NCJ Number
218553
Journal
Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 67-79
Date Published
2007
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the behaviors and attitudes about substance use among a sample of African-American parents differed from the general population of adults.
Abstract
Results indicated that, overall, African-American parents held more conservative attitudes and reported less alcohol and illicit drug use than adults from the general population. However, there was more agreement between African-American parents and the general population of adults concerning the use of marijuana and cigarettes. While more than half of the parents in the study believed that smoking marijuana was risky behavior, a similar proportion of parents reported using marijuana themselves. The authors caution that the conservative attitudes about substance use found in this study may be partly attributable to the study’s location in the Midwest which is known for conservative stances on many political and health issues. The findings suggest that increased educational efforts should be targeted to parents concerning the dangers of marijuana and its relationship to their children’s behavior. Future research is encouraged on the attitudes and behaviors of African-American parents regarding marijuana and cigarette use. Participants were 239 parents who participated in the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), a substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention project for African-American youths aged 12 to 17 years and their parents. Participants completed the Government Performance and Results Act and questions from a piloted health survey. Statistical data analyses were performed using SPSS 11.5 for Windows. Comparisons of the data were made using statistics from the general population of adults. Tables, references