Based on hundreds of studies in the fields of prevention and resiliency, the Search Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has identified developmental assets which, broadly defined, are the relationships, opportunities, skills and values that young people need to succeed. While families, community programs, individuals and organizations are important factors in student achievement; schools can play a powerful role in building assets.
Listed below are some ways you can accomplish this:
You can support youth by showing them you care about them and you are willing to help them through challenges…
Guide them toward life by helping them form beliefs and convictions based on positive values…
Set reasonable boundaries and high, reachable expectations…
Help them develop social competencies that they can use throughout life…
Inspire youth to make constructive use of their time, but give them constructive things to do…
Help them become committed to learning by modeling a love of learning throughout life…
Celebrate their positive identity by letting youth know that they are valuable and worthwhile with a purpose in life.
Alcoholism FAQ
If an alcoholic is unwilling to get help, what can you do about it?
This can be a challenge. An alcoholic can’t be forced to get help except under certain circumstances, such as a violent incident that results in court-ordered treatment or a medical emergency. But you don’t have to wait for someone to “hit rock bottom” to act. Many alcoholism treatment specialists suggest the following steps to help an alcoholic get treatment:
Stop all “cover ups”. Family members often make excuses to others or try to protect the alcoholic from the results of his or her drinking. It is important to stop covering for the alcoholic so that he or she experiences the full consequences of drinking.
Time your intervention. The best time to talk to the drinker is shortly after an alcohol-related problem has occurred- like a serious family argument or an accident. Choose a time when he or she is sober, both of you are fairly calm and you have a chance to talk in private.
Be specific. Tell the family member that you are worried about his or her drinking. Use examples of the ways in which the drinking has caused problems, including the most recent incident.
State the results. Explain to the drinker what you will do if he or she doesn’t go for help-not to punish the drinker, but to protect yourself from his or her problems. What you say may range from refusing to go with the person to any social activity where alcohol will be served, to moving out of the house. Do not make any threats you are not prepared to carry out.
Get help. Gather information in advance about treatment options in your community. If the person is willing to get help, call immediately for an appointment with a treatment counselor. Offer to go with the family member on the first visit to a treatment program and/or an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Call on a friend. If the family member still refuses to get help, ask a friend to talk with him or her using the steps just described. A friend, who is a recovering alcoholic may be particularly persuasive, but any person who is caring and nonjudgmental may help. The intervention of more than one person, more than one time, often is necessary to coax an alcoholic to seek help.
Find strength in numbers. With the help of a health care professional, some families join with other relatives and friends to confront an alcoholic as a group. This approach should only be tried under the guidance of a health care professional who is experienced in this kind of group intervention.
Get support. It is important to remember that you are not alone. Support groups offered in most communities include Al-Anon, which holds regular meetings for spouses and other significant adults in an alcoholic’s life, and Alateen, which is geared to children of alcoholics. These groups help family members understand that they are not responsible for an alcoholic’s drinking and that they need to take steps to take care of themselves, regardless of whether the alcoholic family member chooses to get help.
Communication Tips For Teens
Developing open, trusting communication between you and your child is essential to helping your child avoid alcohol use. If your child feels comfortable talking openly with you, you’ll have a greater chance of guiding him or her toward healthy decision making. Some ways to begin:
• Encourage conversation. Encourage your child to talk about whatever interests him or her. Listen without interruption and give your child a chance to teach you something new. Your active listening to your child’s enthusiasms paves the way for conversations about topics that concern you.
• Ask open-ended questions. Encourage your teen to tell you how he or she things and feels about the issue you’re discussing. Avoid questions that have a simple “yes” or “no” answer.
• Control your emotions. If you hear something you don’t like, try not to respond with anger. Instead, take a few deep breaths and acknowledge your feelings in a constructive way.
• Make every conversation a “win-win” experience. Don’t lecture or try to “score points” on your teen by showing how he or she is wrong. If you show respect for your child’s viewpoint, he or she will be more likely to listen to and respect yours.
• Draw the line. Set clear, realistic expectations for your child’s behavior. Establish appropriate consequences for breaking rules and consistently enforce them.
• Offer acceptance. Make sure your teen knows that you appreciate his or her efforts as well as accomplishments. Avoid hurtful teasing or criticism.
• Understand that your child is growing up. This doesn’t mean a hands-off attitude. But as you guide your child’s behavior, also make an effort to respect his or her growing need for independence and privacy.
Good Reasons for Teens Not to Drink
• You want your child to avoid alcohol.
• You want your child to maintain self-respect.
• You want them to know drinking is illegal.
• Drinking at their age can be dangerous.
• You may have a family history of alcoholism.
Six ways to say no to a drink
At some point, your child will be offered alcohol. To resist such pressure, teens say they prefer quick ”one-liners” that allow them to dodge a drink without making a big scene. It will probably work best for your teen to take the lead in thinking up comebacks to drink offers so that he or she will feel comfortable saying them. But to get the brainstorming started, here are some simple pressure-busters- from the mildest to the most assertive.
1. No thanks.
2. I don’t feel like it- do you have any soda?
3. Alcohol’s NOT my thing.
4. Are you talking to me? Forget it.
5. Why do you keep pressuring me when I’ve said NO?
6. Back off!
How to host a teen party
• Agree on a guest list-and don’t admit party crashers.
• Discuss ground rules with your child before the party.
• Encourage your teen to plan the party with a responsible friend so that he or she will have support if problems arise.
• Brainstorm fun activities for the party.
• If a guest brings alcohol into your house, ask him or her to leave.
• Serve plenty of snacks and no-alcoholic drinks.
• Be visible and available – but don’t join the party!
Could my child develop a drinking problem?
• Begin using alcohol or other drugs before the age of 15.
• Have a parent who is a problem drinker or an alcoholic.
• Have close friends who use alcohol and/or other drugs.
• Have been aggressive, antisocial, or hard to control from an early age.
• Have experienced childhood abuse and/or other major traumas.
• Have current behavioral problems and/or are failing at school.
• Have parents who do not support them, do not communicate openly with them, and do not keep track of their behavior or whereabouts.
• Experience ongoing hostility or rejection from parents and/or harsh, inconsistent discipline.
Warning signs of a drinking problem
• Mood changes: flare-ups of temper, irritability, and defensiveness.
• School problems: poor attendance, low grades, and/or recent disciplinary action.
• Rebelling against family rules.
• Switching friends, along with a reluctance to have you get to know the new friends.
• A “nothing matters” attitude: sloppy appearance, a lack of involvement in former interests, and general low energy.
• Finding alcohol in your child’s room or backpack, or smelling alcohol on his or her breath.
• Physical or mental problems: memory lapses, poor concentration, bloodshot eyes, lack of coordination, or slurred speech.
Action Checklist
• Establish a loving, trusting relationship with your child.
• Make it easy for your teen to talk honestly with you.
• Talk with your child about alcohol facts, reasons not to drink, and ways to avoid drinking in difficult situations.
• Keep tabs on your young teen’s activities, and join with other parents in making common policies about teen alcohol use.
• Develop family rules about teen drinking and establish consequences.
• Set a good example regarding your own alcohol use and your response to teen drinking.
• Know whether your child is at high risk for a drinking problem; if so, take steps to lessen that risk.
• Know the warning signs of a teen drinking problem and act promptly to get help for your child.
• Believe in your own power to help your child avoid alcohol use.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is a historic initiative created to educate and enable America’s youth to reject illicit drugs. The Media Campaign invites you to visit these drug education Web sites for youth, parents, and other concerned adults:
If You Are Interested In........
Check Out.......
Learning how to talk to your kids about drug
Learning how to talk to your kids about drug (Available in Spanish, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese)
Alcoholism is a rough word to deal with.
Yet nobody is too young (or too old) to have trouble with booze.
That’s because alcoholism is an illness. It can hit anyone. Young, old. Rich, poor.Black, white. And it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been drinking or what you’ve
been drinking. It’s what drinking does to you that counts.
To help you decide whether you might have a problem with your own drinking, We’ve prepared these 12 questions. The answers are nobody’s business but your own.
If you can answer yes to any one of these questions, maybe it’s time you took a serious look at what your drinking might be doing to you.
1. Do you drink because you have problems? To relax?
2. Do you drink when you get mad at other people, your friends or parents?
3. Do you prefer to drink alone, rather than with others?
4. Are your grades starting to slip? Are you goofing off on your job?
5. Did you ever try to stop drinking or drink less – and fail?
6. Have you begun to drink in the morning, before school or work?
7. Do you gulp your drinks?
8. Do you ever have loss of memory due to your drinking?
9. Do you lie about your drinking?
10. Do you ever get into trouble when you’re drinking?
11. Do you get drunk when you drink, even when you don’t mean to?
12. Do you think it’s cool to be able to hold your liquor?
Prevention Principles For Parents
Source: Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1997
Prevention programs should be designed to enhance "protective factors" and move toward reversing or reducing known "risk factors."
Prevention programs should target all forms of drug abuse, including the use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants.
Prevention programs should include skills to resist drugs when offered, strengthen personal commitments against drug use, and increase social competency (e.g., in communications, peer relationships, self-efficacy, and assertiveness), in conjunction with reinforcement of attitudes against drug use.
Prevention programs for adolescents should include interactive methods, such as peer discussion groups, rather than didactic teaching techniques alone.
Prevention programs should include a parents' or caregivers' component that reinforces what the children are learning--such as facts about drugs and their harmful effects--and that opens opportunities for family discussions about use of legal and illegal substance and family policies about their use.
Prevention programs should be long-term, over the school career with repeat interventions to reinforce the original prevention goals. For example, school based efforts directed at elementary and middle school students should include booster sessions to help with critical transitions from middle to high school.
Family-focused prevention efforts have a greater impact than strategies that focus on parents only or children only.
Community programs that include media campaigns and policy changes, such as new regulations that restrict access to alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, are more effective when they are accompanied by school and family interventions.
Community programs need to strengthen norms against drug use in all drug abuse prevention settings, including the family, the school, and the community.
Schools offer opportunities to reach all populations and also serve as important settings for specific subpopulations at risk for drug abuse, such as children with behavior problems or learning disabilities and those who are potential dropouts.
Prevention programming should be adapted to address the specific nature of the drug abuse problem in the local community.
The higher the level of risk of the target population, the more intensive the prevention effort must be and the earlier it must begin.
Prevention programs should be age-specific, developmentally appropriate, and culturally sensitive.
Effective prevention programs are cost-effective. For every dollar spent on drug use prevention, communities can save 4 to 5 dollar in cost for drug abuse treatment and counseling.
To learn more about National Institute on Drug Abuse Research, visit nida.nih.gov
Reality Check: Facts Table
A study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study at www.drugfree-america.org) shows that adults and young people may not share the same reality about drugs.
Statement
% Of Parents Who
Believe This
% Of Kids Who
Believe This
Teenagers can find marijuana easily.
43 %
58 %
Smoking marijuana is harmful.
33 %
18 %
A Young Person's Friends Smoke Marijuana
45 %
71 %
My Teen Has (I Have) Tried Marijuana
21 %
44 %
My Teen Has (I Have) Been Offered An Illicit Drug
28 %
59 %
Support & Resource List
The contacts below provide information to help you join together with others in your community to have a positive impact on local substance-abuse problems. These groups have been instrumental in creating and distributing Faces of Addiction.
Join Together
One Appleton Street, 4th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02116-5223
(617) 437-1500 http://www.jointogether.org
Join Together, a national resource for communities fighting substance abuse, is supported through a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Join Together assists community groups to develop strategies to reduce alcohol and drug problems. The focus of Join Together’s activities is to highlight effective community-based strategies. Its programs include leadership development, public policy, media advocacy and an award-winning Web site. Join Together is currently working with several hundred communities to implement the tools and strategies supported through Faces of Addiction.
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
901 North Pitt Street, Suite 300
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 706-0560
(800) 54-CADCA
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has over 4,000 community member coalitions on the frontlines for the struggle against drugs and violence. CADCA promotes and facilitates local, comprehensive responses to the nation’s drug and drug-related violence problems, providing coalition members with technical assistance and training, public policy work, media strategies and marketing programs.
National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI)
PO Box 235
Rockville, Maryland 20847-2345
(800) 729-6686 http://www.health.org The National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University
152 West 57 Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 841-5200 http://www.casacolumbia.org
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
600 Executive Boulevard
Suite 409
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7003
(301) 443-3860 http://www.niaaa.nih.gov
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
5600 Fishers Lane
Room 10A-03
Rockville, Maryland 20857
(301) 443-4577 http://www.nida.nih.gov
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD)
12 West 21 Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 206-6770 http://www.ncadd.org
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
405 Lexington Avenue
16th Floor
New York, NY 10174
(212) 922-1560 http://www.drugfreeamerica.org
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
511 E. John Carpenter Freeway
Suite 700
Irving, Texas 75062-8187
(214) 744-6233 http://www.grannet.com/madd/madd.htm
Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE)
3610 DeKalb Technology Parkway
Suite 105
Atlanta, Georgia 30340
(770) 458-9900 http://www.prideusa.org
ALATEEN Headquarters
1600 Corporate Landing Parkway
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454-5617
(757) 563-1600 http://www.al-anon.org
Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco (STAT)
511 E. Columbus Avenue
Springfield, Massachusetts 01105
(413) 732-7828
Just Say No International
2000 Franklin Street
Suite 400
Oakland, California 94612
(800) 258-2766
Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD)
PO Box 800
Marlboro, Massachusetts 01752
(508) 481-3568
National Families in Action
2296 Henderson Mill Road,
Suite 300
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
(770) 934-6364 http://www.emory.edu/NFIA Save Lives!
Report, Recommendations and Action Guide of the Join Together Public Policy Panel on Underage Access to Alcohol. Available free through Join Together (617) 437-1500 or http://www.jointogether.org. This report provides recommendations and action steps to help communities reduce underage drinking.
Take Action
Available free through Join Together (617) 437-1500 or http://www.jointogether.org. A Join Together national policy panel reports on five policies America must adopt to prevent and reduce substance abuse.
Don’t Let Your Community Be Split By Drug Abuse and Violence. Volunteer Today!
Available free through Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (800-DRUGS-50)
This brochure of action tips to stop substance abuse and violence encourages citizen participation and supplies information for becoming involved in local groups.
CSAP Changing Lives. Programs That Make a Difference for Youth at High Risk
(Publication Number PHD714) Available free through NCADI (800) 729-6686 or http://www.health.org
First-hand observation of community participants in the High-Risk Youth Demonstration Grant Program provides helpful descriptions of successful programs as well as personal anecdotes on ways these programs have changed the lives of many young people.
Keeping Youth Drug-Free: A Guide for Parents, Grandparents, Elders, Mentors and Other Caregivers
(Publication Number PHD711)
Available free through NCADI
(800) 729-6686 or http://www.health.org
Research indicates that adults can play a major role in keeping youth from using tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. This booklet is a good starting point for helping children stay drug-free.
Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research Guide
By the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Available through NIDA (301) 443-3860
The AntiDrug.com
TheAntiDrug.com has partnered with GEICO and other driving-safety leaders to offer several free resources for parents and youth to help keep teens marijuana and drug free, before they get behind the wheel of a car.
The following FREE materials are available as part of the New Teen Drivers Kit. They can be ordered online or by phone at the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at (800) 788-2800:
"Teach Teens to Steer Clear of Pot" Car Glove Box Card
This card for teens contains messages about the risks of marijuana-impaired driving, resources for teens and a space on the back for emergency contact numbers. Download now. (737 KB)
"Can I Borrow the Car?"
This informative brochure for parents of new teen drivers was developed by GEICO and the Media Campaign and provides tips on how to encourage drug-free driving.
Call (800) 788-2800 to order (ask for document PHD1030). Download now. (197 KB)
"Top 10 Tips for Preventing Teen Accidents"
This collection of safe driving tips was developed by GEICO and the Media Campaign to help teens become responsible, drug-free drivers. Call (800) 788-2800 to order (ask for document MS933). Download now. (388 KB)
"Steer Clear of Pot" Teen Postcard
This postcard for teens highlights the harmful effects of marijuana and how the drug impairs judgment, reaction time and other driving abilities.
Call (800) 788-2800 to order (ask for document AVD172). Download now. (65.3 KB)
"Steer Clear of Pot" Teen Poster
This poster for teens features the dangers of drugged driving.
Call (800) 788-2800 to order (ask for document AVD174). Download now. (412 KB)
"Wake Up to the Risks of Marijuana: A Guide for Parents"
This brochure offers parents information and tips about talking with kids about marijuana.
Call (800) 788-2800 to order (ask for document PHD956). Download now. (72.9 KB)
The Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County, Inc. takes the privacy of our clients very seriously and want you to feel comfortable whenever you visit our websites, access our online services, or participate in our online offerings. For more information please view our privacy policy.
yourself from his or her problems. What you say may range from refusing to go with the person to any social activity where alcohol will be served, to moving out of the house. Do not make any threats you are not prepared to carry out. 
questions that have a simple “yes” or “no” answer.
