Prevention Works!

Special Survey Report
What Your Kids Want to Know About Sex, Drugs, and Violence

A recent survey found that parents are communicating with their children about sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, and AIDS, but aren’t handling the difficult issues as well as they might. In the national study, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation/Children Now and Family Circle, children gave their parents high marks for initiating serious conversations, but one in five rated their parents as "out of touch," especially about sex, drugs, and alcohol.

• Between the ages of 10 and 12, most children cite their parents as being their primary source of information about sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, and AIDS. In rank order, the children surveyed said they received their information from mothers, TV/movies/other entertainment, school and teachers, fathers, friends.
• When kids hit the teen years--specifically ages 13 to 15--they are more likely to get their information elsewhere. In rank order, the children surveyed said they received their information from friends, TV/movies/other entertainment, schools and teachers, the Internet, mothers.
• By the time their child is 12 years old, the majority of parents say they have discussed sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, and AIDS. Yet more than half admit that, when it comes to sex, they haven’t moved past the basics of reproduction.
• Fifty percent of parents with children ages 10 to 12 have never talked about how to know when a person might be ready to have sex, though nearly half of preteens (43%) say it’s something they would like to learn more about.
• Forty-three percent of kids say they want to talk about how alcohol and drugs affect decisions to have sex, but 46 percent of parents have yet to tackle the issue.

Research has shown that strong ties to the family provide children with a protective barrier against the potentially negative forces in their environment. When kids feel psychologically isolated and adrift, they are more likely to become involved in potentially harmful activities such as sex, drug and alcohol use, and violence. Candid communication--including the open expression of feelings and thoughts between parents and children--can be the best prevention method to keep kids away from such behavior.

For more information on talking to kids about the difficult topics of sex, drugs, alcohol, violence, and AIDS, log on to www.talkingwithkids.org.

Source: What Your Kids Want to Know About Sex, Drugs, and Violence, Family Circle, April 1, 1999.

To receive a complimentary copy of this PreventionAlert, call SAMSHA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) @ 1-800-729-6686, TDD 1-800-487-4889 (for the hearing impaired.) PREVENTIONAlert is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For information about PREVENTIONAlert, please contact CSAP by phone (301) 443-0581 or e-mail gensley@samhsa.gov