A handbook designed to help parents advise their young adult children leaving for their first year of college has been shown to increase family connections and moderate risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use, according to research by Washington State University and the 91探花.

In an article published March 18 in , students whose families used the handbook reported their alcohol use over the past 30 days had increased 28% once they got to college, compared to a 39% increase among students whose parents didn鈥檛 receive the book. Cannabis use went up 23% for those control students, but only 16% for students whose families used the book.

鈥淭he handbook gives parents evidence-based guidance for threading the needle of supporting students鈥� autonomy and maintaining a parental role,鈥� said Laura Hill, a WSU professor in the Department of Human Development and corresponding author on the paper. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about telling students what to do or to not drink. It鈥檚 about supporting and guiding them to reinforce expectations that have been set over the previous 18 years of parenting.鈥�

The handbook, called 鈥淔irst Years Away from Home: Letting Go and Staying Connected,鈥� provides suggestions for talking about use of substances like alcohol in a productive way that supports students鈥� autonomy but also communicates expectations. Researchers say this helps avoid what can be an awkward conversation for both parents and young adults.

鈥淭he first six weeks of college are critical,鈥� said Hill, WSU鈥檚 senior vice provost. 鈥淎 lot of students have significantly more freedom and a lot less structure than at home, so it could be their first exposure to alcohol. Providing a way for parents to talk with their children before they move out helps set expectations and re-emphasizes values-based decision-making.鈥�

Following the study, and ahead of the 2022-23 academic year, the Washington Health Care Authority funded distribution of the handbook to families of incoming students at six universities in the state, said study co-author , professor emeritus of social work at the 91探花and former director of the 91探花Social Development Research Group. The 91探花sent out the books last fall.

鈥淥ne of the most amazing things about doing this kind of research is the ability to get it to the people who need it the most,鈥� said Haggerty, who, along with the 91探花co-authors developed the Raising Healthy Children programs to help young people navigate independence. 鈥淚t鈥檚 satisfying to know the state was so struck by the data that they wanted to get it in the hands of as many students as possible.鈥�

The study recruited 919 parent-student duos at WSU 鈥� two-thirds of whom received the book 鈥� and monitored them through regular surveys from the summer before the first semester at college, through the last semester of the students鈥� second year.

Researchers say the study shows that reinforcement of expectations leads to students using substances less often than their control group peers whose parents did not receive the handbook. Binge drinking increased by 41% for the control group versus 33% for the intervention (handbook) group, and extreme binge drinking 鈥� more than 10 drinks in a sitting 鈥� increased by 13% for the control group compared to 9% for the intervention group.

Going beyond substance use, the book is a guide to starting discussions about the expectations both parents and students have for college. The book includes activities like a financial planning worksheet, as well as plans for how often students will call home, what grades are expected, and who will pay for textbooks, laundry, meals and more.

鈥淲e helped design key areas, such as helping parents become more of a coach, a cheerleader and an advisor to their children,鈥� Haggerty said. 鈥淚 was a parent of kids going to college and you often think your kids don鈥檛 want to hear from you. The opposite is true. It鈥檚 just that the relationship changes 鈥� to more of a coach, cheerleader and advisor.鈥�

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Co-authors were Martie Skinner and Richard Catalano of the 91探花and Matt Bumpus and Brittany Cooper of WSU.

For more information, contact Hill at laurahill@wsu.edu or Haggerty at haggerty@uw.edu.

Adapted from a Washington State University press release.

For Black youth, an encounter with police by eighth grade predicts they will be arrested by young adulthood 鈥� but the same is not true for white youth, a new 91探花 study finds.

Black young adults are 11 times more likely to be arrested by age 20 if they had an initial encounter with law enforcement in their early teens than Black youth who don鈥檛 have that first contact.

In contrast, white young adults with early police contact are not significantly more likely to be arrested later, compared with white peers without that history.

The study鈥檚 authors found that Black youth are more likely than white youth to be treated as 鈥渦sual suspects鈥� after a first encounter with police, leading to subsequent arrests over time. Even as white young adults report engaging in significantly more illegal behavior, Black young adults face more criminal penalties, the study finds.

Researchers also said it鈥檚 not just the number of stops, but what transpires during a police stop that sets the tone for future interactions with police.

鈥淲hat we know about police contacts and youth generally is that Black youth are more likely to be stopped by police to begin with, and are more likely to have a negative experience when that happens,鈥� said first author , a postdoctoral fellow at Tulane University who led the study while pursuing her doctorate at the UW. 鈥淲hat we haven鈥檛 known previously is the long-term effects of police contacts in terms of criminal justice outcomes.鈥�

McGlynn-Wright added that the , published Oct. 31 in the journal Social Problems, shows these early contacts with police create a 鈥渟ystem response鈥� to Black youth not experienced by white youth.

in who is stopped, why and for what penalty have been well documented, the researchers said. Also, police stops have been to individuals鈥� later run-ins with law enforcement.

For this study, 91探花researchers wanted to examine the effects of the first stop on the lives of Black and white adolescents, and whether a stop in the early teen years is associated with 鈥渟econdary sanctioning,鈥� or a 鈥渦sual suspects鈥� treatment by police that plays out over future stops and/or arrests. The study is among the first to explore the racial differences in police contact over time.

Using longitudinal data from more than 300 Seattle young adults, researchers found stark differences in the law enforcement trajectory of adolescents based on race, from the numbers of Black and white youth who encounter police by middle school, to the numbers arrested in high school and beyond.

It also comes during a period of significant reckoning over race and policing in the United States, after a series of law enforcement killings of Black people around the country. As communities grapple with how to address institutionalized racism, police procedures and accountability, many school districts, , have ended their contracts with law enforcement agencies for school resource officers, the personnel who are assigned to specific school buildings. Research has shown that by school resource officers.

The 91探花study launched nearly 20 years ago, with students at 18 Seattle schools. Nearly half of the 331 students were Black. Researchers surveyed students and parents, then followed up with participants in 10^th grade and at age 20 to learn more about behavior and consequences. Full data are available on 261 participants.

Differences were clear early on. While there were no differences in self-reported illegal behavior between Black and white youth at 8^th grade, 37% of Black teens said they had had some sort of contact with police, compared to 22% of white eighth-graders.

Researchers examined two trends at age 20: whether study participants had been arrested in the past year and whether they had engaged in any illegal activity, from violent crime to drug use to other criminal behavior, such as drawing graffiti, stealing from a store or breaking into private property. The idea, researchers said, was to determine not only who was being arrested, but also who was not.

Significantly more white participants reported engaging in some level of criminal behavior: 53% of white young adults, compared to 32% of Black young adults. But at age 20, Black youth were more than twice as likely to be arrested as white youth (15% compared to 6%). When the eighth-grade police contact is taken into account, it shows that early police contact for Black youth was uniquely predictive of being arrested by age 20, but not for white youth.

Simply put, Black respondents experiencing police contact by eighth grade have an 11 times greater chance of reporting an arrest by age 20 than Black respondents who did not experience early police contact. This was not the case for white youth.

The study was unable to explore the reasons behind these differences, but researchers said the results are clear:

鈥淲hite people are engaging in more illegal behavior, largely because of their greater drug use, and getting arrested less often at age 20 than Black people, who are committing fewer crimes and getting arrested more,鈥� said co-author , a professor in the 91探花School of Social Work and director of the .

Of the 261 respondents surveyed as young adults, white respondents were more likely to report illegal behavior than Black respondents (53% and 32%, respectively), primarily because they were substantially more likely than Blacks to report illegal drug use (40% and 14%, respectively).

While the data was collected in Seattle, researchers say the patterns they found are likely occurring in cities around the country 鈥� Seattle is 鈥渕ore like every other town鈥� than some larger metro areas like Chicago and Philadelphia, where many criminal justice studies are located, noted co-author , a professor emeritus of sociology at the UW.

The bulk of the 91探花research was conducted before the 2012 Seattle Police Department consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department, whereby the department was to address an excessive use of force, Crutchfield pointed out.

Still, the indisputable differences in the experiences of Black and white youth raise a number of policy and institutional issues. The authors note that it鈥檚 not just the quantity but the quality of stops 鈥� what are often called 鈥渋nvestigatory stops鈥� of a young person that raise alarm.

鈥淲hen police interact with communities, and young people in communities, they have to be especially mindful of the nature and substance of the encounters, and police really need training to avoid negative interactions,鈥� Crutchfield said. 鈥淲hat we found is that contact matters. In this study, we couldn鈥檛 parse out the nature of the interactions, but I suspect most kids experienced the interaction in a negative way. The message is, cops need to do better to minimize unnecessary contacts, and when they do contact people, to treat them better.鈥�

The paper鈥檚 findings also may support the choice by some school districts to end the practice of deploying police officers in schools, the authors said. Given the tendency for school resource officers to get involved in school discipline 鈥� though their primary assignment is to enforce the law and keep buildings safe 鈥� it presents another situation where Black students are often treated differently than white students.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. , a research scientist at the 91探花Social Development Research Group, was a co-author.

For more information, contact McGlynn-Wright at amcglynnwright@tulane.edu, Crutchfield at crutch@uw.edu or Haggerty at haggerty@uw.edu.

When Washington voters legalized marijuana in 2012, many parents found themselves with a new teachable moment.

Though illegal for anyone under 21, the drug presented a dilemma similar to alcohol: Retailers sold it, people openly consumed it 鈥� sometimes to excess 鈥� and parents themselves struggled with how to talk to their kids about their own use, past or present.

Unlike with alcohol, research on the health and developmental effects of marijuana . And the law鈥檚 complexity, along with the accessibility of marijuana products and stores, has left parents thinking more deliberately about how and why to set some ground rules.

Most parents agree that marijuana should be off-limits to children and teenagers, but they want information and advice from trustworthy sources, said , a research scientist with the 91探花鈥檚 . Those findings come from a published online Jan. 16 in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, by Eisenberg and a team of researchers.

鈥淲hat I heard a lot of parents saying is, essentially, ‘I can tell my kids not to use it, but I just don’t know how to enforce and reinforce that message,鈥欌�� Eisenberg said. 鈥淧arents are having a hard time reconciling societal norms with personal norms. Society has become more permissive, but at home, most parents don鈥檛 want their children to use marijuana. It鈥檚 a challenge that leaves them feeling like they don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�

To that end, parents said they want guidance, she added.

鈥淧arents are eager to learn, and open to materials and programs that can help them. They鈥檙e open to factual, unbiased, scientific information, and they want to know how to talk to their kids,鈥� Eisenberg said.

Based on focus group interviews with 54 adults, the study examined parents鈥� attitudes and challenges around marijuana use. Researchers grouped parents according to the ages of their children and by their own usage of marijuana during the past year (as measured by a prior confidential survey); those who had used during the past year, to any degree, were in one group, and those who had not were in another. That separation was designed to better identify differences in how these groups parent; participants were not told anything about other group members鈥� marijuana use.

Yet, in both groups, there were common themes that emerged which can be useful in delivering educational and prevention-oriented messages, Eisenberg said.

For parents, talking to kids about marijuana can mean many things: explaining its risks and effects, deciding on rules and consequences, and choosing whether to share their own history. Researchers didn鈥檛 offer answers 鈥� that wasn鈥檛 their role, or the purpose of the study 鈥� but parents appeared to appreciate hearing from each other, Eisenberg said.

Among the challenges parents discussed were adequate and appropriate consequences for breaking house rules, while a few parents of older kids, especially in the user-groups, described a harm-reduction approach, such as discussing with their teens how to use marijuana safely. Parents who chose this strategy said that while they didn鈥檛 want their children to use marijuana, they figured that if the children were going to try it anyway, they might as well educate them.

What makes the issue so thorny is the relatively rapid legal and cultural change around marijuana, said , a co-author of the study from the Social Development Research Group. While marijuana has become even more available since these interviews were conducted in 2014, parents鈥� questions are unlikely to have changed.

鈥淚n many ways, parenting around marijuana use is similar to that of alcohol use, since they鈥檙e both legal for adults,鈥� Kosterman said. 鈥淎 key difference is where I think parents and society in general have accepted that some people can become dependent on alcohol and it can ruin people鈥檚 lives if used in excess. Parents and kids aren鈥檛 so clear about risks of marijuana use 鈥攍ike the potential for misuse or effects on adolescent brains.

“We are still learning about the risks of teen marijuana use, as well as potential medical uses.”

The study鈥檚 conclusion points to how parents might seek answers, whether through community-oriented drug prevention programs or through information from health care providers, public health agencies or school programs.

鈥淭he fact that parents in this study openly asked for guidance highlights an opportunity for the prevention science community to work with medical professionals, schools and policymakers to fulfill this vital need at a critical time of policy transition in the United States,鈥� the authors wrote.

Alongside this study of parenting practices is a companion study by the same research team, forthcoming in the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, about parent perceptions of teens鈥� exposure to marijuana use following legalization in Washington state.

The parents who agreed to participate in both studies came from a longitudinal study the research group 聽launched in the 1980s called the Seattle Social Development Project. The focus group sample was 39 percent white, 37 percent African American, 17 percent Asian American and 7 percent Native American. Of these groups, approximately 5 percent were Latino.

The study on parenting practices was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Additional authors were , a postdoctoral researcher at the 91探花School of Social Work and an affiliate at Colorado State University;聽 and , of the Social Development Research Group; and of USC.

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For more information, contact Eisenberg at neisen@uw.edu.

Grant numbers: R01DA023089, R01DA033956

91探花 , published recently in Substance Use & Misuse, found that only 57 percent of Washington parents surveyed knew the legal age for recreational marijuana use and just 63 percent knew that homegrown marijuana is illegal under the law.

And while 71 percent of 10^th-graders correctly identified the legal age, fewer than half (49 percent) knew how much marijuana can legally be possessed.

The findings underscore the need for better educational outreach about the law, said co-author , professor of social work and director of the at the 91探花’s School of Social Work.

“As new states are taking on legalized marijuana, we need to have public information campaigns to make sure people have the information they need,” he said.

The study surveyed 115 low-income families of teens attending Tacoma middle schools, who were part of an ongoing prevention study. Data was initially collected before Washington approved recreational marijuana, and then two years later during the summer of 2013.

The study found that while 70 percent of parents said they talked about marijuana laws with their children, those conversations were infrequent. That is troubling, Haggerty said, since 10^th grade is a critical time for family discussions about drug use.

“We know that parent expectations, even as late as senior year in high school, have an impact on kids’ college-age marijuana use,” he said. “If kids are thinking in 10^th grade that the legal age for marijuana is 18, they could potentially be more likely to use it later.”

The study also found that the Washington law made little difference in the teens’ attitudes about marijuana use or the likelihood of them smoking pot.

鈥淲e were most surprised to see how little parents and teens know about fundamental aspects of the new law, such as the legal age limit,鈥� said corresponding author W. Alex Mason, director of research at the Boys Town National Research Institute.

In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana use, and Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C. passed marijuana legalization measures last November. The legal age for marijuana use in Washington is 21. Adults can possess up to one ounce, and homegrown pot is prohibited.

The study comes at a time when educators, parents and others are trying to determine what young people need to know about marijuana use and what messages might most effectively steer them away from it.

The Washington State Department of Health launched a $400,000 statewide campaign in June that featured on radio and digital media encouraging parents to talk to their kids about the risks of using marijuana. The UW鈥檚 Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute has also launched an education which is expected to eventually be supported by marijuana tax revenues.

Washington’s law mandates that a portion of revenues from marijuana sales be used for public education, drug abuse treatment and research, and that the state consult with the 91探花annually to decide which programs to fund. The department of health plans to launch a broader education campaign when marijuana revenues become available later this year.

“This study convincingly points out that people don’t have good information about the new law,” Haggerty said.

Other co-authors are Koren Hanson and Charles Fleming at the 91探花and Jay L. Ringle at Boys Town Research Institute. The work was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

These problems can affect children for the rest of their lives. 91探花 researchers evaluated about 20 parenting programs and found five that are especially effective at helping parents and children at all risk levels avoid adolescent behavior problems that affect not only individuals, but entire communities.

“With these programs, you see marked decreases in drug use, reduced aggression, reduced depression and anxiety, and better mental health,” said , assistant director of the UW’s Social Development Research Group in the School of Social Work.

“You see the impact of when parents get on the same page and work together to provide an environment that promotes wellbeing. You can make long-term impacts.”

The is published in the current issue of the .

Haggerty said it’s ironic that parents spend hours taking birthing classes to prepare for something that will happen naturally, yet there is no training on how to actually parent a child. He took a parenting workshop years ago and said learning how to deal with conflict changed his family’s dynamic.

“All of us need a little help parenting,” Haggerty said. “It’s a tough job and we didn’t get the instruction manual when our kids were born.”

The programs recommended by Haggerty and his co-authors are effective with a wide variety of families in diverse settings. All five programs are consistent with the Social Development Model, which focuses on fostering opportunities, skills, rewards for positive social behaviors, bonding and clear expectations for behavior.

The programs include changing known risk factors such as poor parental supervision and high family conflict, and show children what “normal” family behavior looks like. The programs also have scientific evidence showing that they work.

sends registered nurses to visit young, first-time, single mothers at least once every two weeks during their first pregnancy and until their child is 2 years old. Nurses help expecting moms reduce smoking, drinking and drug use. After the child is born, nurses help mothers create safe environments for their children and develop strategies for dealing with difficult behaviors.

is a flexible system of programs that focuses on five main goals: promoting safe and engaging environments, creating positive learning environments, using effective discipline, creating clear and reasonable expectations, and self-care for parents.

teaches children ages 3-6, their parents and teachers skills and strategies for handling difficult situations. Parents participate in group sessions; children take part in therapist-led group sessions, which help children develop skills such as problem solving, making friends, and cooperating with others. (This program was developed and is owned by, now a 91探花emeritus professor.)

In , parents learn about risk factors for substance use, parent-child bonding, consequences for not following parental guidelines, and how to manage anger and family conflict. Their children learn effective communication, problem solving, and how to resist peer pressure.

helps children 12-17 years old avoid risky sexual activity, drug use, and violent behavior. The program helps parents set strong norms with their teen against antisocial behavior by increasing parental monitoring, reducing harsh parenting, and rewarding teens to promote family bonding. (This program was developed by Richard F. Catalano and J. David Hawkins in the 91探花School of Social Work.)

Haggerty and his fellow researchers hope local policymakers will pay attention to these and other scientifically-tested programs as they discuss investments in child and adolescent resources. He said it’s important to invest in children now, before negative outcomes cost society more in the form of law enforcement, prisons, and physical and mental treatment programs.

Co-authors of the study are and Tali Klima of the UW. The research was supported in part by the .

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For more information, contact Haggerty at haggerty@uw.edu or 206-543-3188. Link to research paper:

Doree Armstrong wrote this news release while on assignment at the 91探花Office of News and Information. Reporters needing help with this story can contact Molly McElroy: mollywmc@uw.edu, 206-543-2580.