The New York Times recently published a story about boredom in western states like Montana and Wyoming leading to a heavy incidence of teen drinking. (It was reprinted in newspapers like this where you don't have to pay to read it.) Timothy Egan's story also briefly pointed out that "many parents think it is a rite of passage for children to drink."

My reaction to the story at the time was that 1. kids everywhere use the "bored" excuse, including those in our village just forty minutes by train from the heart of New York City; 2. parents everywhere turn a blind eye to their kids drinking.

A letter in the Times today from Peter Provet, the president of Odyssey House, drives home the point that parents' attitudes are more important than geographical location.

"While geographical isolation may increase vulnerability to excessive drinking, similar spikes in use exist in a wide range of rural, suburban and urban communities. Briefly mentioned in the article, parental attitude and behavior are far more significant determinants in adolescent alcohol and drug use.

"In Manhattan or the Great Plains, if a parent conveys the attitude to his teenager that drinking is a 'rite of passage,' that teenager is more likely to use and abuse alcohol."

"While boredom may be a general ally of substance abuse, alone it is an insufficient causal factor."

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