How Parents Can Prevent Teenage Alcohol and Drug Use

Underage drinking and drug use are a major public health concern in the United States and around the world. It can have serious consequences, from health and developmental challenges to legal repercussions.

That said, parental influence on teen substance use can make all the difference in preventing teen substance abuse. Knowing how to prevent underage drinking and how to prevent drug abuse among youth is key^[1].

Understanding the Risks of Teenage Alcohol and Drug Use

While young people between 13 and 20 don’t drink as consistently as adults in the United States, they nonetheless tend to drink more at a time or engage in binge drinking.

That said, any sort of drinking and drug use correlates with a series of emotional, social, and behavioral concerns in teenagers.

These include:

• Fighting
• Impulsivity
• Impaired judgment
• Theft
• Driving under the influence
• Missing school
• Mood disorders such as depression
• Bullying
• Self-harm
• Concerns related to identity or self-esteem
• Struggling academically
• Absenteeism at school or work
• Unsafe sexual activity
• Unintentional injuries due to recklessness
• Increases the risk of physical or sexual assault
• Increased likelihood of using other drugs.

In the long term, individuals who begin drinking before they turn 15 are more likely to develop alcohol use disorder (AUD) later in life. Additionally, alcohol and drug use can affect teenage brain development in structure and function, leading to cognitive deficits, alcohol dependence and addiction, and poor mental health^[1].

Risk Factors of Teenage Alcohol and Drug Use

Several factors can make teenage drinking and substance misuse more likely:

• Family history: A genetic predisposition to addiction can elevate a teen’s risk of developing a substance use disorder.
• Mental health Concerns: Mental health symptoms and conditions such as depression, anxiety, or ADHD can make teens more vulnerable to reliance on drugs and alcohol, especially if they are not taught proper coping strategies and lack other forms of support
• Peer pressure: Adolescents may feel the need to fit in with friends who use substances. They may feel pressured to use substances in situations where they don’t feel they have control or autonomy.
• Lack of supervision: Teens who tend to go unsupervised for extended periods are more likely to experiment with alcohol or drugs than teens who are closely monitored by parents or other authority figures.

For parents hoping to identify vulnerabilities and implement targeted interventions, it’s important to understand how to manage the risk factors that may make drug and alcohol use more prevalent among teenagers^[2].

What Can You Do as a Parent?

It’s natural to be concerned about the short-term and long-term risks of your teenager’s drug and alcohol use.

Fortunately, parents can have a significant influence on their teenagers, shaping their attitudes toward drugs and alcohol and helping them feel self-secure and stable enough to look after themselves well.

Parents can model healthy behaviors, resisting the need to control in favor of offering teens a sense of support and open lines of communication. Creating a positive home environment is also essential and can help teens feel comfortable making smart, informed choices.

When approaching your teenager, it’s important to consider the key risk factors mentioned above and tailor your approach accordingly. Consider genetics, as well as social and environmental factors that may shape your teen’s confidence, general well-being, and choices.

Here are a few methods that have been shown to make a difference:

• Openly discussing the dangers: It’s beneficial to be transparent with your teenager about the risks associated with drug and alcohol use. Providing information might afford them a sense of power and autonomy to make a judgment call for the sake of their own health and safety.
• Modeling healthy behaviors: Parents can model how to drink responsibly and how to turn to healthier coping strategies when dealing with difficult feelings and experiences.
• Limiting the availability of alcohol: Easy access to alcohol at home and parties has been linked to increased drug and alcohol use in teenagers.
• Remaining interested in your teenager: Teenagers are at a developmental stage where they are becoming more independent. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to get to know who their friends are and check in about their emotional state to remain aware of any changes.
• Doing what you can to supervise: Try to keep lines of communication open with your teenager. Know their whereabouts and maintain a sense of what activities they’re engaging in. Supervision at parties and gatherings of any kind, for example, can prevent drug and alcohol use.

When parents remain actively involved, children and teenagers are less likely to consume alcohol and use drugs. Conversely, when parents misuse drugs and alcohol themselves, they’re likely to adversely affect their teenager’s relationship with substances. This is especially the case if parents openly use these substances in front of their teenagers^[2].

Open and Honest Communication

Creating a foundation of trust is important to fully and sensitively address alcohol and drug use in teenagers. While these conversations can be difficult to navigate and may feel a bit awkward, especially at first, they are also essential to ensuring healthy behaviors.

Parents can do the following to help keep lines of communication open:

• Begin early on: While it may feel like a good idea to withhold from conversing about what might feel like ‘adult topics,’ intervening before exposure occurs will put you and your teen on the right footing.Tailoring your language appropriately and raising these subjects with sensitivity to your child or teenager’s experiences and emotions is important. Early conversations can help them navigate the world from a more assured and informed place.
• Be approachable: To help your teen feel safe to share their thoughts and concerns, try to remain open to what they have to tell you. Harsh punishment for their behavior often backfires and can leave them feeling lonely, which may drive them further away. This can lead them to seek out substances in an attempt to cope with feelings of isolation and being misunderstood.Try to be understanding, assuring them that you are there to support them and help them make wise choices while also being firm with boundaries and consequences. Active listening that demonstrates empathy rather than judgment can go a long way.
• Identify conversational goals: In all drug- and alcohol-related conversations, your teenager needs to know that you care about their happiness and well-being. At the same time, they also have to understand that their parents don’t approve of substance misuse. You can anticipate and acknowledge that your teenager may encounter drugs and alcohol, but you can offer them guidance to help them manage these situations mindfully and confidently.
• Keep conversations light but frequent: As appealing as it may sound to get ‘the talk’ over and done in one fell swoop, shorter and more frequent conversations are more effective than a single big talk. Not only do regular check-ins build trust, but they also account for how these conversations will likely need to change over time as your teen grows older and encounters new contexts.
• Provide accurate information: Dispelling myths and providing factual details about the consequences of substance use can help your teen feel that they have the ability to make informed decisions. It’s okay not to know all the answers, but brushing up on the facts can help them trust you as a reliable source of guidance.For example, you could look up some of the most searched questions related to drugs and alcohol to get a sense of what teens may be trying to find out independently. Frequent searches have historically included “Is vaping bad for you even if it’s just flavoring?” for example^[3].

Setting Boundaries

Boundaries can help you maintain a positive dynamic with your teenager, offering a sense of clarity, consistency, and even safety. When teens can fully understand your expectations and the consequences of their actions, they’re more likely to make healthy choices.

Here are some ways to set boundaries around drugs and alcohol:

• Establish rules: Create family policies regarding alcohol and drug use. These can include clarifying your personal limits with drugs and alcohol, as well as what won’t be tolerated from your teen.
• Enforce consequences: Consistently following through with pre-established consequences for breaking rules is important to ensure that boundaries remain clear. Note that these consequences shouldn’t include shaming your teen—rather, they should be to teach accountability and create emotional safety.
• Be transparent: Explain the reasons behind the rules you set to ensure your teen perceives them as fair and reasonable^[4].

Creating a Supportive Home Environment

A nurturing home atmosphere can mitigate stress, helping teens retain good self-esteem and reducing the appeal of substances. Here are some ways to do so:

• Check in: Trust your instincts without making assumptions and remain aware. If something feels off or you notice your teen acting differently, you can check in to ask about what they’re experiencing.Some signs to look out for are:
  • Decreased interest in activities they usually enjoy
  • Lower performance or getting in trouble at school
  • Eating or sleeping less
  • Neglecting hygiene (brushing hair, brushing teeth, showering, etc.)
  • Spending a lot of time with a new group of friends
• Show affection: Through your words and actions, you can set boundaries while at the same time demonstrating your care and concern for your teen. By showing affection, you can make it clear that you are on their team and want the best for them.
• Encourage openness: Allow your teen to share any feelings—frustrations, fears, worries—without fear of judgment. You can foster openness in your relationship by expressing your interest in your teen’s well-being and being curious about what sorts of responses help them feel the most supported.
• Provide stability: Consistent routines, traditions, and responses can help to create a sense of stability and security at home. A healthy degree of monitoring has been shown to influence outcomes of teen alcohol and drug use^[5].

Encouraging Positive Peer Relationships

Friendships can heavily influence a teen’s behavior, and your teen is likely to act in ways that help them maintain a sense of community. There is a strong correlation between negative peer influence and substance misuse in adults, too, but this influence appears to be especially salient for teenagers and adolescents.

To help usher your teen toward healthy friendships, you can:

• Get to know their friends: Get to know your teen’s social circle and assess potential influences.
• Encourage positive relationships: Welcome your teen’s friendships with peers who exhibit responsible behaviors. There is a positive correlation between non-using peers and reduced experimentation with drugs and alcohol.
• Teach social skills: Knowing how to resist peer pressure and feeling confident enough to do so is crucial to limiting teen drug and alcohol use. Help your teen find ways to be brave, feel confident, and say no when they don’t feel comfortable^[6].

Promoting Healthy Activities and Interests

Engaging teens in constructive activities can reduce the allure of substance use, especially where communities of teens can engage in common interests together. Here are some ways to help your teen find alternative activities and interests:

• Encourage hobbies: Whether through recreational programs or interests in music, art, or other creative outlets, you can encourage your teen to take up hobbies to make like-minded friends and establish a sense of competency and fulfillment outside of alcohol and drug use.
• Promote sports and clubs: Sports and physical activity can function as both an emotional outlet and entertainment, and participation in team sports or school clubs fosters a sense of belonging and accomplishment. Engagement in these activities has been correlated with reduced teen alcohol and substance use.
• Volunteer: Community service builds self-esteem and reinforces the value of helping others. You could opt to volunteer with your teen to model this behavior, or you could encourage your teen to join voluntary organizations where they can also make healthy friendships^[7].

Educating Teens About Media Influence

Research suggests that teenagers are frequently exposed to substance use portrayals through media. Moreover, teenagers are especially susceptible to the media’s common and relatively unregulated glamorization of alcohol and drug use. This is unsurprising, as industries, such as the tobacco industry, tend to target youth.

To help your teen resist these narratives and make better personal choices, you can teach them to critically evaluate portrayals of substance use in movies, music, and social media. Research suggests that parental mediation, or discussing the media’s portrayal of drugs and alcohol with teens, can reduce drug and alcohol use. Help them become media literate, capable of critically distancing themselves from the media’s portrayal.

Similarly, research shows that parental restriction of content that normalizes or glamorizes substance use can lead to a reduction in smoking and drinking in teenagers. Further evidence suggests the same is true for other substances as well. As a result, it’s a good idea to monitor and limit what your teen engages with on television and online^[8].

When to Seek Professional Help

If your teen shows signs of substance use or struggles with mental health issues, early professional intervention from a registered healthcare provider can help ensure they stay on a positive developmental path.

Remember, opting for professional intervention is not a sign that your parenting strategies are weak or failing. Enlisting professional help is, instead, one of the most surefire ways to take good care of your teenager while helping you feel supported as a parent as well.

Here are a few signs that may signal your teen is dealing with an underlying drug- or alcohol-related concern, which should be responded to swiftly:

• Sudden changes in behavior or mood
• Declining academic performance
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
• Unexplained health issues or changes in appearance^[9]

Proactive and consistent support from parents, involving communication, boundaries, and a supportive home environment, can make a big impact on teenagers’ choices. However, professional healthcare providers can lend a hand and offer clear treatment plans to ensure that your teen steers clear of substance misuse and its consequences.