Are You a Problem Parent?

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University released the results of their National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIII: Teens and Parents. It’s the 13th year they’ve done the back to school survey. This year, they’ve identified “problem parents” as increasing the risk that teens will smoke, drink or use drugs. They define problem parents as “those who fail to monitor their children’s school night activities, safeguard their prescription drugs, address the problem of drugs in their children’s schools, and set good examples.”

Here are some highlights of their findings:

• 50% of teens (12 – 17 years old) who come home after 10:00pm on a school night say that drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or other drug use occurs
• 29% of teens who come home between 8:00pm and10:00pm on a school night say that drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or other drug use occurs.
• Only 14% of parents say their teens usually leave the house to hang out with friends on school nights
• More teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer (19% vs. 15%), the first time in the CASA survey’s history
• When teens who know prescription drug abusers were asked where those kids get their drugs:
  • 31% said from friends or classmates
  • 34% said from home, parents or the medicine cabinet
  • 16% said other
  • Only 9% said from a drug deale
• Drugs topped the list for the 13th year of the survey as the biggest concern teens face
• 28% of teens cite drugs as the biggest problem they face, compared to only 17% of parents who see drugs as the top teen concern
• Parents overwhelmingly say it is harder today to keep kids safe (84%) and to raise a teen “of good moral character” (72%)

According to Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s chairman and president, “Preventing substance abuse among teens is primarily a Mom and Pop operation. It is inexcusable that so many parents fail to appropriately monitor their children, fail to keep dangerous prescription drugs out of the reach of their children and tolerate drug infected schools. The parents who smoke marijuana with children should be considered child abusers. By identifying the characteristics of problem parents we seek to identify actions that parents can take—and avoid—in order to become part of the solution and raise healthy, drug-free children.”

Read more about the CASA survey

technorati tags: CASA survey, teens, problem parents, drinking, drugs, prescription drugs, substance abuse

School Nurses Work to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse by Teens

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has teamed up with PriCara®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., on a program called “Smart Moves, Smart Choices.” The national program addresses the rise in prescription drug abuse among middle and high school students.

A national survey of more than 1,300 school nurses showed that almost 60% of school nurses indicated prescription drug abuse is a growing or significant problem in their communities. An announcement on the Join Together website noted that the nurses’ observations are consistent with research showing the explosion of prescription drug abuse among youth:

• From 1995 to 2005, the number of teenagers treated for addiction to prescription pain relievers increased more than 300%
• Nearly one-quarter of 12th graders report that they have abused prescription drugs by the time they graduate from high school
• Every day, 2,500 children age 12 to 17 abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time

The program includes 4 downloadable videos for teens, focusing on myth busting, the science of addiction, the social impact of addiction and how media portrays drug abuse. The program also includes lesson plans, a video targeted specifically to parents and a parent guide.

“I think this program is a great way for teens to see and hear, firsthand, the consequences of poor choices…choices that they don’t have to make,” said Hayley Norwood, a recovering teen. “Since prescription drugs are given by a doctor, I thought they were okay for me to take, even though they weren’t for me. What I didn’t realize was the serious consequences I faced by taking someone else’s medications.

With girls surpassing boys in the areas of smoking or abusing prescription drugs and women being up to 48 percent more likely than men to be prescribed a narcotic, antianxiety or other potentially abusable drug (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2001), it’s especially important for teenager girls, their parents, school nurses and teachers to know the truth and the consequences of prescription drug abuse.

FMI

Info on “Smart Moves, Smart Choices” / View Videos: the.Medic on the.News

From NASN: National Association of School Nurses Launches Educational Program to Address Surge of Prescription Drug Abuse by America’s Youth (PDF)

From Join Together: School Nurses Helping Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse

From this blog: Entries dealing with prescription drug abuse

Technorati Tags: NASN, school nurses, prescription drug abuse, teenagers, prevention