PASSING
ALONG BAD HABITS

Topics: Adolescence; Character; Children; Choices; Community; Decisions; Drinking; Drugs; Example; Family; Home; Integrity; Teens

References: Proverbs 22:1, 6; Romans 14:1–15:13; 1 Corinthians 5:6; 8; 11:1; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Peter 2:21

Many siblings pass along bad habits. A girl with an older, pregnant teenage sister is four to six times as likely to become a teen mom herself, says Patricia East, a developmental psychologist at the University of California, San Diego.

The same pattern holds for substance abuse. According to a paper published in the Journal of Drug Issues in 2006, younger siblings whose older siblings drink are twice as likely to pick up the habit. When it comes to smoking, the risk increases fourfold.

—Jeffrey Kluger, “The New Science of Siblings,” Time (July 10, 2006)