Family, Religious, School, and Peer Influences on Adolescent Alcohol Use

Integrated Research Services, Inc. 66 Club Road Suite 370, Eugene, OR 97401. Tel: 800-929-2955; Fax: 541-683-2621; Web site: http://www.tpronline.org

Y

2

Academic Failure; Religion; Drinking; Academic Aspiration; Adolescents; Program Effectiveness; Family Influence; Religious Factors; Peer Influence; Socialization; Social Development; Family Relationship; Substance Abuse; Social Support Groups; At Risk Persons; Adolescent Development; Role of Education; Student Behavior; Student Attitudes; Academic Achievement; School Attitudes; Secondary School Students

1086-4385

The family plays a primary socializing role in the lives of boys and girls. The quality of relationships within the family is a particularly important element in the development of adolescent behaviors. A great deal of research demonstrates that family interactions characterized by parental nurturance, warmth, and social support reduce adolescents' risk for involvement in a variety of problem behaviors, including alcohol use and abuse. Of course there are other important socializing influences during adolescence. Peer relationships, in particular, become more influential during this developmental period, and peers can have a potent impact on the alcohol use of teens. The influence of the school is important as well. An individual's response to the socializing influence of the school has important consequences for the development of problem behaviors in adolescence. Attitudes and behaviors that reflect low commitment to school (e.g., academic failure, dislike for school, low educational aspirations) can increase the likelihood that an adolescent will initiate and maintain the use of alcohol. Also, investigators have recognized increasingly that religion can have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of youth. A sense of religious commitment and sentiment (often referred to more generally as religiosity) is associated with decreased risk for alcohol use among adolescents. This study looks at the influences of the family, religion, school, and peers on adolescent alcohol use. This study demonstrates that the family, the school, religion, and peers play prominent roles in the alcohol use of adolescent boys and girls. The findings have implications for the development of effective preventive interventions by suggesting that programs should be multifaceted and targeted at multiple domains of influence in adolescents' lives. (Contains 1 figure.)

ERIC

2009

EJ853932