A scientific study by the European Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction in six countries of the continent (Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and the Czech Republic) has analyzed the influence of family education on the risk of alcohol and tobacco consumption and cannabis from their children.
The main conclusion is that both adolescents whose parents maintain a totally permissive and irresponsible education with them and those who are children of excessively authoritarian parents are more likely to take drugs than those who live with parents who promote good relationships with their children.
The research also shows that the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis is more prevalent among young Spanish people than in most European countries. The work has been carried out by an international team led by the European Institute for Prevention Studies (Irefrea) of Mallorca, together with the Spanish Universities of Oviedo, Santiago de Compostela and Valencia, as well as various European faculties.
The objective was to elucidate which type of parent-child relationship protects the most from drug abuse , based on two variables: parental control and affection. According to Amador Calafat, lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, “the results support the idea that extremes do not work : neither authoritarianism nor lack of control and affection. Ideally, there is a good relationship with the children .
It can be accompanied by direct control (what is called ‘authoritative’ or democratic style) or not (what is usually said indulgent or negligent) ”. The authoritative model encompasses families who “set clear rules, reason with their children in an affectionate and flexible way, but at the same time demand that they comply with them.” The authoritarian model coincides with the authoritative model in that they are demanding or controlling, but it differs in that fathers and mothers are less affective.
On the other hand, the parents of the negligent or indulgent model are characterized by their low level of repression ; however, the former are “not very affectionate” and the latter “very affectionate.” The results from all the countries studied agree that the lenient and authoritative models work best, both for substance use and for personal disorders.
“For self-esteem and school performance, it’s best when parents are forgiving,” says Calafat. Likewise, they contrast with other previous studies obtained carried out in other cultural settings, where the imposition of parents is “recommended” (majority Anglo-Saxon from the US) or “essential” (Asian countries).
