NYU Child Study Center Expert Recommends 5 Tips to Help Curb Teenage Binge Drinking

Response to New CDC Report Showing Binge Drinking Common Among Teens, Tied to Risky Behaviors

NEW YORK, January 3, 2007 - The New York University Child Study Center is recommending five (5) tips to help reduce teenage drinking, in light of a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC study, published in the January 2007 issue of Pediatrics, found that 45 percent of the teenage respondents reported consuming alcohol in the past month, and 64 percent of the students who drank said they were binge drinking, which is defined as having five or more alcoholic drinks in a row. The CDC report also found that binge drinking is strongly associated with sexual activity, violence, and other risky behaviors.

"Contrary to popular belief, parents remain the greatest influence over their children's behavior," said Richard Gallagher, Ph.D., Director of the Parenting Institute and the Thriving Teens Project at the NYU Child Study Center. "Though media and peers play a role, parental influence is critical and there are ways parents can maximize that influence to reduce the likelihood that their children will engage in binge drinking.

Dr. Gallagher offers these tips for parents:

TIP 1: Clearly state what actions you expect your teen to take when confronted with substance use. Teens who know what their parents expect from them are much less likely to use substances, including alcohol.

TIP 2: Talk about the alcohol use that your children observe. Parents need to make it clear how they want their children to handle substances, such as alcohol and tobacco. Children need to have controlled exposure to learn the rules of acceptable use.

TIP 3: Help your teen find leisure activities and places for leisure activities that are substance-free. Then, keep track of where, with whom, and what your teen is doing after school and during other free times.

TIP 4: Limit the access your children have to substances. Teens use substances that are available. They report that they sneak alcohol from home stocks, take cigarettes from relatives, and obtain marijuana from people that they know well.

TIP 5: Inform teens about the honest dangers that are associated with alcohol use and abuse. Although teens are not highly influenced by such information, some discussion of negative consequences has some impact on the decisions they make. Especially emphasize how alcohol clouds one's judgment and makes one more likely to be harmed in other ways.

For more information on teenage substance use and abuse, visit www.AboutOurKids.org.

Prospects for Parents to Act to Prevent Substance Abuse

The NYU Child Study Center is exploring further steps that parents can take to keep their teens substance-free. Clinicians and researchers are testing the impact that workshops for parents of middle school students have on improving parenting practices and what effect those practices have on the children's substance use during their high school years. The CSC has taken a preventative approach, believing that targeted efforts by parents, when their children are in the age range in which substance exposure occurs, will diminish the amount of experimentation and regular use their children will undertake. A full trial of the effort is underway with follow-up of parents and teens from over 400 families. The project, Thriving Teens: Parenting Practices for Positive Growth, should provide useful insight into how parents can help their teens avoid risky actions. Provision of Thriving Teens to parents' organizations or school district anti-drug campaigns is possible by contacting the Child Study Center at (212) 263-3663.