Too often we don't provide the kinds of community values, norms, and opportunities that encourage young people to develop healthy habits and avoid dangerous choices. If youth themselves aren't to blame for the problems, says conventional wisdom, it must be the family. Propagators of this myth note the breakdown of the traditional family, and they blame parents for not doing their job. If mothers would stay homes, if parents wouldn't divorce, if parents would retain their strong authority, the problems would be solved. There's some truth to this perspective.
Families do play a pivotal role in helping young people grow up healthy.
A strong, healthy family often insulates a young person from risky behaviors even in less healthy communities. Indeed, most researchers agree that caring and supportive relationships in a family are the strongest protective factors for children and youth. At the same time, strong individual families do not, in themselves, make strong communities. Our research found relatively small differences in families between the healthiest and least healthy communities. Similarly, only small differences exist between basic family demographics in the healthiest and least healthy communities.