Helping Parents Talk with Their Children about Performance-Enhancing Substances: The Parent Talk Kit

Parents often need guidance in talking with their teenage athletes about steroids and other performance-enhancing substances, yet there are few resources available to assist them. This conversation with Dr. Gina Hijjawi from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America focuses on the “Parent Talk Kit,” designed specifically for this purpose. In this interview, Dr. Hijjawi discusses the motivation behind the Parent Talk Kit; how use of steroids, as a “pro-social drug,” is different than use of other drugs; which youth might be at risk for steroid abuse; and how parents can encourage healthy alternatives to steroids and other performance-enhancing substances.