LOCAL PARENTS MAY BE UNDERESTIMATING DRUG USE BY THEIR CHILDREN, SURVEY SAYS

Parents in the St. Louis area may be grossly underestimating drug use among
their own children, according to a survey released Wednesday as part of a
new anti-drug campaign.

Just 6 percent of parents responding to a Maritz Marketing Research poll
believe that their school-age children have experimented with drugs.

Those figures collide with various studies on adolescent drug use.

A recent Missouri Department of Education survey suggests that 26 percent
of the state's middle school students have used marijuana. Federal surveys
of middle and high school students place that figure at around 42 percent.

"Clearly, there's a gap between what parents believe and what national and
state studies suggest," said Les Landes, who is helping to organize the new
drug education campaign.

Landes said he is troubled most by the fact that only 25 percent of St.
Louis parents responding to the survey say their children are at risk of
using drugs.

"If 75 percent of parents believe drugs are a problem with someone else's
kids, then we are not doing what we need to with drug prevention," Landes said.

On Wednesday, Landes and other members of the Public Relations Society of
America launched a campaign to help parents talk to children about drugs.
The effort is also backed by Kids in a Drug-Free Society and the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The groups will use the parent survey to help guide their work. Landes said
that while many of the findings are troubling, others offer hope.

For example, 90 percent of parents believe that parents are more
influential in shaping children's views on drugs than peers or the mass media.

That's a finding that squares with surveys conducted among adolescents. A
survey last year by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that
children list "disappointing their parents" as the leading risk associated
with drug use.

That kind of research has led to a shift in drug prevention efforts, said
Ron Sconyers, president of Kids in a Drug-Free Society. In the past, most
of the focus has been on school-based programs, but now attention is
centering on the home, he said.

About 39 percent of parents responding to the St. Louis survey said they
discuss drug prevention with their children at least once a month. But only
20 percent of parents said they have participated in training sessions on
how to talk to children about drugs.

The new campaign hopes to change that by signing up businesses to host drug
prevention workshops for parents at their job sites.

In the meantime, the groups will host events, invite speakers and
distribute brochures to libraries and schools with tips for parents.
Sconyers said parents should do more than simply condemn drug use.

" 'Just Say No' only goes so far," he said, referring to the anti-drug
battle cry of the 1980s.

One brochure prepared for the campaign includes tips on topics as basic as
having dinner as a family and establishing weekly family activities to
create comfortable settings where children can discuss problems.

The St. Louis phone survey was conducted for free by Maritz Marketing
Research Inc. The survey was limited to parents or guardians of school-age
children from five ZIP codes. Parents surveyed included those in the
Parkway, Ritenour, Affton, Hazelwood and St. Louis school districts.

St. Louis is one of five cities where the drug prevention campaign is being
tested. Eventually, the effort will be expanded nationwide.