Parents who talk to their children about their disapproval of drug use and govern their activities are more likely to have kids who don't abuse drugs.

This was one of the findings reported in a recent week-long series in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune on teen-age drug use in Minnesota. The 10-month investigation included two extensive surveys which revealed patterns of teen-age drug use. The survey results helped explain why some kids abuse drugs and others don't.

The surveys included one for Minneapolis-St. Paul area teenagers and the other for school drug education coordinators in Minnesota. Additionally, an analysis of the 1983 Search Institute Minnesota teen survey was used as part of the research which was conducted by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Research Department.

From Oct. 8 to Nov. 7, 1986, teen-agers in 38 public and private schools in suburban Minneapolis and St. Paul were surveyed on their alcohol and drug use. The schools were selected randomly. The public school sample was stratified by county and the private school sample was stratified by religious affiliation. Thirteen junior highs, 13 senior highs and 12 private schools in suburbs of the five-county metropolitan area agreed to participate. Response rates for school participation were 86% for private schools and 68% for suburban public schools. The 26 public schools in the survey were geographically dispersed and represented a range of socioeconomic characteristics based on census figures for districts, including income, education and occupation.

A representative cross-section of students within the schools were selected to participate. Students completed the questionnaire during regular class periods with teachers present and under the supervision of proctors from the University of Minnesota Center for Survey Research. The students were guaranteed complete questionnaire anonymity.

Survey participants

Of the 5,604 students who participated, 5,473 provided usable data. The obvious illogical and fabricated answers were discarded. Results were based on responses from 1,932 eighth-graders, 1,762 10th grade students and 1,778 12th graders.

The second survey, conducted from Oct. 22 through Nov. 10, 1986, involved school alcohol and drug education coordinators. A Minneapolis firm specializing in survey research was responsible for conducting the telephone interviews in which 427 districts were contacted and 386 interviews were completed.

To provide national comparisons and trend data for Minnesota, the Star and Tribune student survey replicated a number of questions from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research's National Senior Survey and the 1983 Search Institute Minnesota teen survey.

Validity concern

The student use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and LSD was the focus for the Star and Tribune survey. The questionnaire covered many sensitive areas and illegal behaviors, therefore, the issue of validity was an important concern. To encourage honest and candid reporting, the researchers stressed the importance of the study, assured the students of their anonymity and made the questionnaire itself totally anonymous.

"The questionnaire was machine scored and nowhere did we ask for the student's name or assign code numbers to their questionnaire booklets," says Jeanne McGee, Ph.D., an independent consultant in research and project management and research director for the project. "During the administration of the questionnaire, students were also given complete privacy. When the questionnaires were turned in, they were put into envelopes and sealed shut in front of the students."

To further assure anonymity, none of the results for the individual schools that participated in the study were made available to school administrators. The concern was that certain students, especially those from private schools where a small number of students were sampled, could be easily identified. This stipulation improved the quality of the data, adds McGee.

Though every effort was made to assure the students the anonymity of the surveys, the Star and Tribune Research Department stated there is no objective way to assess the accuracy of teen-agers' self-reported drug use. However, says McGee, studies by the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research and others suggest that anonymous questionnaires such as the one used produce largely valid data, that if anything, tend to underestimate drug use. That's partially because the students who are heavy drug users tend to be among those who are absent the most from school and are therefore, unrepresented in the study.

Survey results

Some of the results of the survey found that Minnesota high school seniors abuse alcohol at levels above the national average. Cocaine use is growing faster than any other drug with 14% of the seniors trying that drug compared with 11% in 1983. At least 10% of the students use harder drugs than marijuana and alcohol. One in 20 eighth-graders surveyed reported using cocaine or LSD. One in six high school seniors reported trying those drugs. Kids who used crack are 10 times more likely than other kids to have used LSD or cocaine. They are almost twice as likely to come from families where someone else has a drug problem. Brothers and sisters are twice as likely to supply drugs to crack users than to non-crack users. Drug users are nearly three times more likely than non-users to come from single-parent homes. They often perceive their parents as less upset by drug use and not very strict.