HHS Releases Study Of Relationship Between Family Structure And Adolescent Substance Abuse

NEW YORK -- HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today released a report showing that adolescents living with two biological or adoptive parents are significantly less likely to use illicit drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, or to report problems associated with use, than adolescents in other family structures.

The new study finds that the relationships with family structure are not diminished when the effects of gender, age, family income, and race/ethnicity are statistically controlled in the analysis.

Today's report represents the first time HHS has examined the relationship between family structure and adolescent substance abuse. Previous studies have examined the effects of family structure on alcohol and cigarette use among adolescents, as well as risk for teen pregnancy, but this report examines the effects on marijuana and other illicit drug use, dependence, and the need for illicit drug abuse treatment.

These findings are one more indication that children who live with two biological or adoptive parents have a measurable advantage in dealing with the risks and temptations of adolescence, Secretary Shalala said. The study tells us that the long-term commitment of two parents helps give children the edge they need to resist substance abuse."

Secretary Shalala released the new report during a New York meeting with producers and writers of daytime soap operas. In remarks at the meeting, she challenged soap opera productions to develop programming that supports public health messages and demonstrates the importance of families.

"The fact is, for most parents, raising children is more than a daily drama - it is a difficult and confusing struggle that can be made much less so with good public health information," Shalala told the "Soap Opera Summit" meeting.

Saying that more than 40 million viewers watch the "soaps" each day, Shalala said, "I'm asking you to give more thought to the public health consequences of each and every show - to empower parents to help their children make the right choices."

Parents raise children - but all of us have an obligation to give them a helping hand," she said.

Principal findings from the study include:

• Adolescents not living with two biological or adoptive parents are from 50 percent to 150 percent more likely to use substances, to be dependent on substances, and to need illicit drug abuse treatment than adolescents living with two biological or adoptive parents.
  
  
• For most substances the highest risks of adolescent substance use, dependence, and need for illicit drug abuse treatment are found in families with a father and stepmother, and in families in which the adolescent is married and lives with his or her spouse. Higher risks are also found in families where the adolescent lives with a father and no mother figure or lives with a mother and a nonrelative.
  
  
• Risks of adolescent substance use, dependence, and need for illicit drug abuse treatment are generally higher among adolescents who live with a biological father and a stepmother than among adolescents who live with a biological mother and a stepfather.
  
  
• Adolescents who live with a biological father and no mother or stepmother are more likely to use substances, to be dependent on substances, and to need illicit drug treatment than adolescents who live with a biological mother and no father or stepfather.

The report is based on a new detailed analysis of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, carried out by HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA Administrator Nelba Chavez said, "All parents and caring adults must provide clear and consistent no-use messages and our messages must be supported by our actions." A public information campaign recently launched by SAMHSA, "Reality Check," is aimed at helping parents and other adults talk with children and teens about drugs.

"Children and teens need to hear from all the adults in their lives the consistent message that drugs are illegal, dangerous and wrong," Chavez said.

While more than 60 percent of American youth are still raised in families with both of their biological (including adoptive) parents present, the proportion living with fewer than two parents has grown, as has the proportion of American adults who are divorced or remarried.

This report examines some implications of the changing family living arrangements on substance use (including alcohol and cigarettes) among American adolescents, including the effects of family structure on adolescent substance use, dependence, and need for illicit drug treatment. The study uses data from approximately 22,000 respondents aged 12-17 in the combined 1991, 1992, and 1993 National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), a much larger sample than any analyzed in previous studies.

SAMHSA, the federal government's lead agency on providing services for substance abuse prevention and treatment, is one of the Public Health Service agencies in HHS. Information and materials are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), at 1-800-729-6686, or by going on-line to the NCADI web site at http://www.health.org.

Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.hhs.gov.