This study has several implications for public health interventions. First, prevention and health promotion programs that target adolescents and emphasize parental knowledge are likely to have a positive impact on adolescent substance use, particularly among middle school-aged African American adolescents, although the impact of such interventions may not be equivalent for boys and girls. In previous research with similar populations, substance use prevention programs that have emphasized gains in parental knowledge have shown considerable promise (Stanton et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2003). Such interventions, whether delivered in schools or after school settings, are especially compatible with a positive youth development approach that engages adolescents from a strengths-oriented perspective and seeks to involve parents as partners to foster adolescent development (Shinn & Yoshikawa, 2008; Tebes et al., 2007). Another implication of this study is that it is essential to take developmental considerations into account when designing interventions for adolescents to increase parental knowledge. Although how parents obtain knowledge of their child’s activities, whereabouts, and associations is likely to change as a child ages (i.e., from less monitoring to more communication
