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

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