Family+Protects+Against+Adolescent+Drug+Use

n8911291 1. Cultural Artefact This is an advertisement on drug use directed towards the general public, primarily adults. It shows two baby bottles where one is filled with milk and the other with drug tablets. This implies the parent or guardian of the child has a choice to give drugs or milk to the child. It attempts to increase awareness of the powerful role that parents or guardians have on influencing their child’s future drug use.


 * 1) 2. Public Health Issue

My topic is the influence of family as a protective factor to a child’s development of drug use. Drug use is a very relevant and prevalent topic in our society today, and research continues to have interest to study how it is formed and influenced. Through the social theory of functionalism, I will examine how the family functions to transmit attitudes, values and provide an environment that helps deter drug use.


 * 1) 3. Literature Review

Through a functionalistic view, the family functions within society to model and transmit morals, attitudes, behaviours and values to the offspring. These family-based factors relate to the large body of research showing the influence of certain protective family characteristics and their structured environment on the behaviour and development of drug use in children. This literature review will discuss current evidence-based mechanisms of the family-based protective factors, their limitations and the implications of research findings on policy, prevention and intervention efforts.

Accordingly, family structure is a powerful influence on adolescent behaviour, generally categorised as single-parent family or two-parent family. Adolescents from single-parent families have higher rates of alcohol, tobacco and drug use (Kuntsche & Silbereisen, 2004). Among 12 to 17-year-olds in the United States, after controlling for sex, age, ethnicity, family income and residential mobility, risk of substance use was higher in single-parent families and lower in two-parent families (Kuntsche & Silbereisen, 2004). In the United Kingdom, a survey of 7722 participants that were 15 to 16 years old, living with a single parent was significantly related to alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use ( [|Miller, 1997] ). Living with both parents is associated with reduced levels of drug use among 14 and 15-year-olds in European cities ( [|McArdle et al., 2002] ). A possible reason is that single-parent families are associated with less family cohesiveness and bonding than two-parent families, and may provide fewer financial and coping strategies to the adolescent, increasing their risk of substance use (Cleveland et al., 2010).

Parental closeness, defined as verbally sharing concerns, shared leisure time and joint discussions, offers significant protection against excessive adolescent alcohol drinking (Kuntsche & Silbereisen, 2004). Expressing personal issues and experiencing closeness to their parents allows them to be easily influenced by their parents’ own views and follow similar attitudes and opinions. Strong bonds with parents may also promote the adolescent’s adoption and internalisation of societal norms and values to emulate the parents, preventing engagement in deviant, or drug-taking, behaviours ( [|Bell, Forthun, & Sun, 2000] ). [|Branstetter et al (2002)] also suggest that parents limit time spent on substance use activities by spending more substantial time with their children, monitoring their behaviour and sending the message that family-based time should be prioritised.

Family bonding is associated with positive parent-child relationships and parental support which can serve to deter a youth from substance use. When family members adopt open communication styles that encourage constructive expression, opinions, views and concerns, it increases family attachment and teaches behaviours such as resilience (Vakalahi et al., 2000). Resiliency is a learned coping behaviour for one to cope actively with changes in circumstances. A retrospective study saw that resilient youth tend to have a positive temperament, higher self-esteem, self-control and social competence that were fostered through supportive parenting and helped them adopt negative expectations of substance use (Elliott-Erickson, 2009). Family environments with low family bonding and high levels of family conflict are often lacking in acceptance, warmth and emotional support, increasing the risk for delinquency and substance use behaviours (Cleveland et al., 2010). It creates disruptions in a child’s stress response, emotional processing, social competence and behavioural self-regulation to affect the later years and increase their risk of substance use (Repetti et al., 2002).

Displaying an authoritative parenting style can serve to protect against substance use. Although peers can influence youth, parents may lessen peer influence by setting clear standards and limits for their children through monitoring their activity and maintaining close relationships (Elliott-Erickson, 2009). Consistent disciplinary practices teach and communicates family values such as parental disapproval of substance use to their children to reduce the likelihood of substance use.

This review demonstrates the functional importance of certain family characteristics that protect against substance use in youths. There are many limitations however, that may impact these relationships found between family aspects and youth substance use.

Community characteristics not considered in many of the studies examining family structure may be a confounding variable. Single-parent families are more likely to reside in communities that lack informal adult supervision and economic and social resources, thus leading to more adolescent misbehaviour (Cleveland et al., 2010). A few of these studies also used self-reports submitted by current substance-using adolescents, who would perceive their family functioning subjectively. The majority of these studies focus on the nuclear family structure, which is the Western standard of family. The definition of family to the individual may encompass people other than their mother or father, such as aunts or uncles, and thus, their impact was not considered in these studies. As multiculturalism and social change (e.g. gay marriage) promotes a changing family structure, there is a lack of current studies which examine these different family structures, such as families coexisting with inter-generational members (e.g. grandparents) that would also serve as role models. Longitudinal designs should be used to investigate how the dynamics between recent changes in family structure, such as divorce affect developing substance use. These studies measure factors according to a Western standard, so the results may not be reflective of individuals within a different cultural context. The definition of drugs in these studies are defined as alcohol, tobacco or illicit drug use, but does not consider drug use of other possibly addictive substances such as antidepressants, or the use of other substances defined as drugs in other cultures. This may mean the sample populations in the studies are reflective of Western drug users. There is a lack of studies that examine the aspects of ethnic families that have migrated or live within a different cultural context for long periods of time and how these have positively influenced their children. Consideration of the entire cultural, social and environmental context of family must be therefore considered before determining protective aspects on a child developing drug use.


 * 1) 4. Cultural and Social Analysis:

For public health experts, this review shows the role of families as a positive social network in prevention and intervention programs that aim to eliminate adolescent substance use. Though definition of family in our society is ever-changing, the review recognises the fundamental aspects that constitute a family such as bonding, plays significant functions towards relaying family values and attitudes for youth to reduce substance use. Family is clearly seen as positive functional institution in our society, helping maintaining order and stability through transmitting the norms and values of not turning to drugs to their children. Family is a central part of almost every society - thus, the family is an enduring and ever-important factor that is recognised across many cultures and societies. This is despite that many different cultures have different family structures such as large families with coexisting inter-generational members, but its function still remains the same - to teach desirable behaviours towards the youth. Public health experts can take this into consideration when forming educational or awareness programs towards at-risk families such as single-parent families in their community context. For example, as the functional aspect of 'family' can be given by other close role models of the children, single-parent families may be encouraged to rely on other community members such as neighbours for adult supervision to generate positive relationships and display values for their adolescent.

Reflection

Similarly to how the artefact has targeted parents, this review targets the parents as it emphasises their responsibility to be aware of their large influence on their children. Personally, the artefact shows the vulnerability and impressionability of a child as they grow up, and that their decisions and views they take in adulthood are a product of their upbringing and environment surrounding them, where the parents play an important role in constructing this environment.

I have learnt that while the family structure is dynamic and ever-changing in our modern times, key aspects still remain the same to what constitutes a family, such as validating a child’s sense of identity and providing a supportive emotional environment. This assignment has taught me that it is not as easy to say it the person’s fault that they use drugs, as it is a result of many factors that have influenced them through time. This will affect my future perception of people, as they are individuals who have been moulded by their life experiences so far

. References:

Bell, N. J., Forthun, L. F., & Sun, S. W. (2000). Attachment, adolescent competencies, and substance use: Developmental considerations in the study of risk behaviors. //Substance use & Misuse, 35//(9), 1177-1206. doi:10.3109/10826080009147478

Branstetter, S. A. (2011). The influence of parents and friends on adolescent substance use : A multidimensional approach. //Journal of Substance use, 16//(2), 150-160. doi:10.3109/14659891.2010.519421Experience Survey 2008. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Author.

Cleveland, M. J., Feinberg, M. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2010). Protective families in high- and low-risk environments: Implications for adolescent substance use. //Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39//(2), 114-126. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9395-

Elliott-Erickson, S. A. (2009). Alberta Health Services—Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. (2009). An overview of risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use and gambling behaviour. //The Alberta Youth Experience Survey 2008.//

Kuntsche, E. N., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2004). Parental closeness and adolescent substance use in single and two-parent families in switzerland. //Swiss Journal of Psychology/Schweizerische Zeitschrift Für Psychologie/Revue Suisse De Psychologie, 63 //(2), 85-92. doi:10.1024/1421-0185.63.2.85

McArdle, P. ( 2002). European adolescent substance use: The roles of family structure, function and gender. //Addiction //, //97 //( 3), 329– 336.

Miller, P. ( 1997). Family structure, personality, drinking, smoking and illicit drug use: A study of UK teenagers. //Drug and Alcohol Dependence //, //45 //( 1–2), 121– 129.

Repetti, R. L., Taylor, S. E., & Seeman, T. E. (2002). Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. //Psychological Bulletin, 128//(2), 330-366. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.2.330

Vakalahi, H. F., Harrison, R. S., & Janzen, F. V. (2000). The influence of family-based risk and protective factors on adolescent substance use. //Journal of Family Social Work,4//(1), 21-34. doi:10.1300/J039v04n01_03

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