William Crano

Dr. William Crano is the Oskamp Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences (SBOS), Claremont Graduate University. Crano is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Psychological Society (APS).

Previous positions held by Dr. Crano include:
 * NATO Senior Scientist
 * Fulbright Fellow to Brazil
 * Liaison scientist in the behavioral sciences for the Office of Naval Research, London
 * Chair of the Executive Committee for the Society of Experimental Social Psychology
 * Program Director in Social Psychology at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Crano is currently or has been on the editorial boards of the following journals:
 * Human Communication Research
 * Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
 * Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
 * Basic and Applied Social Psychology
 * International Journal of Group Tensions.

Research interests
Crano’s basic research is concerned with social influence, especially the impact of minorities on the beliefs and actions of the majority, and on the effects of self-interest on attitudes and actions. His applied research is concerned with the development of persuasive and instructional information to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to prevent drug abuse in children and adolescents. Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) fund his research.

Prevention of drug abuse
Crano’s research, done in conjunction with Dr. Eusebio M. Alvaro (CGU), suggests large differences in health-relevant (prevention) knowledge between Hispanic and Anglo youth and their parents. These differences occur despite intense media efforts mounted to help prevent the consequences of unsafe sex and drug abuse. Research in this area indicates that mass-media prevention messages may place minority groups at a disadvantage if messages are not specifically tailored to address their cultures and concerns. Crano and Alvaro research on new approaches to presenting information have been found to be effective for adolescent Hispanic audiences. Their research on drug use prevention among Anglo and Hispanic youth involved an intensive, interactive, multimedia, computer-based approach that has proved effective in past research on HIV prevention. (1)

Predictors of adolescent drug use
This research investigated relationships between marijuana and inhalant use and measures of “familism,” parental monitoring, drug use knowledge and acculturation as well as demographic factors in 1,094 Anglo and Hispanic youth from 5 school districts in southwest Arizona. Outcome measures addressed lifetime and 30-day marijuana and inhalant use. Hispanics exhibited higher use across all measures. Among Hispanic youth, high acculturation was associated with low marijuana but high inhalant use. In both Hispanics and Anglos positive family relations and parental monitoring were strongly associated with reduced marijuana use but only among youth most knowledgeable about drugs. Familism and monitoring were not associated with diminished use among the less knowledgeable. For inhalants, monitoring combined with high knowledge or with high familism was associated with attenuated use. The role of knowledge in reducing drug use suggests continuing to disseminate factual material. Prevention strategies also should incorporate a family component to inform parents and open lines of communication. (2)