Regular family dinners may offer a protective effect against substance use for many adolescents, but the benefit appears limited for those who have experienced significant childhood adversity, according to a study published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. The findings, released today, , highlight the complex interplay between family connection and the impact of challenging life experiences on adolescent health.
Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine analyzed survey data from 2,090 U.S. Adolescents aged 12 to 17 and their parents. The study focused on the quality of family meals – encompassing factors like communication, enjoyment, digital distractions, and logistical ease – and its association with adolescent alcohol, e-cigarette, and cannabis use in the preceding six months. The research team also considered the adolescents’ exposure to household stressors and violence, as reported by both the young people and their parents.
Rather than simply counting adverse experiences, the researchers developed a weighted score to reflect the varying degrees to which different stressors are known to contribute to substance use. This nuanced approach allowed them to assess the cumulative impact of adversity more accurately.
The analysis revealed that higher family dinner quality was associated with a 22% to 34% lower prevalence of substance use among adolescents who had experienced little to no significant childhood adversity, or only moderate levels of it. This finding reinforces existing evidence supporting the value of family meals as a relatively simple and accessible strategy for promoting adolescent well-being.
“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 adolescent substance use,” said Margie Skeer, lead author of the study and professor and chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. “Routinely connecting over meals—which can be as simple as a caregiver and child standing at a counter having a snack together—can help establish open and routine parent-child communication and parental monitoring to support more positive long-term outcomes for the majority of children.”
Skeer emphasized that the benefits of family meals stem not from the food itself, the timing, or the setting, but rather from the parent-child relationship and the interactions fostered during these shared moments.
However, the study also revealed a critical limitation: the protective effect of family meals diminished significantly for adolescents who had experienced substantial adversity. Specifically, the benefits were minimal for those whose adversity score reached the equivalent of four or more adverse experiences – a group that represents nearly one in five U.S. High school students under the age of 18, according to recent data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Adverse childhood experiences reported by participants included parental divorce, a family member’s substance use disorder, a family member’s mental health disorder, witnessing violence, being teased about weight, a parent’s daily use of non-prescribed drugs, or experiencing sexual or physical dating violence.
“While 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 targeted and trauma-informed approaches, such as mental health support and alternative forms of family engagement,” Skeer explained. She added that further research is needed to identify other supportive routines – both within and outside the family – that can help protect adolescents exposed to highly stressful or traumatic experiences.
The study underscores the importance of tailoring interventions to the specific needs of adolescents, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be effective. While family meals can be a valuable tool for promoting positive outcomes for many young people, We see crucial to acknowledge that those who have experienced significant adversity may require more intensive and specialized support.
