Pubdate: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 Source: Times, The (UK) Copyright: 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd Contact: http://www.the-times.co.uk/ Author: Simon Crompton DO FATHERS DRIVE TEENAGERS TO DRUGS? Parents of children who turn to alcohol and drugs typically blame themselves. New research will provide them with little reassurance. It says that the blame does indeed often lie at their door - but it is fathers who should take the brunt of it. An American study shows that teenagers with a poor relationship with their fathers are at a significantly higher risk of smoking, drinking or using drugs than those who get on well together. Indeed, the quality of the child/father relationship was found to be a more important factor than whether they come from a two-parent or a single-parent family. The least rebellious teenagers are those who have a positive and open relationship with both parents. But the study found that most teenagers do not. While 57 per cent of the young people surveyed turned to their mother to talk about drugs, just 27 per cent turned to their father, and many fathers had a low profile in the battle against substance abuse. Although uncomfortable, the research cannot be dismissed as another American crackpot theory. It was conducted by the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, one of the United States' foremost research centres. The study involved 2,000 children aged 12-17, and 1,000 parents. It is not an entirely new departure. American researchers had already identified fathers as key influences on other aspects of children's adolescent development. In the early 1990s, for example, writers such as Margo Maine put the blame for eating disorders on fathers who could not adapt to their daughters' emerging sexuality, and consequently became withdrawn or continued to treat them as young children. But the Columbia University research is the first in America or Britain to identify fathers' pivotal role in combating teenage smoking, alcohol and drugs in such a strident way. The conclusions drawn by the centre's President, Joseph A. Califano Jr, are prescriptive and unavoidably transatlantic: "This should be a wake-up call for dads across America," he says. "Every father should look in the mirror and ask: How often do I eat meals with my children or attend their games and extracurricular activities?" Perhaps the wake-up call should sound over here too. Research on why teenagers take up smoking, alcohol and drugs in Britain has acknowledged parental influence. But it has tended to concentrate on parental example, or to view their influence as one of many interrelated factors. Poor or authoritarian parenting has been identified as a cause of delinquency which, in turn, has led to tobacco, alcohol and drug use. Other research has pinpointed social and economic status as the key to drug use. Yet some recent studies have suggested that children's relationships with their parents might have a more direct effect on tobacco, alcohol and drug use. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that young people who reported conflict with parents were more likely to smoke, and that those who spent less time with their families at 15 were more likely to have tried illicit drugs by 18. Beyond the realms of cold research, teenagers' own stories of how they got involved with drugs indicate how complex the relationship with parents can be. Alan is currently trying to go straight for his father's sake. He feels that his drug-taking was to blame for his parents' splitting up. "I was quite good at school, but I started drugs when I was 16 and didn't bother getting a job. I didn't realise it then, but my parents were having a rocky patch at the time. When I started robbing from them, they kicked me out and got divorced soon after. "I think I was partly to blame because they were so worried about me. I blame my Dad as well because he didn't have much contact with us. I got on better with my Mum, because Dad didn't really have much time to be with us. In May this year I made up my mind to stay clean, and told my Dad, who's taken me in again. I'm working hard to get his trust back." For Richard, beatings by his father were a key factor in his drug-taking. "My father was overpowering and very strict. He beat me from an early age, and also beat my mother. There was always a lot of tension in the house," he says. "My dad also smoked cannabis, so it was always around and I started smoking it at the age of ten. By 14, I was taking heroin and any drink or pills I could lay my hands on. I just wanted anything that would take me to oblivion. Drugs took me away from the hell of my family." From simple poor communication to the extremes of abuse, what most stories illustrate is that drugs are always available to teenagers, and that parents' attitudes and behaviour can crucially influence whether their children act on that availability. Danny Mann, who helps addicts on a day-to-day basis as project manager of Turning Point's Chester Drug and Alcohol Unit, believes that young people desperately need support and involvement from their parents. "No two cases of drug use are the same," he says. "But the family slant is invariably the important one". Danny is also a father and is aware of his influence. "I sometimes think I must be the Dad from hell because I know more about drugs than my kids do. I haven't gone in with a 'just say no' campaign. I talk to them about drugs. If they say they want to try speed, I tell them the stuff on the market at the moment is only 6 per cent pure." Danny's instincts are backed by further research, which indicates that laying down the law isn't the answer, but that keeping communication channels open is. The Alcohol Research Unit at the University of Hull found that teenagers from neglectful or authoritarian families were most likely to use alcohol and drugs. In contrast, teenagers from supportive families were less likely to have a problem. The American research takes such conclusions a step further by looking at the separate influence of father and mother, rather than parents generally. In so doing, it confirms what many already suspect by instinct or stereotype: that men, for whatever reason, are not as good as women at talking openly, and being supportive rather than authoritarian. When it comes to drug use in teenagers, all these factors seem to be important. David Best, research co-ordinator for action on addiction and lecturer at the Maudsley Hospital's Institute of Psychiatry, says the work lends support to a community focus for drug education and intervention. "Instead of looking exclusively at the child, our understanding of risk is enhanced by looking at the context," he says. "The role of parents is likely to be crucial." But parents cannot always be expected to know what to do by instinct. "They need to be supported," says Mr Best. "They need to be educated themselves and, where appropriate, to curb their own use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs." One model for helping parents may be found in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where supporting and informing parents is central to the education authority's drug education work. As curriculum project manager for drug education, Ian Grandidge holds regular drug awareness evenings for parents in schools. "Most parents are ignorant about drugs, and scare stories in the media don't make things easier," he says. "They feel their children know more about drugs than they do. So we give them accurate information about the different types of drug use and put them into proportion and context. Our message is: be prepared to discuss, learn and share. "If the parent holds influence, and the relationship with the child is safe and solid, then from my experience that reduces the chance of drug misuse considerably." - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto