Clear Family Rules Reduce Teen Drinking, Study Suggests

Amidst the modern times when many people have become liberated, a new study suggests that family rules can lessen the cases of teen drinking. Rules imposed by parents may be a great complement to community rules according to Mark Wolfson, social sciences and health policy professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. He was also the study's lead researcher.

These days, alcohol has been shown as a big part of a teenager's life; for instance, in films and television programs that show images of young people drinking alcohol in wild parties. Published in learningenglish.voanews.com is a related study in which the results have shown college students missing meals in order to drink more alcohol and get drunk faster. According to researchers, this behavior is called "drunkorexia".

Going back to the study led by Wolfson, Live Science reported that rules within the family indeed have a huge effect on teens. Researchers revealed that teens whose parents made clear rules against drinking were 38 percent less likely to drink in parties with alcohol compared to teens whose parents did not impose any rules. According to Wolfson, curbing underage drinking is very important for numerous reasons; some of which include risky behaviors, binge drinking, and different health problems.

The research, however, has its own set of limitations. Kenneth Land, research professor at the Duke University, suggested that researchers should gather additional data including each respondent's birth order and religious affiliation. Also important are the parents' drinking histories. Land was not involved in the study.

Moreover, majority of the respondents were white. The findings may not be applicable to other groups of people; hence more participants are needed to establish the findings. Meanwhile, these preliminary results can still lead to the empowerment of families. This is according to Adam Lippert, sociology assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver. Like Land, he was not involved in the research.