What Mothers Know about Their Adolescents' Alcohol/Drug Use and Problems,and How Mothers React to Finding out about it

Abstract

Data was collected from 189 adolescent clients, ages thirteen to twenty-one, and separately from their mothers, in a structured interview format, at time of application for outpatient drug treatment. Based on the assumption that the adolescents know more about their own substance use than their mothers, and do not exaggerate their substance use in their reporting, the results indicate that the mothers' information is not very complete or accurate. The adolescents reported significantly more use of alcohol, but significantly less problem with alcohol use, a finding consistent with the usual assumption that heavy alcohol users deny their problem. In regard to the reports on the mothers' reactions upon finding out about the substance use, the best degree of agreement was on whether the adolescent was punished, and the least degree of agreement was on whether the mother expressed concern about the harmful effects of drugs on the adolescent's life.