Understanding and Addressing the Link Between (Affluent) Neglect and Adolescent Substance Abuse
What is (Affluent) Neglect?
When we picture students at risk for substance use, we may think of visible hardship: poverty, instability, or trauma. Still, risk doesn’t always look like struggle. What about the students who seem to have it all, the ones living in luxury homes, attending elite schools, working with top tutors, and traveling the world with seemingly every opportunity at their fingertips?
(Affluent) Neglect is not about material deprivation. It’s a form of absence amid abundance, not just emotional but also a lack of supervision, boundaries, and connection. Students in high-achieving, high-pressure, and affluent school environments often face intense pressure to perform and then internalize the idea that success is the only acceptable outcome. In this context, alcohol and other drug use can become a physical way to cope with stress, numb emotional discomfort, or feel a fleeting sense of freedom.
A 2023 review of 83 studies found alcohol misuse is a common concern among adolescents in high socioeconomic communities, driven by the pressure to achieve, permissive norms, and parental inattention. When these pressures combine with permissive parental attitudes toward alcohol, such as normalizing or supplying it, the risk of harm can grow, even for students who seem to ‘have it all.’
When we name this pattern, we make it visible. It helps schools and families recognize that neglect can exist even in contexts of affluence, and it shifts prevention toward connection and care, not assumptions about who is “at risk.”
Why do we refer to (Affluent) Neglect in this way?
We use parentheses around ‘Affluent’ to acknowledge the tension this term can create. Some question whether neglect can exist in families with privilege, but it can and does. Others worry that the term might soften the reality of neglect or make it seem less serious. In truth, this term describes when emotional needs, supervision, or boundaries are overlooked in high achieving communities, even as material resources abound. Naming it helps schools and families see risks that might otherwise stay hidden and instead refocus on student wellbeing. It’s important to note that the symptoms of what we describe as Affluent Neglect can still be seen in low economic areas and communities.
A Complex Challenge for International Schools
This conversation becomes even more complex in international schools. Legal drinking ages vary, cultural attitudes toward alcohol differ, and local laws can carry serious consequences for both students and parents. Some families believe that supplying students with alcohol at home is a safer alternative, framing it as a harm-reduction strategy with the idea that “at least they’re under our roof.” However, studies suggest the opposite effect. When alcohol is normalized or accessible at home, students are more likely to drink more often and in riskier ways, at home and in social settings. Schools can be unsure how, when, or whether they can step in.
Over the past ten years, child safeguarding practices have strengthened significantly, with clearer policies, streamlined reporting procedures, and more consistent training, giving schools both the clarity and responsibility to act. However, adult facilitation of youth alcohol use remains largely absent from our conversations about safeguarding and that gap matters. It’s especially important that schools address adult behaviors that put students at risk, even when those situations feel complicated. When adults provide teens with alcohol or create environments where use is expected or ignored, it’s not protection, it’s neglect, and it is a child safeguarding issue. No matter how well-intentioned the action, the result is the same: students are placed in harm’s way.
Part of this challenge may be complicated by politics. When parents who host these gatherings are also major donors or prominent figures, addressing off-campus behavior can feel risky. Educators may hesitate, unsure how far their responsibility extends. Yet silence in these situations is not neutral, it condones the behaviour and becomes a risk factor in itself. To understand the impact this has on students, we need to look at the data.
Student Impact: What the Data Tell Us
Studies on affluence as a risk factor consistently find that students in high-socioeconomic-status communities report elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and substance use. A longitudinal study published in Development and Psychopathology found lifetime alcohol and other drug dependence rates of 24–40% among graduates of affluent schools, two to three times higher than national averages for the same age group (8–20%).
While not identical, Prevention Ed’s international school Student Substance Use and Peer Perception Survey (SUPP) data reveals a related pattern: substance use is occurring in high-resource settings, often with adult awareness. About one in five students (17.8%) reported using alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs at home with a parent or caregiver aware. Among 10th–12th graders, those numbers rise to 21%, 25%, and 39%. Nearly half (47.9%) of higher-risk drinkers reported drinking at home with a parent’s knowledge.
This pattern is concerning and aligns with broader research which shows that when parents permit adolescent drinking, students tend to drink more often, in higher quantities, and experience more negative consequences.
Below are some data points highlighting the different rates of negative consequences reported by higher-risk and lower-risk drinkers among international school students:
It’s important to note that this data doesn’t prove causation, but the pattern is clear: when alcohol is more available and adult boundaries are looser, harmful outcomes increase significantly, teens report more physical, emotional, and academic consequences. When adults overlook alcohol use, buying into the myth that “they’re going to do it anyway” and allowing it at home, students may internalize a dangerous message: as long as they’re performing academically, no one is paying attention to how they’re really doing. That lack of recognition can make a young person feel invisible – a risk factor in itself.
What Schools and Families Can Do
Data can reveal patterns, but change happens in the everyday choices adults make. As a clinician and Prevention Specialist, I see daily how a student’s environment shapes behavior just as powerfully as personal choice.
When adults sidestep hard conversations about harm, they normalize risky behavior. Breaking that pattern takes both courage and collaboration. It means parents, educators, and community leaders must be willing to face discomfort, put student wellbeing ahead of appearances, and work together to create healthier norms.
In affluent communities, substance use prevention is strongest when it centers on connection, clear boundaries, and genuine care – protective factors that fill the space neglect can create.
Recommendations for Schools:
Acknowledge the cultural and legal nuances that shape behavior, especially with respect to complex international contexts.
Clarify policies with care. Be specific and focus on student health, safety, and learning, not punishment. Offer and clearly communicate a discipline-free path for students to seek support.
Avoid zero tolerance policies. This approach is misaligned with adolescent developmental capacity and has been shown to cause harm, including increased anxiety, reduced trust, and a reluctance from students to seek help when needed.
Invest in substance use prevention education to empower students to make healthy, informed choices about alcohol and other drugs.
Invest in connection. Train staff to recognize stress and build trusting relationships with students; early intervention can save lives.
Partner with parents: host forums, coffee mornings, share insights, and align expectations.
Recommendations for Families:
Be present beyond logistics. Notice emotional shifts and ask open-ended questions to build connection and open communication with your child.
Set consistent boundaries around alcohol and drug use. Research shows that when young people know the rules at home, they’re less likely to use substances. Silence can be interpreted as permission.
Normalize check-ins. Make the “drug talk” a conversation, listen to what your child has to say and remind them of your expectations. Have it more than once, aim for at least twice a year, at the start of the school year and before summer.
Explain the why. Let your child know why you expect them to delay use, not just because “you said so,” but because their brain is still developing and early use increases risk for addiction. When teens understand the reason behind the boundary, they’re more likely to respect it.
Collaborate. When parents set expectations together, it’s harder to ignore. One parent calling to ask if alcohol will be served at a house party might be brushed off, but twelve parents calling sends a clear message: accountability matters, and safety comes first.
Final Thought
Substance use prevention is about belonging. No student should feel their worth is measured only by their grades, achievements, or family reputation. Every student deserves to feel seen, supported, and valued, no matter how perfect their life looks on paper. Schools have a powerful opportunity to partner with families to create the healthiest norms, boundaries, and connections possible. When adults work together, they send a united message: student safety and wellbeing come before appearances, and every young person’s life outside the classroom matters as much as their success inside it.