Family dinners can keep teens away from alcohol and drugs, new research shows

Family dinners can play a role in reducing alcohol, drug and vaping use among teens.

A new study published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma suggests that sharing regular family meals can help discourage substance use among many adolescents, news agency SWNS reported.

The study found that higher quality family meals were linked to lower rates of alcohol, cannabis and e-cigarette use for most teens.

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For those with more severe adverse childhood experiences, shared meals alone appeared to offer little protection.

To reach those findings, researchers analyzed online survey data from 2,090 teens ages 12 to 17 and their parents from across the United States.

Participants were asked about the quality of their family meals, including communication, enjoyment, digital distractions, and logistical challenges.

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The teens were also asked about their alcohol, vaping, and cannabis use over the previous six months.

The researchers examined whether family meals were more or less effective depending on the adolescents’ levels of household stress and traumatic experiences, using reports from both parents and adolescents, SWNS explained.

Instead of treating all adverse experiences the same, the team weighted each factor based on how strongly it has been linked to substance use in previous research.

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Among adolescents with lower levels of childhood adversity, higher quality family meals were associated with a 22% to 34% reduction in reported substance use.

Margie Skeer, lead author of the study and a professor at Tufts University, told SWNS that the findings reinforce the importance of routine family connection.

“These findings build on what we already knew about the value of family meals as a practical and widely accessible way to reduce the risk of substance use in adolescents,” Skeer said.

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He said regular family meals can help create opportunities for consistent communication and parental involvement, which can help reduce risky behaviors over time.

However, the study found that family meals offered limited benefits for adolescents whose adversity scores reached the equivalent of four or more adverse childhood experiences.

“Although our research suggests that adolescents who have experienced more severe stressors may not see the same benefits from family meals, they may benefit from more specific, trauma-informed approaches, such as mental health support and alternative forms of family involvement,” Skeer noted.

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Potential limitations the researchers noted include the study’s cross-sectional design, meaning the findings cannot establish cause and effect between family meals and substance use. The use of online recruitment may also limit the broad application of results to all families.