Living Down to Expectations

Two news items in the past week:

Study: Parents' Expectations Can Influence Risky Teen Behavior
Join Together Online www.jointogether.org October 22, 2009

Research Summary

The more parents expect their teens to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking and using drugs, the more likely their teens are to follow through with those behaviors, Reuters reported Oct. 16.

Researchers found that adolescents with mothers who expected them to be more rebellious and take greater risks reported higher levels of risky behavior than other adolescents during follow-up surveys.

On the other hand, parents may lower the rate of risky behavior among their adolescent children by expecting that they can resist negative peer pressure and instead engage in positive behavior, according to the study.

See the full article at: http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2009/study-parents-expectations.html

Makes sense- if you expect that they will do it, they will. It is not surprising then that (anecdotally) so many parents who get in trouble for drinking will often have parents who say, "Well, teenagers will be teenagers." This is different from a certain sense of reality that many young people may try alcohol or drugs, but with the right support and guidance that may not turn into something stronger. The influence of parents remains the #1 prevention tool.

The other item says the same thing from a different place- the college campus.

Party Colleges Do Little to Curb Drinking
By Tara Parker-Pope
New York Times October 19, 2009

Colleges with a reputation for heavy drinking and a party culture have been largely ineffective at curtailing student drinking over the past decade, new research shows.

University of Minnesota researchers tracked the drinking habits of students at 18 U.S. colleges with a reputation for heavy drinking. In 1993, 28 percent of students said they frequently binged on alcohol. A similar survey in 2005 found that 32 percent were frequent binge drinkers, according to a report last month in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

See the full article at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/colleges-do-little-to-curb-drinking/

I went to college at one of those self-proclaimed schools with a hard-earned self-reputation as a Party School. I didn't know it when I first went there. In those days, in spite of urban legends to the contrary, there was no listing of the best party schools. And when I started I wasn't into partying. But it soon became a matter of pride and keeping up the old traditions. Also in those days (yes, it was that long ago) the schools were dropping their role of in loco parentis and giving us free rein.

But the school could have taken every step in the book- and it wouldn't have changed anything. We were indoctrinated already. We had already drank the (heavily spiked) Kool-Aid. No way would we let the reputation down. In this case it was the students' own self-identification that set the tone. The school did little to impact that.

Both of these stories hint at the great difficulty alcohol and drug abuse present to our culture. They also show that the places to start are at teh very basics- support of parents and community for a different approach.

Parents of toddlers and early elementary kids- now is the time to start.

College admins and student leaders- start now to hopefully change the image in 20 years. It is tough- you may have to keep alumni off campus. (Just kidding.)

But it is not impossible. If you would have told me 20 years ago that cigarette smoking would be as relatively rare as it is today, I would not have believed you.