Taking the Message Home: Involving Parents in Drugs Prevention

• NCJ Number: 186040
• Author(s): Richard Velleman; Willm Mistral; Lora Sanderling
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 56 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Great Britain Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service (DPAS)
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office Drugs Prevention Advisory Service (DPAS)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: DPAS Paper 5

Annotation

This report presents evaluation findings of five programs that were part of Great Britain’s Drugs Prevention Initiative and aimed to involve parents in juvenile drug prevention through drug awareness events, parent education courses, interventions to raise self-esteem, peer education training, mentoring, and parent-child shared learning.

Abstract

Information came from a literature review; interviews and surveys of parents, children, and professionals; and analyses of data from course observations, focus groups, and project reports. The analysis focused on the possibility of involving parents in drug prevention activities and improving their awareness, skills, and ability to influence their children positively. Results revealed that using school and community networks was crucial to recruiting parents and that most participants were women. Factors that aided parental involvement included project workers’ skills and empathy, invitations addressed to the whole family, courses with a focus wider than drugs, and others. Hindering factors included social difficulties such as the financial and organizational problems of single parents, the location of the event, fear of being stigmatized as a parent of a drug user, and others. Findings suggested that small courses of 10 or fewer parents were most effective. Results indicated that the programs influenced parental attitudes and knowledge and that sustained effects included talking with friends about drug issues and further involvement with schools or the community. The majority of children of participating parents at one school welcomed this participation and felt that what their parents said would affect their own drug-related decisions. Findings suggested that any local or national strategy should balance drug awareness sessions and other forms of drug prevention with parents and that Drug Action Teams need to ensure that parent involvement is central to their strategy and to take other actions. Tables and 54 references