Complete survey results are available on the NHTSA WEBSITE.

"Madison Kiefer’s tragic death March 1 from a prescription drug overdose horrified a community. But it also shed light on a troubling reality: drug and alcohol problems can exist anywhere"

To learn more about Madison's story click HERE