Parenting shapes genetic risk for drug use

Drugs have a heightened appeal for teens who inherit a certain gene variant, unless the youngsters also have involved, supportive parents

Good parenting provides a potent buffer against some youngsters’ genetic predisposition to use alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana by age 14, a new study finds. Uninvolved, unsupportive parenting heralds a spike in consumption of these substances among genetically vulnerable teens, reports a team led by psychologist Gene Brody of the University of Georgia in Athens.