Released June 19, 2004

Survey Methodology

The 2003 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, conducted for the Partnership by Roper Public Affairs and Media of NOP World (formerly Roper ASW), interviewed 1,228 parents with children under the age of 19 nationwide. Data are nationally projectable with a +/-2.8 percent margin of error for the total sample.

PATS is funded in part by an organizational grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Key Findings: Parents & Drug Prevention
  • Two-thirds of parents strongly agree “parents should forbid their child to use drugs at any time.”
  • Fathers are less likely than mothers to have discussed drugs with their child four or more times in the past year (39% vs. 48%); still less than half of mothers have done so.
  • Most parents discuss “drugs in general” with their kids, as well as specific substances like alcohol and cigarettes. Fewer discuss illicit drugs like marijuana, heroin or Ecstasy.
  • One quarter of both mothers and fathers say, “I wish I knew better what to say to my child about drugs.”
  • If they thought their child had a problem with drugs or alcohol, fathers were more likely than mothers to say they would first handle it themselves (24 % vs. 18%), whereas mothers were more likely to first look outside for help to a treatment center or family doctor.
  • Fathers are less likely than mothers to use traditional “parenting skills” such as monitoring their child's activities (67% vs. 81%), making and enforcing rules (72% vs. 81%), asking their child about his/her day (69% vs. 78%), and asking who he/she was with and where he/she went (58% vs. 72%).
Marijuana:
  • Parents correctly believe that kids today start smoking marijuana at a younger age (12-14 years old vs. 16-17 when they were young). Studies estimate the average age of first use of marijuana by teens to be between 13-14 years old .
  • Fathers are less likely than mothers to see negative consequences for kids who smoke marijuana, such as difficulty coping with life's problems (45% vs. 58%) and getting along with family (47% vs. 58%).
  • Fathers are more likely than mothers to have tried marijuana and LSD in their lifetime (59% vs. 52% tried marijuana; 14% vs. 8% tried LSD).
  • Most parents are not current users: Only 7 percent of parents report having used marijuana in the past month.