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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jennifer Cremeens, MSPH¹, Stuart Usdan, PhD¹, and Ryan J. Martin, MS². (1) Department of Health Sciences, University of Alabama, Box 870311, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0311, 205-348-9717, jlcremeens@aol.com, (2) Health Sciences, University of Alabama, 111 East Annex, Box 870311, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487

Young adults aged 18-22, enrolled full-time in college, are more likely than their non-college peers to use alcohol, drink heavily, and binge drink (SAMHSA, 2002). While many colleges and universities have dedicated an increasing amount of time and money into combating this issue, reaching students prior to beginning college through their parents is a novel approach not used by many universities. Utilizing parents as a means to convey prevention message to college students has proven to be an effective strategy (Turrisi et al., 2001). The purpose of this study was to examine parent-child communication among first-year college students in the context of the Health Belief Model. Constructs from the Health Belief Model were applied in two separate steps for the study. For part 1, a focus group was conducted with parents of first-year college students to explore benefits and barriers associated with talking to their child about alcohol. Part 2 of the study dealt with the development of a survey administered to 500 parents of first-year students relating to cues to action, perceived susceptibility, and perceived severity of alcohol use among college students. Findings suggest that the Health Belief model is a promising theory by which to address parent-child communication targeting high-risk drinking among first-year college students. Future research should aim to utilize the Health Belief Model as an underlying framework in the development of materials to increase communication regarding alcohol use between parents and college students.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the potential effects of utilizing parents as a prevention method when addressing high-risk drinking among first-year college students.
• Identify benefits and barriers parents associate with communicating with their child about alcohol.
• Discuss parent-child communication about alcohol in the context of the Health Belief Model.

Keywords: College Students, Alcohol

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered