African American Head Start Parent Involvement in Drug Prevention

This study explored African American parents' perceptions of their involvement with their Head Start children in an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) prevention program. Based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), factors related to African American parent involvement with their children were explored via in-depth, open-ended interviews with 10 African American parents. Barriers to parent involvement included structural and system factors, attitudes and norms, addiction, and stress. Benefits of involvement included learning, parent role modeling, and parent-child communication. Encouragement from teachers and children provided cues to action. Perceived seriousness, perceived control of children's future ATOD use, and parent ATOD modeling contributed to perceived threat.