Teens whose parents or caregivers serve in the military often struggle more than their peers with substance abuse.
Approximately 4 million children’s parents are either in the military or have served sometime since 2001. According to research lead by the University of Southern California’s Kathrine Sullivan, those kids are 45 to 73 percent more likely to smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, use marijuana or abuse prescription drugs; but they’re also more likely to deal with bullying, too. Furthermore, they’re more likely to show up at school armed—more than twice as prone to bring a gun to school than their peers—and 81 percent more likely to bring knives.
“We believe this is partly due to ongoing stressors related to war, deployments, frequent moves, being bullied, and being involved in risky peer groups,” Sullivan says. (Fox News)