Racial/Ethnic Differences in Parental Concern About Their Child’s Drug Use in a Nationally Representative Sample in the United States

Abstract

Parental concern and negative attitudes toward drug use may prevent youth from being involved in drug use. However, few studies have addressed parental concern about children's drug use and its possible variation by race/ethnicity. In this study, we explored the potential racial/ethnic differences in parental concern about their children's drug use with a nationally representative sample. The data were from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, a random household telephone survey of parents of children up to age 17 (n = 102353). The analytic sample was restricted to parents of children aged 6 to 17 years (n = 61046). Multivariate logistic regression models, controlling for children's age, gender, family structure, and family poverty level, were fitted, simultaneously accommodating the complex survey design. Parents of African American and Hispanic children expressed more concern than parents of white children, even after controlling for potential confounders (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.9; 95% CI, 1.8-2.1 and AOR, 1.9; 95% Cl, 1.7-2.1, respectively). The level of parental concern about adolescent drug use was different across race/ethnicity groups. The results may have implications for parental participation in school-based adolescent prevention programs.