Parent/Caregiver Interview Guide

Attachment 6: Parent/Caregiver Interview Guide

Intro OMB Control Number: XXXX-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

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Public Burden Statement: An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this project is XXXX-XXXX, and it expires XX/XX/XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden to SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57B, Rockville, MD 20857.

Parent/Caregiver Interview Guide

Evaluation questions:

• What are the effects of campaign exposure on parents/caregivers in the target sites?

• Do individual interview data from the school sites suggest a cause–effect relationship between campaign exposure and changes in parent/caregiver attitudes and behaviors at the target sites?

INTRODUCTION

READ

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this interview.

1. Before we begin, can you first please confirm both that you are a parent/caregiver at XX Middle School and that you are the one who completed the survey regarding underage drinking that was sent out by Principal XX a few weeks ago?

2. Okay, and can you also confirm that you remember seeing messages from the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign?

In our discussion today, I will ask you a number of personal questions that relate to your role as a parent or caregiver. Please know that while our conversation is being audio/video recorded for evaluation purposes, everything you say, and your identity, will be confidential. These files will be shared only with our evaluation team for the purposes of report writing. And again, any reports generated from this effort will not include personally identifiable information. If you feel at all uncomfortable answering any question, at any point, you can skip the question or stop the interview. As you were informed during the recruitment period, the interview will not exceed 60 minutes in duration, and you will be compensated $35.00 for your time.

Recently, you completed a survey that included questions about your attitudes and behaviors related to underage drinking. Today, I am going to ask questions similar to those included in the survey that was disseminated electronically via XX Middle School’s administration. I will also ask some follow-up questions based on your answers to better understand your unique experiences, attitudes, and perceptions. In this way, we will delve deeper to better understand your unique experiences, attitudes, and perceptions as they relate to underage drinking.

BACKGROUND

To begin, I would like to get some background information on you as a parent or caregiver.

• How many children do you have? What are each of their ages?

• How old is your child/How old are each of your children?

  • Repeat back for confirmation: So you have _____ child/children who is/are between the ages of 9 and 15.

PARENTAL CONCERNS

The next set of questions will specifically pertain to your child/children who is/are between the ages of 9 and 15.

• In a sentence or two, tell me what your highest priority (or priorities) and greatest concern (or concerns) are for your child/children?

• How concerned are you about your child/children drinking alcohol?

  • Can you elaborate on this point? Why do you feel this way?

  • Has this level of concern (or lack of concern) changed over time?

    • How so?

    • What has sparked this change?

  • [IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD BETWEEN AGES 9 AND 15] Do these concerns differ for your younger child compared to your older one? How so?

I just want to remind you that everything you say here is confidential. Some parents/caregivers are nervous about being honest about the next question, but this is a confidential interview, with no judgment, and I’m sincerely interested in your experience. To your knowledge, has your child/children tried alcohol before—more than just a few sips?

• If yes: Can you describe this in more detail? How do you know?

• If no: What makes you believe this is so?

• If unsure: What makes you uncertain?

PREVENTION

• Do you believe that there is anything that you could do to prevent your child from drinking alcohol?

  • If yes: Like what?

    • Why do you believe this would be effective?

  • If not: Why not?

PARENT/CAREGIVER/CHILD DISCUSSION BEHAVIORS

• Have you ever spoken to your child/children about underage drinking?

  • Once or multiple times?

    • If multiple: How often do you speak to your child/children about underage drinking?

  • To the best of your ability to remember, when did you first speak to your child/children about underage drinking?

  • What prompted you to have the first conversation?

    • If multiple: What prompted other conversations?

  • Have you spoken to your child/children about underage drinking in the last year?

  • What prompted this conversation/these conversations in the last year?

• When you’ve spoken to your child/children about underage drinking, can you remember any of what you said? Can you elaborate on that a little more?

• Do you believe that talking to your child/children about underage drinking is effective at preventing him/her/them from drinking alcohol?

  • Why or why not?

• What, if any, barriers do you encounter when talking to your child about drinking?

• [IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD BETWEEN AGES OF 9 AND 15.] Again, please let me know how these challenges differ, if at all, based on the age of your children.

CAMPAIGN AWARENESS

The next set of questions relate to your level of familiarity with the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

• Are you at all familiar with any of the “Talk. They Hear You.” advertisements?

  • If yes, continue to questions below.

  • If no, probe that this was the campaign that they were recently exposed to either at their child’s school, XX Middle School, or somewhere within their community. CONFIRM AGAIN whether they have seen or heard ads from this campaign.

• What do you remember about this campaign, specifically?

  • Are there any particular words or images that stand out in your memory?

• Where have you seen or heard advertising from this campaign?

  • What types of media did you see and where (e.g., flyers, Facebook, websites, emails, television, radio, newspapers/other publications, billboards)?

• To the best of your memory, please describe the purpose of the campaign in your own words.

• Do you think the campaign was effective at achieving its purpose?

CAMPAIGN IMPACT

The next set of questions will ask about the impact of the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign, if any.

• Did the campaign cause you to think differently, at all, about underage drinking?

  • How so?

  • What specifically changed in your thinking?

  • What about the campaign do you think caused this change in how you think about underage drinking?

• Did the campaign influence your level of concern about your child/children drinking alcohol?

  • Did you feel more or less concerned about your child/children drinking alcohol after being exposed to the campaign?

  • Can you explain that a little more?

  • What about the campaign influenced your level of concern?

• Earlier [in the survey/conversation] you said that you believed that there was something/wasn’t anything that you could do to prevent your child/children from drinking alcohol. Did the campaign affect your opinion on this matter at all?

  • How so?

• After seeing the campaign, did you talk to your child/children about underage drinking?

  • If yes:

    • [IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD BETWEEN THE AGES OF 9 AND 20] Did you speak to both/all of your [X-AGED CHILDREN]?

    • Was this the first time you spoke to your child/children about underage drinking?

    • What about the campaign inspired you to have a conversation with your child/children about underage drinking?

    • Did the campaign increase your confidence in your ability to talk with your child/children about underage drinking?

    • Did it increase your confidence in your ability to influence your child’s/children’s decisions about whether or not they drink alcohol?

    • When you spoke to your child/children, what did you say, exactly?

      • Did something in the campaign materials cause you to say that?

      • [IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD BETWEEN THE AGES OF 9 AND 20] Did the discussion with your younger child vs. your older child differ? How so?

  • If no:

    • Did the campaign inspire you to want to talk to your child/children about underage drinking, even if you haven’t had the conversation yet?

      • If yes:

        • [IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD BETWEEN THE AGES OF 9 AND 15] Did the campaign inspire you to talk to both/all of your [X-AGED CHILDREN] about underage drinking?

        • What about the campaign inspired you to want to talk to your child/children about underage drinking?

        • Why do you think you haven’t had the conversation with your child/children about underage drinking?

      • If no:

        • Why not?

• Did seeing the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign messaging create in you a sense of urgency—meaning a desire to take action quickly—to discuss underage drinking with your child?

  • Why or why not?

• Did taking the XX Middle School parent/caregiver survey about underage drinking or having this discussion with me today impact you the same way as the actual “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign messages that you’ve seen or heard?

  • In what way?

• In the near future, do you intend to discuss underage drinking with your child?

  • Why or why not?

As you can probably tell, we are looking to identify ways in which the campaign may have affected your attitudes and behaviors about underage drinking.

• Are there any ways in which the campaign has affected you that we have not yet discussed in today’s interview?

• Any final thoughts about the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign?

Thank you so much for your cooperation in answering these questions! This information is really helpful to understanding the impact of underage drinking prevention efforts. We greatly appreciate your time and your feedback. Thanks again and have a wonderful rest of your day.

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