Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

Permissive Parenting and Substance Abuse

As described in the last entry detailing statistics about youth substance abuse, there is plenty of data to support the concerns about the drug use and the effects it has on the youth in our country and on our broader communities.  There are multiple influences on the behavior of children so we must be careful not to blame parents for a youth's behavior, but we must not ignore the fact that the parents have more ability to change the child's behavior than others. We should also consider that families have more desire to see a change in the behavior than the child or the child's peers. Consequently, it makes sense to consider how a parent can help address the concerns.

There are many influences that can contribute to juvenile substance abuse and many parenting styles that parents may exhibit that have their own strengths and weaknesses. One parenting style that we often associate with juvenile substance use does have support from research and that is permissive parenting. Permissive parenting has been associated with impulsive behavior and a child that may become difficult to control, especially in the face of disappointment. They may develop aggressive behavior and discover drugs and alcohol as they get older.

Permissive parents can be described as having high warmth in their relationship with their child combined with low control. The element of warmth in a parent-child relationship is obviously extremely important and should be a goal for families. When this warmth interferes in the enforcement of reasonable rules and expectations, parents run the risk of becoming overly permissive and exhibiting the elements of permissive parents. There are many points to consider to assess whether or not you may be a permissive parent, but a general guideline to consider is whether your plans to administer discipline are thwarted by concerns about the child being angry, guilt or concerns over the well-being of the child.

If you fall into this category, it will be important for you to address your own concerns if you are to promote a change in your child's behavior. It will be important to identify your specific thoughts and concerns and  to assess whether or not they are helpful in your goals for your child.