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Debunking myths, promoting health
What is permissive parenting? How does it relate to teen drinking, and how can it impact kids' health?
The permissive parenting style places low demands on children and provides them with few guidelines and little structure. Research shows that children raised under permissive parenting styles may have less self-discipline, poorer decision-making skills, and be at higher risk than their peers for developing substance use disorders.
This three-part e-journal series will address the impact of permissive parent attitudes toward early drinking on teen health. This second e-journal focuses on risks that arise from the false normative belief that all teens are "going to drink anyway."
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What's false and risky: untrue normative beliefs about teen use
"They're going to drink anyway. I'd rather have them drink at home to keep them safe."
Alcohol is an addictive drug, especially for youth. When parents hold permissive attitudes about teen use, it presents a severe risk. Two common false perceptions - that all teens will choose to drink, and that early use can be safe for teens - can influence our parenting choices in ways that may negatively affect our children's health.
The assumption that "all teens will choose to drink" is, for some of us, a forgone conclusion. However, an examination of valid, worldwide data shows this is not true. According to the international FCD Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey,
nearly half of high school students (46%) have never had a whole drink in their lifetimes. Yet, like the teens in our lives, we adults are vulnerable to false beliefs
about teen alcohol and other drug use. The reality for many kids all over the world is much healthier than the myth. And knowing this healthy reality can keep our kids safe.
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The health consequences of permissive parenting and higher-risk drinking
When you take away the keys, the only safe thing is the car.
Developing teen brains and bodies experience the negative consequences of drinking no matter where that early drinking occurs.
Research studies from Asia, Europe, and the United States all find similar results: permissive parenting increases a teen's risk of becoming a higher-risk drinker.
Looking at higher-risk drinking (defined as the consumption of
five or more whole alcoholic drinks in a row on at least one day in the past 30 days), the FCD Student Attitudes and Behavior Survey also finds permissive parenting risky for teens.
Additionally, the survey finds that one in every two high school students - out of 96,000 surveyed youth in 39 countries - could be considered non-drinkers.
According to the survey, just one in ten
could be considered a higher-risk drinker. Of those higher-risk drinkers, a majority (55%) have used alcohol or other drugs at home with their parents' knowledge. The home, therefore, is by no means an ironclad protection against binge drinking or other risks that well-intentioned parents are trying to avoid.
The immediate health and wellbeing of adolescents suffers greatly under conditions of higher-risk drinking. Surveyed students who drank at higher risk reported that, as a result of their drinking, they:
- felt really sick, vomited, or had a hangover (78%)
- forgot what happened while they were drinking (68%)
- got into sexual situations they later regretted (33%).
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The common denominator: the still-developing brain
Some cite the "
European drinking model" as evidence that kids can be "taught to drink responsibly" prior to the completion of their brain development. This approach introduces alcohol to children early through a combination of use with family and generally more relaxed drinking laws when compared to those in the United States.
Yet research studying European youth consistently indicates the opposite. One such study published in the
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
found that Dutch teens permitted by parents to consume alcohol were not only more likely to drink at higher-risk as kids, but they were also more likely than peers to develop an alcohol use disorder later in life.
Regardless of location, laws, and parental permission to drink, the still-developing teen brain is the common denominator. Any use of alcohol or other drugs while brain development is still occurring not only disrupts that development but also places young people in a higher-risk category for health problems, including addiction.
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Clear rules and authoritative parenting are common and protective
Not every teen wants to, or will, use alcohol. Many around the world don't! And those who report that their family has clear rules about alcohol and other drug abuse are even less likely to report annual and monthly use of alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine. The good news is that the vast majority of students surveyed (87%) report that their parents have clear rules about substance use.
Parents are crucial to their own teen's wellbeing. They help build the prevention climate of the home, school, and whole community. Parenting is a learning experience and a challenge. It's acceptable and even favorable to adapt our parenting when valid health research provides us with new tools that promote the positive development of teens and reflects true, healthy social norms. If you have been parenting with a permissive attitude about use in the home, you can consider making a change now to join the large majority of parents who use clear rules to be protective!
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References
Colder, C. R., Shyhalla, K., & Frndak, S. (2018). Early Alcohol Use with Parental Permission: Psychosocial Characteristics and Drinking in Late Adolescence.
Addictive Behaviors.
Friese, B. and Grube, J.W.
(2005).
"Youth Drinking Rates and Problems: A Comparison of European Countries and the United States." Prevention Research Center. The Pacific Institute on Research and Evaluation.
Grant, B.F.,
and Dawson, D.A. (1998). Age at onset of drug use and its association with DSM-IV drug abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of Substance Abuse; 10: 163-173.
Haske Van Der Vorst, Ad A. Vermulst, Wim H. J. Meeus, Maja Deković & Rutger C. M. E. Engels (2009) Identification and Prediction of Drinking Trajectories in Early and Mid-Adolescence, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38:3, 329-341, DOI:
10.1080/
15374410902851648
Hausheer, R., Doumas, D.M., Esp, S., & Cuffee, C. (2016). Parental Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Use and Alcohol
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Related Consequences.
Mak, Y., Leung, D.Y., & Loke, A.Y. (2019). The vulnerability to alcohol, tobacco, and drug use of adolescents in Hong Kong: a phenomenological study. BMC Pediatrics.
Mallett, K.A., Turrisi, R., Reavy, R., Russell, M.A., Cleveland, M.J., Hultgren, B.A., Larimer, M.E., Geisner, I.M., & Hospital, M.M. (2019). An Examination of Parental Permissiveness of Alcohol Use and Monitoring, and Their Association with Emerging Adult Drinking Outcomes Across College. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 43 4, 758-766.
McKay, M.T., Perry, J.L., Harvey, S.A., & Andretta, J.R. (2016). Alcohol behaviors across perceived parental security profiles in adolescents.
Zundert, R.M., Vorst, H.V., Vermulst, A.A., & Engels, R.C. (2006). Pathways to alcohol use among Dutch students in regular education and education for adolescents with behavioral problems: the role of parental alcohol use, general parenting practices, and alcohol-specific parenting practices.
Journal of family psychology: JFP: journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association, 20 3, 456-67.
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About the Authors
Katie Greeley joined FCD in 2016 and is a Prevention Specialist and Supervising Field Officer. She holds a Master's degree in Social Work from The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Katie Greeley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor. She recently assisted in the development of the new Substance Use Treatment and Prevention Program in the Division of Adolescent Medicine for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Barbara Sullivan joined FCD Prevention Works as a Prevention Specialist in 2009. She holds a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences and an M.S. in Adult Education and Training. Prior to joining FCD, Barbara was a public school Life Skills teacher for over two decades and was Maine's Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year in 2010 for her work on alcoholism as a family disease.
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