For eight years, CASA has been engaged in the unprecedented undertaking of surveying attitudes of teens and those who most influence them–parents, teachers and school principals. While other surveys seek to measure the extent of substance abuse in the population, the CASA survey–the CASA National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VIII: Teens and Parents–probes substance-abuse risk and identifies factors that increase or diminish the likelihood that teens will abuse tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs.
For 10 years, CASA has been conducting a back to school survey of the attitudes of teens and those, like parents, who most influence them. While other surveys seek to measure the extent of substance abuse in the population, the CASA back to school survey probes substance abuse risk and identifies factors that increase or diminish the likelihood that teens will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. The tragedy of a child’s substance abuse can strike any family; there are no silver bullets, but one factor that does more to reduce teens’ substance abuse risk than almost any other is parental engagement, and one of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens’ lives is by having frequent family dinners.
For 11 years, CASA has been conducting a back to school survey of the attitudes of teens and those, like parents, who most influence them. While other surveys seek to measure the extent of substance abuse in the population, the CASA back to school survey probes substance abuse risk and identifies factors that increase or diminish the likelihood that teens will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. We believe that parents, armed with this knowledge, can help their teens grow up drug free.
For more than a decade, CASA has been conducting a survey of the attitudes of teens and those, like parents, who most influence them. While other surveys measure the extent of substance abuse in the population, the CASA survey seeks to identify factors that increase or diminish the likelihood that teens will smoke, drink, use illegal drugs or abuse prescription drugs. We believe that parents, armed with this knowledge, can help their teens grow up drug free.
More than a decade of research at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Over the past 16 years, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has surveyed thousands of American teens and their parents to identify factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of teen substance abuse. We have learned that a child who gets through age 21 without smoking, using illegal drugs or abusing alcohol is virtually certain never to do so. And, we’ve learned that parents have the greatest influence on whether their teens will choose to use.
The 2007 Global Tobacco Youth Survey (GYTS) conducted by the World Health Organization showed that one in every three Filipino teenagers aged 13 to 15 were already smokers, despite the existence of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco RegulationAct of 2003.
Sitting down for regular family meals can be a real challenge today. Parents are busy, kids are busy. Teens may desire more autonomy and want to eat away from home with friends. Family members may be dissatisfied with their relationships with each other and avoid spending mealtimes together. Kids may just not like the food being served. But in spite of these difficulties, family meals are rumored to be good for young people. The Project EAT team at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health has been investigating the many health benefits for teens of eating family meals.
The past 25 years of work–family research have focused extensively on the antecedents and consequences of work–family conflict or perceived difficulty in meeting the competing demands of work, family, and personal life (Frone, 2003). Many studies have identified work and family factors that are associated with work–family conflict and an array of negative work, personal, and family outcomes (for a review, see Allen, Herst, Bruck, & Sutton, 2000; Kossek & Ozeki, 1998).
For Cathy and Bill Powell, finding a time when all three of their children are home for dinner can be like working a Rubik’s Cube. A recent Monday was typical: Valerie, 9, got home from dance class at 6:35. Brian, 10, had to leave for Boy Scouts at 6:50. That left 15 minutes to sit down for tacos.
A major decline in the free time of children ages 3-12 between 1981 and 1997. (Findings from national time diary surveys conducted in 1981 and 1997 by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan.1 All findings reported below are from this study unless otherwise footnoted.)
SALT LAKE CITY 1 August 2008 A study of 1,580 IBM employees by Church-owned Brigham Young University shows that eating dinner together as a family has benefits for parents as well as children. Research by Jenet Jacob and her colleagues at BYU finds that parents who work outside the home are less stressed if they make it home in time for dinner.
“Come and get it!” It may be dinnertime, but when was the last time your family sat down and enjoyed dinner together? With music lessons, ball practice, play rehearsal, and work schedules, it can be tough. Rounding up the troop for an evening meal can be almost impossible!
Close your eyes and picture Family Dinner. June Cleaver is in an apron and pearls, Ward in a sweater and tie. The napkins are linen, the children are scrubbed, steam rises from the green-bean casserole, and even the dog listens intently to what is being said. This is where the tribe comes to transmit wisdom, embed expectations, confess, conspire, forgive, repair.
When something has to give, it’s easy to understand why the family meal may be one of the first things to fall by the wayside.
A new survey reveals that a family sit-down at dinnertime can benefit teenagers in more ways that you may think, and may even reduce your child’s risk for trying or using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. Last week, the US National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse released a report on family dining trends and how family mealtimes can impact the health of teenagers. The study surveyed more than 1,000 teens and found that 58 percent dine with their families at least five times per week — a number that has held steady over the years, experts say.
What do you do to make family meals a regular occasion?
