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New Jersey parents can take comfort from the findings of a new study which indicates that teenagers are heavily influenced by their parents in their alcohol imbibing practices. This influence means that parents in New Jersey can take action to ensure that their teenager is not arrested for DUI.
The study, conducted by a nonprofit group that raises awareness about underage drinking, found that more than 80 percent of respondents between the ages of 10 and 18 looked to their parents for guidance about alcohol practices. Parents influenced whether these teenagers drank responsibly, drank minimally or not at all.
This research indicates to New Jersey DUI lawyers that if parents scale back their own alcohol consumption and prohibit their teenage children from drinking alcohol, their teens are less likely to be involved in alcohol-related offenses like driving under the influence.
The study also found that parental influence on teens’ use of alcohol has increased over the past few years. The number of teenagers who admitted that their parents were a major influence on their drinking practices has increased by 23 % since 2003. Teenagers are also influenced by their siblings, threats of punishment, and law enforcement officers.
Surprisingly, Hollywood superstars trump parents with respect to influence on drinking practices. According to another study conducted earlier this year, teenagers are more influenced by movie stars than their parents when it comes to alcohol use. A teenager whose parents drink excessively may be more likely to engage in unsafe drinking practices like binge drinking or DUI. However, scenes of drinking and binging in movies influence teenagers even more than parental alcohol consumption.
The study surveyed teenagers about the movie they had seen and their alcohol drinking practices. The researchers then rated the teenagers’ exposure to drinking and found that teenagers who were exposed to higher alcohol-related content in movies were twice as likely to drink than teenagers who were exposed to minimal alcohol-related movie content. This study implies to New Jersey DUI lawyers that permitting your teen to watch programs with high alcohol-related content may encourage him to engage in unsafe drinking practices.
The New Jersey DUI lawyers at Helmer Paul Conley and Kasselman represent persons charged with DUI and facing license suspension across New Jersey.
