News
Teenagers whose parents allow them to watch R-rated movies are more likely to start drinking at a younger age than their peers whose parents do not, according to a study conducted by Dartmouth Medical School pediatrics professors Susanne Tanski and James Sargent.
"After we adjusted for everything: age, gender, rebelliousness and sensation-seeking, the kids who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are about three and a half times more likely to initiate drinking than kids who said they were never allowed to watch R-rated movies by their parents," Tanski said.
The researchers conducted surveys at northern New England schools for students from fifth to eighth grade in 1999, according to Sargent.