September 15, 1997
Power of parents
Study shows family relationships crucial
A recent study of what factors make it less likely that
teen-agers will engage in risky behavior - which in turn can
lead to more serious problems - could be obvious to some, but
is ultimately encouraging to those who view an emphasis on
personal responsibility as positive both for individuals and
society.
The National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, a
survey of about 90,000 children conducted by University of
Minnesota and University of North Carolina researchers, is
said to be the largest and most comprehensive study ever done
of adolescent behavior. Preliminary results were published in
the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Risky behaviors and attitudes include: emotional distress,
suicidal thoughts and actions, violence, use of alcohol,
tobacco or marijuana, sexual activity and pregnancy.
It turns out that the most important deterrent to these risky
behaviors was a feeling of connectedness and love from
parents. This held true across class and racial lines,
regardless of economic status, and was equally valid in
single-parent and two-parent households. If adolescents
believed that the mother or father really cared about them,
that they were loved and wanted, and that their parents had
high expectations for them, they were much less likely to do
things that put themselves at risk.
Besides the subjective question of feeling loved, researchers
also determined that more objective measures of parental care
-- being there at key times in the day, doing things together
-- were also positively correlated with less risky behavior.
Other factors played roles, too. Feeling connected to the
school, believing school officials treated them fairly,
having high self-esteem, having a religious belief and
getting positive feedback from friends all helped adolescents
to avoid risks. But parental connectedness was far and away
the most important factor.
Some might wonder if they really needed to do a study to find
out something so obvious. In fact, however, most social
scientists since the 1960s have believed that peer pressure
and other outside influences are equally or more important
than family environment, and have recommended public policy
based on that belief.
We've had a plethora of programs based on the notion that
school and peer groups mold adolescents, from sex education
to DARE to sensitivity and diversity seminars.
But what if parents really are the most important factor? No
matter how well-intentioned a program might be, can you
imagine any government program or advertising campaign being
more effective than parental communication with a child?
If anything, the idea that healthy families make for healthy
adolescents suggests that less government involvement - lower
taxes, less regulation, fewer efforts to supplant imperfect
families with state wisdom and expert guidance, a growing
economy that allows more parents more time at home - would be
more useful to teen-agers at risk than a passel of programs.
The experts can't save us here; only loving parents can. Far
from being discouraging, that could be heartening.
The survey results tell parents that letting your kids know
you care might not be enough in and of itself to keep them
from harm, but it's more effective than anything else. That's
knowledge everybody can apply immediately to their own lives.
- The Orange County Register
