Teens Who Have Infrequent Family Dinners Likelier to Expect to Use Drugs in the Future
Sep 22, 2010
Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are more than twice as likely to say that they expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners VI, a new report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The CASA family dinners report reveals that nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of teens think that eating dinner frequently with their parents is very or fairly important. Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are:
- Twice as likely to have used tobacco
- Almost twice as likely to have used alcohol
- One and half times likelier to have used marijuana
The report also reveals that teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week are twice as likely to be able to get marijuana or prescription drugs (to get high) in an hour or less. Teens who are having five or more family dinners per week are more likely to say that they do not have any access to marijuana and prescription drugs (to get high).
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Source
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University