University Alcohol Prevention, Public Relations and Organizational Legitimacy from the Parental Perspective

Developed from the public relations process model, the purpose of this study was to identify parental perceptions of university drinking norms and their relationship with parental perceptions of the organizational legitimacy of the university. This study used a web-based survey to assess an N = 173 parents of current university students at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. The results of this study identified that parents have exaggerated misperceptions of college drinking that are related to their overall perceptions of the university in terms of organizational legitimacy. The study also found that parental awareness of university prevention efforts were strongly correlated with parental perceptions of organizational legitimacy. This study advocates the importance for universities to approach alcohol prevention from an issues management perspective that includes the use of two-way symmetrical communication with parents as well as the possible benefits of using social marketing as a public relations tool.