Remember that the other day I noted that neither children from more authoritarian homes nor children from indulgent homes really feel that their parents really care about them? This study really drives this point home. (The original study was in Spanish and the translation isn’t great so I’m cleaning it up a bit. Hence the brackets).
A scientific study in six European countries has analyzed the role that parents play in the risk of their children consuming alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. Both an irresponsible, permissive attitude and [more demanding parenting] are associated with higher drug use than those [parenting styles] which encourage a good relationship with children. The objective was to clarify the type of parent-child relationship that best protects children from taking drugs, using two variables: parental control and affection. “Our results support the idea that extremes are not effective: neither authoritarianism nor absence of control and affection [are effective at preventing drug and alcohol abuse]. A good relationship with children works well.