Teens Who Eat at Family Dinners Less Likely to Drink, Smoke and Use Marijuana

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are almost four times likelier to use tobacco; more than twice as likely to use alcohol; two-and-a-half times likelier to use marijuana; and almost four times likelier to say they expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners VII, a new report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia).

The CASA Columbia family dinners report revealed that teens who have infrequent family dinners are likelier to say they have ready access to alcohol, prescription drugs (without a prescription in order to get high) or marijuana. Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are more likely to be able to get alcohol, prescription drugs or marijuana in an hour or less. In contrast, teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to report having no access to such drugs.

The CASA Columbia family dinners report reveals that 58 percent of teens report having dinner with their families at least five times a week, a proportion that has remained consistent over the past decade.
 
“This year’s study reinforces the importance of frequent family dinners,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Columbia's Founder and Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. “Ninety percent of Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction started smoking, drinking, or using other drugs before age 18. Parental engagement in children’s lives is key to raising healthy, drug-free kids and one of the simplest acts of parental engagement is sitting down to the family dinner. Seventeen years of surveying teens has taught us that the more often children have dinner with their families the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.”

Coalitions are encouraged to put the theory into practice at Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children on Monday, Sept. 26. The national movement launched by CASA Columbia in 2001 reminds parents that frequent family dinners make a difference. CADCA is a partner in this national, annual event.

In conjunction with Family Day, Karen Des Aulniers, Executive Director of the Treasure Valley Alcohol Drug Coalition in Idaho, and CADCA member, told CADCA about a new underage drinking game they developed that families can play on a DVD player or on the web. For more information on obtaining copies of the game, please visit their website at www.tvadc.org.