Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention: The Parent Connection
Two of the biggest concerns parents have when they send their sons and daughters to college are whether they will be safe, and whether they will do well academically.
Both of those concerns are legitimate, and both are closely related to alcohol and other drugs, whether used by the student or by their fellow students. So parents deserve to know what schools are doing to curb alcohol and other drug use, and college administrators must be prepared to answer tough questions about their alcohol and other drug prevention policies and programs.
For Parents of College-Bound Students
What Colleges Are Saying to Parents About Alcohol and Other Drugs
For Parents of College-Bound Students
Questions for Parents to Ask During Campus ToursThe Center for Parental Freedom is a coalition of parents, teachers, pediatricians, psychologists, dentists and children who seek to have parental and personal rights respected in US schools and universities.
This site is to provide accurate information, support, and resources to assist parents and others in raising children to be healthy, drug-free, productive adults. In pursuit of this mission, the Parenting IS Prevention Internet Web Site provides tips, informational resources, links to local and national organizations, a focus on what other parents are doing in their communities, and opportunities to ask questions and have them answered by parents whose children have become healthy, drug-free, productive adults.
Reality Check is a public education initiative developed by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to educate teens and adults who influence teens about the health risks of marijuana use.
To provide parents and caregivers with real-life tips on how to keep kids drug-free, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has produced a free drug prevention brochure in collaboration with parents and parenting experts from across the country. Community coalitions, parents, and others involved in youth substance abuse prevention are invited to order copies of "Keeping Your Kids Drug-Free: A How-To Guide for Parents and Caregivers" via phone at 1-800-788-2800. Request document #PHD884.
This pamphlet from Ohio Parents for Drug Free Youth provides facts and statistics for the parents of college-aged children.
This flyer briefly describes the scope and nature of alcohol use on campuses today. It also suggests ways that parents and prospective college students can tell whether a particular campus is taking appropriate steps to create an environment where the focus is on learning and where students can enjoy a positive, healthy social life that does not involve high-risk drinking. The flyer lists questions to ask campus officials, and tells what to look for when touring a campus. Finally, it offers ideas for parents who want to communicate with their son or daughter about this important issue.
By following the advice offered here, parents can determine the nature and extent of alcohol and other drug problems on specific campuses. "Checking Out Colleges" suggests a variety of people (administrators, current students and residence hall advisers, faculty, campus police) as well as the campus communication systems (bulletin boards, student newspapers and magazines, students' rooms, and commercial neighborhoods) as sources of information. Written by Higher Education Center staff members William DeJong, Director, and Karen Zweig, Product Development Manager, the article originally appeared in DRIVEN, a magazine published by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
This presentation, given by our director at the Washington State Presidents Prevention Initiative signing ceremony in Olympia, Washington, addresses the role of parents in searching for the safest and healthiest environment for college students.
In this article Karolyn Nunnallee, President of MADD, proposes a national "report card" rating system that would highlight those institutions that are taking steps to address the crisis of alcohol use on college campuses. This article originally appeared in The College Parent Advisor, published by College Parents of America.
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recently made available A Guide for Parents of First-Year College Students to help parents talk with their college-age son or daughter about drinking. The booklet is packed with current information to arm parents with the knowledge they need to address drinking in the lives of their first-year student. Parents will learn about alcohol regulations, penalties, dangers and intervention techniques related to the campus environment. While the booklet focuses on laws and statistics specific to the state of Virginia, parents nationwide will benefit from information on techniques and discussion points found throughout the publication. Brief descriptions of parental notification, setting the normative environment, expectations and career consequences are also discussed. Helpful resources for parents and their first-year student are listed to aid parents looking for additional information.
This 93-page summary of the Survey of Montana Parenting Behavior and Perceptions Associated with Teen Substance Use addresses the misperceptions associated with parenting and social norms, especially with regard to teenage substance abuse. To our knowledge, it is the first time a survey has focused on documenting the normative expectations of parents of teenagers. This survey found that parents tend to believe their teens are not representative of typical teenagers, that there is great disparity between how parents see themselves parenting, and how they perceive other parents raising their children. Parent respondents perceived that typical parents were more lenient in the manner in which they raise their children than they themselves were. Parent respondents also thought that typical teenagers were more likely than their children to use tobacco, alcohol and marijuana.
This 20-page booklet describes the problems associated with alcohol and other drug use on college campuses, and what colleges are doing to address those problems. It summarizes thirteen innovative and effective alcohol prevention programs that were identified through a national grant competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
ParentsAssociation.com is a resource for parents and guardians of children, adolescent and college-age young adults. ParentsAssociation.com provides substantive information on matters of interest and issues both common and uncommon that affect our children, ourselves and our communities.
This guide is excerpted from an article by William DeJong, Director of the Higher Education Center, and Linda Devine, Assistant Dean of Student Life at the University of Oregon. The original article appeared in The College Parent Advisor, published by College Parents of America.
This brochure, prepared by the Substance Abuse Prevention & Health Enhancement Office at Syracuse University, contains useful tips for any parent of a college-bound student.
This brochure details how the use of illegal club drugs is increasingly evident among teens in all age groupsand describes the drugs and their effects and gives important tips and resources about how to identify, prevent, and treat drug abuse. Place orders at: http://puborder.ncjrs.org/.
What Colleges Are Saying to Parents About Alcohol and Other Drugs
Some colleges say nothing on the subject of alcohol and other drug use. Silence does not necessarily mean there is no problem—it may mean that the school has no explicit policy statement. Conversely, speaking out on the subject does not mean that a school has a bigger problem than other campuses—instead, it may indicate a stronger commitment to address a problem that exists on virtually all campuses.
Here is a sampling of what some institutions have said over the years to parents on campuses where the issue is being dealt with head-on.
Colleges of Worcester Consortium and Massachusetts Department of Public Health (pdf file requiring Adobe Acrobat)
University of Arizona - Campus Community Parent Partnership newsletter
Note: This is an Acrobat file in 11x17 in. layout.University of Arizona - Suggestions for Parents Brochure
Note: This is an Acrobat file in 11x17 in. layout.Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Letter to students and parents
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Letter to parents
Parental Notification: Will the School Tell You if Your Son or Daughter Has a Problem?
by Karen L. Zweig and Julie Thompson
Many colleges and universities have begun disclosing students' alcohol- and drug-related problems to parents, and researchers at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) have analyzed survey responses from judicial affairs officers at 189 institutions to assess the initial results of those efforts. This Prevention Update looks at evidence of effectiveness based on the BGSU study, describes the experiences of specific campuses in using parental notification, and offers guidelines for implementing such policies.
A new law clearly permits schools to inform parents if their son or daughter violates local, state, or federal laws, as well as school policies governing the use or possession of alcohol or controlled substances. This article by Joel Epstein, Associate Director of the Higher Education Center, describes the background and initial implementation of the 1998 parental notification law.
Ohio University in Athens recently studied the impact of its newly-implemented parental notification policy. University officials compared data from 1999-2000 Fall and Winter quarters with data from the same time period the previous year and found that the number of alcohol- or drug-related cases fell 36 percent. The number of repeat cases also fell, from 15 the prior year to 8 in the year when parental notification was implemented. More detailed findings were published in the June 1, 2000 edition of the University’s newspaper, The Post.
In this commentary, James C. Garland, president of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio explains why, after considering the pros and cons, they decided to initiate a parental notification policy. This article originally appeared on the op-ed page of the Columbus Dispatch, on September 26, 1999.
Many institutions of higher education are developing written policies like these to guide administrators in deciding under what circumstances parents should be notified if a student violates alcohol or other drug rules or laws.
This brochure, prepared by Security on Campus, Inc., describes policies and considerations related to parental notification programs.
Additional Resources
Click here for a list of organizations that provide information and services of interest to parents of college-age students.