Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
12.02.2008 - 11:25am ET
News from:
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Bridging the Technology Gap: Study Confirms Teens Open to Discussing Drugs and Alcohol With Parents By Email, Cell Phones
Some Parents Missing Opportunities to Connect;1 in 4 Teens Report Parents Have Warned of Prescription Drug Abuse Dangers
(CSRwire) NEW YORK, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America and MetLife Foundation shows that many parents who don't
use e-mail or text messaging to communicate with their teens may be missing
important opportunities to connect with their kids about drug and alcohol
use. The national survey of more than 1,000 teens and 1,000 parents
confirms that while a majority of teens would rather have a face-to-face
conversation with their parents about alcohol or drugs, nearly one in
four (23 percent) say they would prefer to have a "serious conversation"
about this issue using e-mail or cell phone. However, just three
percent of parents would opt to communicate with their kids this way.
"Parents who are waiting for the "right time" to talk with their kids about drugs and
alcohol may be missing everyday opportunities to connect on this
important issue, said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership.
"While nothing can take the place of an in-person conversation between
parents and teens, for some parents, emails, cell phone conversations, and
even texting can help start a conversation with a reluctant teen and
reinforce talks you've already had—plus, parents can reach teens at
times when use tends to be likelier—after school, on weekends and during
unsupervised time."
The survey underscores that "Generation Text" has arrived – when asked
which was more important for everyday communication with friends, texting
or social networking; teens were far more likely to communicate
directly by texting (63 percent) than to rely on websites like Facebook
(38 percent) to stay connected. And teens don't only want to hear
from their friends. A majority of teens – 67 percent – were open to
receiving texts from their parents after school – a time when teens
are most likely to be unsupervised. For many parents, texting may be an
additional tool for monitoring and staying in touch with teens.
"Some parents may still feel apprehensive about embracing technology as a
way of communicating with their children," said Sibyl Jacobson, president
and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "But, in today's world, it is vital that
parents connect with their kids in any way possible. Our work with the
Partnership allows us to highlight important health issues like adolescent
alcohol and drug abuse and continue to empower parents to recognize the
important influence they have in their children's lives."
For parents who are reluctant or don't know how to send text messages, the
Partnership has created a downloadable guide called "Time To Text." The
tool is free at TimeToTalk.org, and gives parents
quick tips on how to text, suggests different messages to send to teens
and provides a cheat sheet parents can keep in their wallet.
Disconnect Between Parents and Teens
Additional findings from the Partnership/MetLife Foundation survey
revealed an ongoing disconnect about the discussions that are taking place
between parents and teens about drugs and alcohol. Parents reported
discussing virtually all forms of substance abuse "at length" with their
teens, but alcohol is the only topic that 60 percent or more of teens
reported their parents had covered in depth. In fact, just 26
percent of teens said their parents had talked to them about the abuse of
prescription drugs to get high – a troubling finding in light of the
fact that 1 in 5 teens has reported engaging in this dangerous behavior.
The Partnership/MetLife Foundation study was conducted among 1,001
nationally representative parents of American teens and 1,009 nationally
representative teens. The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research and
has a margin of error +/- 3.1 percent.
For more information, visit www.drugfree.org
For more information please contact:
Hallie Deaktor
+1-212-973-3528
Josie Feliz
+1-212-973-3505
News Categories:
Community Development and Health & Wellness
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