Hope for parents on the war on drugs

 

  As the mother of two children, one of whom is 14 years old and in high school, I definitely worry about the influences of peers on him as related to drug and alcohol use. As a physician assistant, I see the results that drugs and alcohol have had on my patients. From cirrhosis and liver failure from alcohol abuse, car accidents from drinking and driving, abscesses from shooting drugs, and the rise in prescription drug abuse (to name a few), it is a scary society that my children are growing up in.

But there is some hope on the horizon. The Partnership for a Drug-free America recently released the results of a study called the 2008 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS).

In a nutshell, the study found that what parents have been telling and teaching their children about drugs and the risks has been influencing the decisions that their children have been making. The study states “37 percent of teens reported learning a lot about the risks of drugs from their parents, a significant 16 percent increase from the previous year and the first major increase since the inception of the study”. The study is backed by data that shows a decline in drug use among teenagers. Most significant has been the decrease in the use of methamphetamine and marijuana. Teen attitudes have also been changing regarding how they view these two drugs and the risks that go along with using them. The study also found that there has been a decline in drug use as teenagers have been exposed to more anti-drug messages in the media. “Four out of ten teens (41 percent) agreed that anti-drug messages made them more aware of the risks of using drugs and less likely to try drugs (42 percent).”

The main area of weakness that was found related to parents talking to their children about the abuse of prescription and over the counter drugs. As a physician assistant, I definitely see this as a growing trend. “According to the survey, about 1 in 5 teens (19 percent) or 4.7 million reports abusing a prescription medication at least once in their lives, and 1 in 10 teens (10 percent) or 2.5 million teens reports having abused a prescription pain reliever in the past year. About 7 percent or 1.7 million teens have reported OTC cough medicine abuse in the past year.” Teens seem to underestimate the risk involved in the use of prescription and OTC medications. Steroid use and inhalant use were also seen as less risky.

Lastly, the study found that teenagers nowadays are more open to discussing drug abuse and getting help from their friends.

The bottom line is to open up the lines of communication. Do not underestimate the influence that you as a parent have over your children. It is so important to talk to them about the dangers of drug and substance abuse.