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| Should parents test adolescents for substance use? |
| by: John McMahon |
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Much has been made recently of the opportunities
afforded by recent technology for parents to
obtain cheap alcohol and drug testing facilities.
So are these a real boon to parents. Is it a
positive step being able to test your teenager
for alcohol and drugs? Instead of getting the
surly automatic denial, is it not a genuine
benefit to be able to get a definitive answer so
that both parents and adolescents know whether
drugs or alcohol are being consumed?
Do parents really need to use a testing kit to
tell if their kids are using drugs. True it can
be difficult sometimes. If we read the help
books and information pamphlets that tell us the
signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use in
adolescents we get a fairly comprehensive list.
The signs are that your teenager might have mood
swings, might be withdrawn, disrespectful,
verbally abusive sneaky, stay out late, neglect
their appearance and be manipulative and self-
centred. No wonder it is difficult to tell
whether adolescents are taking drugs as this list
sounds just like a description of adolescents in
general. In fact one pamphlet suggests that
signs of taking drugs are listening to loud music
for hours and associating with strange friends.
Again sounds much like normal adolescent
activities. So for some parents the ability to
test routinely or randomly must seem like the
answer to their confusion, fears and problems but
is it?
During adolescence the relationship between
teenagers and parents often deteriorates as teens
test the limits and boundaries set by parents.
They also practice being their own person being
autonomous and making their own decisions.
Introducing a drug testing kit into this cauldron
of seething hormones could cause far more
problems than it solves. Indeed, it does not
require specialised equipment to detect most
alcohol and drug use as it is fairly obvious, for
example by the smell, lack of co-ordination and
dilated pupils. However lets look at a number of
facts about drugs and alcohol.
Few adults reach the legal age of drinking
without having had an alcoholic drink, unless
they are lifelong abstainers. If you are a
parent reading this, did you drink before the
legal age? Be honest now! Around half the
population of the USA and UK under the age of 50
have tried drugs at some stage, but few actually
continue and even fewer have tried harder drugs (
eg about 10% have tried cocaine with about 1%
using regular and 1% tried heroin with about 0.1%
regular). So having tried drugs does not mean
addiction or even regular use. It is also a myth
that someone having used marijuana will
necessarily go on to use harder drugs, the so-
called gateway theory. Some will and some will
develop problems but the truth is in respect of
both alcohol and drugs is that the majority of
people who use them, do so without incurring any
problems. It is also true that, for most users,
drug use and excessive alcohol use tend to be
behaviours that people grow out of without any
interventions. Thus there could be a danger of
over-reaction.
Even if the adolescent is does have a genuine
problem it is generally recognised that there
needs to be a trusting relationship between the
user and any helper. The introduction of a
breathalyser or drug testing into the home could
alienate the teen and erode any trust or make it
more difficult to establish. Where testing might
be useful is when both parents and teen have
agreed its use as a preventative measure. For
example if the teen has been using drugs and has
developed a problem and wishes help, then parents
can suggest that random testing can help. In a
negotiated situation as described testing can be
beneficial but if imposed it can exacerbate any
problem. |
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This article was posted on June 13, 2007
and reads 12 times. |
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