Moving Beyond Orientation: Increasing Engagement of Parents and Families as Partners in Reducing Substance Use among College Students

In this session Ms. O’Hara and Dr. Kennedy will provide an overview of their work for the Maryland Collaborative to engage parents and family members of college students as partners in efforts to reduce excessive drinking and substance use. The session will describe the latest research on the link between parental influence and student substance use and share insights regarding family awareness and needs. Participants will learn effective methods for parent and family communication and outreach related to substance use prevention messaging.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of parental/family influence on college students’ substance use and identify data from current research that illustrates this association.
• Outline key gaps in family knowledge related to substance use, understand the types of information that families request, and learn how to avoid mixed messaging related to student independence.
• Identify existing resources and opportunities available on campuses to support parent engagement and describe engagement strategies that maximize outreach.