NCJ Number
167189
Date Published
1996
Length
18 pages
Annotation
In the 1995 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 9,342 interviews with young people and parents were conducted to monitor their behavior and attitudes toward drug use.
Abstract
The survey sample included students in grades 4 through 12 and adults who were parents of children under 19 years of age. Students were selected from 147 public, private, and parochial schools, including a national sample of 99 schools, a supplemental sample of 24 schools in heavily African-American areas, and a supplemental sample of 24 schools in heavily Hispanic areas. Parents were selected from a national sample of 50 counties, an African-American sample of 25 counties, and a Hispanic sample of 25 counties. Survey participants completed self-administered questionnaires. Results showed teenagers in 1995 were more likely than their counterparts in 1993 to believe drug use was acceptable. The overall perceived risk of marijuana use was significantly lower in 1995 than in 1993, teenagers saw a wide range of benefits in drug use, and teenagers were more likely to say their friends used marijuana and cocaine in 1995 than in 1993. Six out of 10 parents had tried marijuana sometime in their lives, although recent use was much lower in 1995 than in 1993. Parents of teenagers accurately estimated their children's awareness of the risk of regular marijuana use, but they overestimated their children's perception of the risk of marijuana trial. In addition, parents of teenagers underestimated the likelihood their children had been offered or tried drugs. Nearly all parents said they had talked to their children about drugs, and teenagers who said they learned a lot about the risks of marijuana from their parents were half as likely to use it as teenagers who said they learned nothing from their parents. 2 tables and 11 figures