PARENTS MAKE IMPACT > Page 1, 2, 3
Drug-Experienced Parents, Moms and Dads Show Differences
Nearly six in ten (57 percent) parents have tried marijuana at some point in their lives, but relatively few parents - except among the 13 percent who have used marijuana in the past year - say they feel hypocritical telling their kids not to use drugs. Differences also can be found between mothers and fathers. While they have similar anti-drug attitudes, mothers are more likely to take the lead in educating their children about the risks of drugs and to discuss the specific risks of drug use with their children:
- 81 percent of mothers said they frequently talked with their children about how drugs can mess up their lives, compared to 63 percent of fathers.
- 81 percent of mothers said they frequently talked with their children about how drugs can mess up their minds, compared to 63 percent of fathers.
- 77 percent of mothers said they frequently talked with their children about how drugs can mess up their education, compared to 57 percent of fathers.
“When teens are asked what risks they associate with drugs, year after year they rank ‘disappointing their parents’ at the top,” Bonnette said. “This underscores the influence many parents have with their children, but some have a hard time believing this.”
The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
In explaining reasons for the increases in parent-child communication about drugs, researchers pointed to an unprecedented paid advertising campaign as one factor: “The changes in the data are concurrent with the launch of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign,” Bonnette said, referring to the federally-funded effort, backed by an appropriation of $185 million from Congress.
Most of the funding is used to purchase media exposure for anti-drug advertising produced by PDFA. The campaign, coordinated through the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the direction of Barry McCaffrey in cooperation with PDFA, has been running nationally since July 1998.
In 1999, about half (52 percent) of all parents reported seeing an anti-drug ad at least once a week; about a quarter (26 percent) say they’re seeing those ads at least once a day. Among those parents seeing the ads daily, 3 out of 4 say they talked to their kids about drugs at least four times in the past year; among parents seeing the ads less often 1 out of 2 say they talked to their kids about drugs at least four times in the past year.
Numerous advertising agencies create broadcast and print ads pro bono for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, best known for its national ad campaign that began in 1987. The Partnership, in turn, donates this advertising to the federally-funded media campaign. PDFA receives no federal funding for its role in the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.
The Partnership is a privately-funded non-profit organization with roots in the communications industry, and is not part of any federal agency.
For parents interested in free guide on preventing drug use among children, call toll-free 1 (877) 4-ED-PUBS. The guide, created by the Partnership and the U.S. Department of Education, is also available on the World Wide Web at www.ed.gov/.
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