CHARACTERISTICS OF ALCOHOLIC FAMILIES AND ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE USE

Based on a large sample of suburban high school students, this study f ound: I) that students who reported that adults in their households ha d received substance abuse treatment were more likely to be using a va riety of recreational/addictive substances, 2) that there were only sm all differences in family characteristics between households with and without treated alcoholic family members and that these differences di d not explain the heightened substance use of adolescents from treated alcoholic families, and 3) that the effects of coming from an alcohol ic family were greater when there was little social support in the fam ily.