Parents play a more significant role in educating their children about drug and alcohol abuse than schools do, according to a study by Toby Parcel, professor of sociology. 

Parcel conducted a study in conjunction with Mikaela Dufur from Brigham Young University and Benjamin McKune from Pennsylvania State University comparing the parental involvement and the school environment when it comes to preventing the abuse of alcohol and marijuana.

“Essentially, parents need to know that they’re really important in discouraging alcohol and marijuana use,” Parcel said.

Participants were asked a variety of questions including how involved the participant’s parents were in their lives, how involved the participant was in school activities and programs and how often the participant used marijuana and alcohol. 

According to Parcel, the main question at the heart of the study was, “How important are parents?”

A sophomore in CHASS who wishes to remain anonymous said her parents were an extremely important factor in helping her stay away from over-abusing alcohol or marijuana. She said she has never smoked marijuana, but occasionally has a few drinks with friends. However, she said she never drinks to the point of intoxication.

“If your parents had a roof over you in high school, then you’re more likely to go crazy in college when that roof is no longer there,” she said.

Alcohol is legal for adults aged 21 and older, and until recently marijuana was not legal for recreational use anywhere in the United States. 

“If a child observes their parent doing something illegal, then they might think it’s okay,” Parcel said.

A freshman in CALS, also wishing to remain anonymous, said her parents were actively involved in her personal and school life, which has contributed to her refusal to participate in binge drinking or smoking marijuana.

“I also saw the stupid side of my peers abusing these substances, and I decided not to participate,” she said. “I didn’t see any benefits.” 

Parcel, Dufur and McKune’s results showed that participants who had a stronger bond with their families were less likely to use marijuana and drink alcohol. School programs, such as D.A.R.E. and other preventative programs, were not factored into the results. 

An anonymous freshman in engineering said she thinks high school preventative programs were important in reducing the over-consumption of alcohol and marijuana, but parents were more important. 

“My parents were significantly involved in my everyday life, especially my senior year,” she said. “Even though it got a bit annoying, now that I’m in college I definitely think their involvement helped me.”

She said she agrees with the results of the study that parents are more effective in influencing their children “one way or the other.”

The study “Does Capital at Home Matter More Than Capital at School? The Case of Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use” sampled a group of 10,585 out of 25,000 high school seniors from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study.

The participants were randomly selected and had been followed since the eighth grade level. Results of the study were controlled by race, if the participant’s parents were married, the socioeconomic standing of the participants family, and male versus female.