Much research points to the family as the critical factor in determining whether children will use drugs. A strong family counteracts the influence of a child’s drug-using peers. On the other hand, a weak family may actually encourage drug use. Parental leniency about marijuana, for example, may actually prompt young people to try pot (although strong rules against drugs in the home do not necessarily stop marijuana use).
Most important, psychologists say, the family provides the child with emotional support and models for correct behavior. If the child is unable to share his or her feelings, thoughts, and needs with the parents, the child is more likely to try marijuana and other drugs to feel better. Young people who get into deep trouble with drugs are the ones who use drugs to cope with their environment.
Dr. George De Leon, then research director of Phoenix House, has studied the family’s influence on drug use in detail. He compared the families of adolescents who use drugs and those who do not. He has come up with a formula for a good family that may immunize its sons and daughters against experimenting with drugs despite so-called “friends” who pressure them to do so.
“A good family,” says Dr. De Leon, “provides good communication, closeness, and good role models. A good family shows no compulsive behavior: no gambling, drug use, or excessive alcohol intake.”
In his study of drug abusers and drug abstainers, Dr. De Leon has found that, perhaps more than the mother, the father’s behavior powerfully influences his children’s drug-taking habits. A good father, Dr. De Leon says, shows his children that he is true to his ideals and does not lie to himself or others. In this sense, a good father shows his children strong, self-reliant behavior and honesty.
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GENERAL HEALTH
