Parents More Influential Over Teenage Behavior Than They Believe
GOLDEN, Colo., July 11 /PRNewswire/ — New research shows that when it comes to who influences decisions about underage drinking, parents and their teenage children have their wires crossed.
The MVParents.com Report was released today and commissioned by Coors Brewing Company in partnership with Search Institute(R), a leading innovator in discovering what children and adolescents need to become caring, healthy and responsible adults and avoid high-risk behaviors like underage drinking. The Report, based on an online survey of American parents with children between the ages of 11 and 20, measures parental involvement and attitudes when it comes to lifestyle habits of teens.
According to the MVParents.com Report, nearly three out of four parents believe their children’s friends and classmates have the most influence on when they start drinking alcohol. Yet contrary to what parents think, kids say mom and dad have the biggest impact on the choices they make. The 2005 Roper Youth Report reveals 74 percent of teens said parents are their number one influence when deciding to drink or not.
Dr. Peter Benson of Search Institute says these conflicting beliefs demonstrate the crux of a key issue facing parents of teenagers: What parents say and do makes more of a difference than they think it does.
“Here’s a situation where teens say their parents really matter, but the parents clearly aren’t feeling confident that they influence their kids’ behaviors,” said Dr. Benson. “Parents can take progressive steps toward supporting their teenagers in making healthy, responsible choices by nurturing Developmental Assets(R). This includes talking to them about everyday things as well as their deeply held values, modeling and expecting children to live with positive values, and helping them connect to lots of caring, responsible adults who help steer them in the right directions.”
Developmental Assets, grounded in research, are the essential building blocks of healthy development. Asset building includes family support, instilling a sense of safety, setting boundaries, and promoting honesty in young people.
“These tools have been available to community leaders for years and we’re excited to partner with the experts at Search Institute to offer them directly to parents at MVParents.com in an effort to work together to help children thrive,” said Bill Young, Coors Brewing Company director of alcohol responsibility.
Tools to Bridging the Gap
Although 62 percent of parents surveyed in the MVParents.com Report label themselves “inconsistent communicators” when it comes to serious conversations with their children, most parents want to be approachable.
Dr. Benson encourages parents to “develop healthy communication by talking to their teenager(s) about every day life — friends, who’s dating whom, fashion, sports. Be approachable and take your children’s concerns, questions, and challenges seriously. Having regular conversations about what’s important to our kids makes it more likely that they’ll be ready to talk about the things that are important to us as parents.”
And parents are working on this. Eighty-nine percent of parents spend at least one day per week catching up with their teens to discuss what’s going on at school and with their friends. In addition, more than 57 percent of parents report having dinner together as family at least five times per week.
Search Institute’s studies of about 2.5 million young people in the United States have shown that the more Developmental Assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors and the more likely they are to thrive. For example, when kids have 31 to 40 assets, they are 15 times less likely to engage in problem alcohol use than those who just have 0 — 10 assets. The Assets are divided into eight categories which encompass positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and responsible.
MVParents.com is an idea hub for everyday parenting actions that help kids make positive choices in life, based on the Developmental Assets. The Web site aims to prevent underage drinking and encourages adults to become the “most valuable players” in the lives of children. Coors Brewing Company partnered with Search Institute to create MVParents.com.
For more ideas on practical ways that parents can improve communication and help their teens grow up successfully, visit http://www.mvparents.com/.
Methodology
Kelton Research conducted this online survey May 7 — 9, 2007. They used national representative sample with an approximate + or – 4.9 percent point margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.
About Search Institute
Search Institute is a national leader in generating cutting-edge ideas, research, and strategies for growing healthy, thriving children and adolescents. Founded in 1958 as an independent nonprofit organization, the mission of Search Institute is to provide leadership, knowledge and resources to promote healthy children, youth and communities. At the heart of Search Institute’s work is its framework of 40 Developmental Assets, which identifies positive experiences, relationships, opportunities and personal qualities that all young people need to help them make positive choices.
About Coors Brewing Company
Coors Brewing Company is a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company, (NYSE, TSX — TAP). It is the third largest brewer in the U.S. The company’s U.S. brands include Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Coors, Killian’s Irish Red, Keystone, Blue Moon, Coors NA and Zima. For more information, visit the company’s Web site, http://www.coors.com/.
Media Contacts: Chris Suttile Josh Rangel GolinHarris GolinHarris (312) 729-4224 (312) 729-4168 csuttile@golinharris.com jrangel@golinharris.com
MVParents.com
CONTACT: Chris Suttile, +1-312-729-4224, csuttile@golinharris.com, orJosh Rangel, +1-312-729-4168, jrangel@golinharris.com, both of GolinHarris forMVParents.com
Web site: http://www.mvparents.com/http://www.coors.com/