First time drunk, high? Likely, age 13

OTTAWA -- One in five Canadian adolescents ages 12 to 15 has been drunk at least once, and has tried marijuana, according to a study released yesterday by Statistics Canada.

The study, based on interviews with more than 4,000 youths in that age group, found those most likely to use drugs and alcohol travelled with peers who also did so, had parents who nagged or were inconsistent about rules, and were more likely to be doing poorly in school.

Among those who had been intoxicated, the average age for their first time was a few months past their 13th birthday -- around the same age they were most likely to sample their first joint.  The likelihood of drinking and marijuana use increased with age; 66 per cent of 15-year-olds in the study reported consuming at least one drink and 38 per cent said they had smoked pot.

Friends were the most significant factor, the study suggested: Kids who travelled in drinking circles were 11 times more likely to indulge themselves; those with peers who smoked pot were twice as likely to, compared to other teenagers.  But parenting style also played a role, the study found, with the odds of alcohol use rising, the more hostile or inconsistent the parenting behaviour.  Among youth in step-parent families, drug use was almost double compared to those raised in other two-parent settings.

Similar findings have also been reported in U.S.  research, including the suggestion that glue-sniffing, found in the Statistics Canada study to start around the age of 12, was a more common habit among younger adolescents than older ones.

But the study warns against making a straight causal link: It is unclear, for example, how often nagging parents were responding to bad behaviour rather than setting it off, and hard to say how much peer pressure is to blame, or whether kids prone to drinking hang out with like-minded friends.

The bottom line, suggests John Schulenberg, a leading expert on adolescent behaviour at the University of Michigan, is that parents should remember that the numbers are averages and they know their own children best.

Long-term studies, he points out, have shown that the vast majority of experimenting teens develop responsible habits in adulthood.

"Most try it, and most get over it," he said.  "Freaking out" is about the worst thing parents can do.  "We know from decades of research, that inconsistent, harsh parenting is a great way to train your child to be a deviant delinquent."