Just in time for the new school year, SAMHSA has created new resources that are available to help parents communicate about the dangers of underage drinking with high school juniors, seniors, and college-bound freshmen.
The Sound of Your Voice is a short animated video that encourages parents to talk with their young adults about the consequences of underage alcohol use.
Talking With Your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol is a companion guide for parents that emphasizes their continuing influence on alcohol use decisions by their young adults. It offers tips on how to discuss this issue before and during college.
Additionally, SAMHSA, for the first time, provides insight on substance use initiation patterns among the one in every five full-time college students (aged 18 to 22) using illicit or potentially harmful substances. The study, which tracks initiation by month, shows the peak times for the initiation of substances including alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants. The press releaseand full report, Monthly Variation in Substance Use Report, are now available to read and share.