The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 39, No. 2 & Volume 40, No. 1 - 83

Parental Notification of Alcohol or Drug-Related Violations

ing “how a violation can affect his whole life
ahead of him. The dangers of over indulging.
How to be a leader, instead of a follower.” Seventeen respondents (17.9%) reported that their
conversations included a discussion of longand short-term risks associated with alcohol
use or abuse, such as alcohol poisoning and
other health risks; risks of alcohol dependency;
and the possibility of endangering themselves
or others. One parent stated, “We discussed the
physical dangers of alcohol intoxication and
poisoning and the impact it could have on our
son and others (i.e., DUI, etc.). We talked about
peer pressure, impact on his studies and the
dangers of alcohol dependency.” Also, several
parents chose to use the conversation they had
with their student as a means of obtaining additional information about the violation.

Based on the findings of our
research, college and university
officials should continue the
practice of notifying parents of
underage student violations of
alcohol or other drug policies.

Of the parents responding, 17.6% reported
that they did not have a conversation as a result
of parental notification. However, it should be
noted that several parents indicated in their
comments that they had a conversation with
their student prior to receiving the notification
letter, as opposed to having a conversation as a

result of receiving the letter.
A chi-square test was conducted to assess
whether parents who chose to have a conversation with their student after receiving the notification letter were more likely to report that
they felt their student would make changes in
their consumption of alcohol or other drugs as
a result of the notification. The results of this
test were significant, (1, N = 116) = 16.592, p
< .0005, and indicated an association between
the variables of (a) parents choosing to have a
conversation with their student and (b) parents
who felt their student would make changes in
their consumption of alcohol or other drugs.
Overall, the results suggested that parents who
had a conversation were more likely to feel that
their student would make behavioral changes
with regard to the use of alcohol and other
drugs than were those parents who did not
have a conversation.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Prior research findings indicate that parental
involvement assists in decreasing high-risk
use of alcohol or other drug use among students (Inter-Association Task Force, 2002;
NCASA, 2007; Turrisi et al., 2000). While the
researchers in the current study did not explore
whether or not students actually changed their
behavior regarding use of alcohol and other
drugs, it is promising to note that sending the
notification letter had the intended result of increasing parent-student communication. This
communication increased the likelihood that
parents felt their student would make changes
in consumption of alcohol or other drugs.
Based on the findings of our research,
college and university officials should continue
the practice of notifying parents of underage
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 39, No. 2 & Volume 40, No. 1

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