RESEARCHERS SAY STRICT PARENTS CAN CURB TEEN DRINKING, SMOKING

WASHINGTON Parents who impose strict rules on their teen-agers have a
better chance of raising drug-free children, but most set few guidelines or
none at all, a research center said Wednesday.

Sixty-one percent of 12- to 17-year-olds are at risk of abusing cigarettes,
alcohol or drugs, according to a study by the National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse.

The study shows that teen-agers who live in highly structured households
are at low risk of abusing drugs, whether the children are raised by both
parents, a single parent or a stepparent.

"Mothers and fathers who are parents rather than pals can greatly reduce
the risk," said Joseph Califano, chairman of the Columbia University-based
center.

The study found that teen-agers living in "hands-off" households were twice
as likely to abuse drugs as the average teen-ager, and teen-agers with
absentee parents were four times as likely to abuse substances as children
in highly structured, "hands-on" homes.

President Bush's acting drug policy adviser, Edward Jurith, endorsed the
findings. "Youth tell us that their parents can empower them to make
healthy decisions about drugs," he said in a statement.

This was the center's sixth annual survey of teen-agers but the first time
researchers focused on a parent's role in abetting risky behavior.

The study does not attempt to draw a cause and effect. Acknowledging that
teen-agers might not be willing to fully report illegal or unacceptable
behavior, the study measured risk, not actual substance abuse.

Results were based on telephone interviews with 1,000 youth ages 12 to 17.
They were asked about their smoking, drinking or drug-taking histories or
habits, the behavior of friends, and rules set by their parents. The margin
of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Parents were placed into three groups, based on about a dozen actions
reported by their children. "Hands-on" parents consistently took 10 or more
of these actions, which included: turning off the TV during dinner; banning
music with offensive lyrics; finding out where their children were after
school; imposing curfews; assigning regular chores; eating dinner with
their children at least six nights a week.

Twenty-seven percent of teen-agers live in such households, researchers said.

"Halfhearted" parents set about half these rules; the largest group of
children - 55 percent - said they lived in these households.

Eighteen percent of teen-agers described their parents as "hands-off" -
following five or fewer of the rules.

The survey found that:

- -51 percent of the teen-agers said they would never try an illegal drug,
compared with the 60 percent who made a similar statement in 1999.

- -About two-thirds said they can find drugs in their schools.

For the first time, the survey also asked about Ecstasy, a mind-altering
drug. Twenty-eight percent of teen-agers said they knew a friend or
classmate who has used the drug and 17 percent said they knew more than one
user.