Parents Newsletter - Winter 2011

 

Castro encourages parents to talk to their children about alcohol

Parents can have more impact on their college-age children’s drinking habits than they might think.

That’s the message Ralph Castro, associate director of health promotion services and assistant dean of student life, wants to impart to Stanford parents who worry that too much intervention into their children’s lives may label them dreaded “helicopter parents.”

In fact, Castro says, research suggests that alcohol consumption may be the single most important area where parents should shed their concerns about over-involvement and engage openly and honestly with their children.

Castro bases his advice on research done for a consortium of about 20 universities that includes Stanford. The research was done by the company that manages the online AlcoholEdu program required of all Stanford freshmen prior to their arrival on campus.

“The research asked whether parent involvement could affect outcomes with alcohol,” Castro said. “In a nutshell, the answer is yes. Kids who have talked to their parents about alcohol have fewer problems.”

Defining expectations

He explained, “Just having a conversation appears to be enough to affect alcohol use. But if I could give advice, I would recommend that parents clearly define their expectations and say what they consider appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Past research has shown, for instance, that nondrinkers—when asked why they don’t drink—will say: ‘Because my parents don’t want me to.’”

Castro said the conversations are pertinent even after the freshman year because of the distinctive pressures faced in each year of college. For example, sophomores may only begin drinking when rushing a fraternity or sorority. Seniors, he said, may begin to drink excessively only when faced with the end of school and the uncertainty of the future. The continuing conversations should also include such touchy subjects as the relationship between excessive drinking and unplanned and regretted intimacy.

Castro says his own research suggests about 75 percent of Stanford students have talked to their parents about alcohol. But, he acknowledges, some parents may be avoiding such conversations because they are concerned about “opening up the can of worms” of their own collegiate alcohol and drug use. Many parents, he says, attended college when cultural norms may have encouraged behavior now understood to be dangerous.

High-risk drinking

“Alcohol use today and binge drinking is higher risk, primarily because of the hard alcohol that is involved,” he said. In addition, Castro notes, the marijuana grown today is often more potent and purer than marijuana available during the 1970s, when many Stanford students’ parents may have gone to college.

Also, some parents may incorrectly assume that Stanford has no alcohol challenges since statistics show that Stanford students drink less than their peers nationwide. But even Stanford students, he said, engage in risky binge drinking. As part of a practice called “pre-gaming,” for instance, some will consume as many as a dozen shots of hard liquor in a short period of time so that they can sustain a “buzz” at an event where alcohol might not be available.

Dangers of hard liquor

Over the past several years, one measure of excessive drinking—ambulance trips to the emergency room—has been on a downward trend. In 2009-10, there were 61 trips by Stanford students to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning, all as a result of hard liquor consumption. This year, Castro says, the number is trending higher than in the past. The reason is hard liquor consumption.

“When hard liquor comes out, it is done in shots and is done very quickly,” explained Jarreau Bowen, a health educator at Vaden Health Center. “It is not sipping from an appropriate glass over a long conversation. It is shot after shot after shot.”

If a student is transported for alcohol poisoning, the Stanford residence dean who is on-call is paged, usually by the residential staff in the student’s dorm or by the police. The university has the option to notify the student’s parents, especially if he or she is a freshman. Most transported students, however, choose to talk to their parents themselves.

“The student is generally frightened and scared. They feel really bad. It’s not what they wanted,” Castro said.

After the student is discharged from the hospital, he or she meets with a residence dean who decides what subsequent services are needed and what consequences should be imposed. Often, the students are referred to Castro or Bowen for alcohol education counseling and education. In extreme cases, students are referred to Counseling and Psychological Services.

Bottom line

In Castro’s ideal world, no student would ever drink to excess and require medical care. Parents, he believes, can be crucial partners in the university’s efforts to curb risky drinking by talking to their children, no matter how difficult the subject seems.

“The bottom line is, one, don’t be afraid to have the conversation and, two, don’t be afraid to say exactly what you expect of their behavior,” he said. “We know this is something of an intricate dance. Many parents are very involved in their student’s life, particularly in academics. Granted, there is a certain amount of letting go involved with college, but there is still beneficial oversight that parents can have by simply talking to their students beyond academics.”