SUMMIT ON ALCOHOL ABUSE STRESSES COMMUNICATION

Community Leaders, Teens Discuss Ideas

Communication is essential to understanding and preventing youth alcohol
and drug use, teen-agers and adults agreed at a countywide summit on
alcohol abuse.

As part of the summit, which ended yesterday, members of a
cross-generational panel traded questions and perceptions about underage
drinking, smoking and drug use.

Most teen-agers want to talk to their parents about alcohol but too often
hear too little about it, said Evelyn Ruiz, 16, a Point Loma High School
junior.

"We don't always know what to say," said Jane Cruz Alfano, a board member
with the Cajon Valley Union School District. "We don't want to have to look
at our own alcohol and drug use."

The exchanges among high school students and six community leaders Tuesday
night was part of Substance Abuse Summit VI, organized by the county
Department of Health & Human Services Agency and other groups, including
public schools, law enforcement agencies and health-care providers.

About 300 people attended the two-hour gathering at the Town & Country
Convention Center in Mission Valley.

Although similar summits on alcohol and drugs have been held in the past,
the Tuesday night session focused on understanding between parents and
youth, said Al Medina, alcohol and drug services administrator for the county.

Differing perceptions about how parents view alcohol may affect teens'
alcohol use, said Angela Goldberg, a consultant who helped coordinate the
summit.

For example, a survey of San Diego County students and parents, prepared
for the meeting, showed that almost one-third of teens say their parents
don't believe youth drinking is wrong. Yet, 80 percent of parents surveyed
said teen drinking is wrong.

The young panel members and parents also had differing perceptions of how
often they discussed alcohol use.

The survey found that 60 percent of teens said they had talked to their
parents about alcohol use fewer than two times in the past year. In
contrast, 64 percent of parents said they talked to their teens about
alcohol more than five times during the past 12 months.

"They're not talking much, and the message is not getting through,"
Goldberg said. "Parents are powerful, and if they send a message it makes a
difference."

David Walden, a chaplain and director of pastoral care for Palomar Pomerado
Health Systems, said parents should concentrate on their children over
other distractions in the day. "The child ought to be the priority in the
family."

Salvador Garcia, 18, a senior at Montgomery High School, said parents
should not provide alcohol to youth, even if the adults believe it is OK
under parental supervision.

"What makes you think they're not going to drink when they're not at home?"
said Charay Villolovos, 16, a junior at Kearny High School.

San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano said efforts at the Mexico border to
prevent underage Americans from drinking in Tijuana help curb drinking.

Adults outside the home have a role in educating teen-agers about alcohol
and drug use, said Jean Colston, program coordinator at LEAD San Diego, an
educational nonprofit organization.

She urged that more youth be included on planning groups that develop
policies and programs designed to prevent alcohol and drug use.

Alfano urged parents to educate themselves about what to say to children
and to be willing to offer them direction.

Previous summits have focused on the role of health care and schools in
curbing abuse.