Findings from the 2013 High School and Middle School Surveys June 2013

Transcription

1 Findings from the 2013 High School and Middle School Surveys June 2013 Each spring beginning in 2009, the Narragansett High School Youth Survey has been administered in health education classes to all students present. Beginning in the spring of 2010, the Youth Survey has also been administered to students in the 7 th and 8 th grades at the Narragansett Pier Middle School. The surveys have three purposes: Meet the data requirements of the Partnershipʼs Drug Free Community Support grant Allow for examination of trends started with data from the SALT Survey Collect data on topics of particular interest to the Partnership This report is a summary of the information collected in the 2013 surveys. The first section presents trends in student substance use continued from the SALT Survey and the Youth Survey and the NPMS Youth Survey. The second section presents results of particular interest to the Partnership, including student access to alcohol and drugs, student perceptions of their peersʼ substance use, perceived risk, parental disapproval, bullying at school, and use of support programs at and the Pier Middle School. Trends in Past 30 Day Substance Use: High School In 2013, 351 HS students completed the Youth Survey. This number is slightly less than the number of responses to the SALT Survey in years and the Youth Survey in : Year # responses Somewhat more males (191; 55%) than females (158; 45%) responded Responses were relatively even across grades: grades 9 had 80 responses, grade 10 had 99, grade 11 had 88, and grade 12 had 83 responses. The following three charts show trends in the percentage of HS students reporting past 30 day use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana and other drugs, respectively, for the years The fourth chart shows trends in past 30 day use of prescription drugs taken on your own, i.e., not according to a doctorʼs directions, for the years ; these latter data are all from the Youth Survey, as the SALT Survey did not ask about prescription drug use. 1

2 For both past 30 day alcohol use and cigarette use, there is a marked downward trend from 2002 to 2013, with alcohol use decreasing by about half and cigarette use decreasing by about 70%. In both cases, we note an increase in reported use from 2010 to 2011 followed by a decrease in 2012 to approximately 2010 levels. For alcohol use, there is a slight increase in 2013, while cigarette use remained stable from 2012 levels. 2

3 Past 30 day marijuana and other drug use shows a decline overall from 2002 to 2013, but a less pronounced trend than for alcohol or cigarette use. The SALT Survey asked about use of marijuana and other illegal drugs, whereas the Youth Survey (2009 on) asks about marijuana use only. This difference may account in part for the lower rates reported in 2009 compared with earlier years. Marijuana use in 2013 was slightly higher than in

4 Although the years are more limited, we also note an increase in past 30 day prescription drug use, taken on your own, from 2010 to 2011, followed by a decrease in 2012 to approximately the 2010 rates, followed by an increase in In 2013, of the 29 students who reported taking prescription drugs in the past 30 days on their own, 23 (79%) also reported past 30 day alcohol use. Four (4) students reported using prescription drugs on their own on 40 or more occasions in the past 30 days and using alcohol on 40 or more occasions in the past 30 days. This is a concern because concurrent use of alcohol and prescription pain relievers (e.g., OxyContin, Vicodin), for example, can be deadly. To examine trends by grade, we broke out past 30 day substance use by grade in the following charts. As with alcohol use overall in the HS, trends for each grade show uneven but overall downward trends from 2002 to The most pronounced downward trend in the past six years is for seniors, from 63% reporting past 30 day use in 2007 (SALT Survey) to 33.8% reporting past 30 day use in 2012 and 37.3% reporting use in 2013 ( Youth Survey). 4

5 Past 30 day cigarette use shows less variability by grade than alcohol use, and shows an overall downward trend for each grade, from 2002 to Reported use was little changed from 2012 to Past 30 day marijuana use shows considerable variability by grade over the years. For example, while overall use increased slightly from 2002 to 2013, use by use by 9 th and 11 th graders increased substantially, while use by 10 th and 12 th graders decreased. 5

6 Past 30 day use of prescription drugs, taken on your own, decreased for all grades from 2011 to 2012, most pronouncedly for grades 9, 10, and 12. Use in 2013 increased for grades 9, 10, and 11, while remaining relatively constant for 12 th graders. We also broke out past 30 day substance use results by gender, displayed below. SALT data were not available by gender. For each substance, this chart displays past 30 day male use for as the four leftmost columns, and past 30 day female use for the same years as the four rightmost columns. We note that males and females exhibited somewhat different trends in use across the five years. For example, male use of cigarettes and non-medical use of prescription drugs decreased overall from 2009 to 2013, while female use of these substances increased over 6

7 those years. Both males and females exhibited increases in marijuana use from 2009 to Alcohol use decreased for males and was relatively constant for females. Trends in Past 30 Day Substance Use: 7 th and 8 th Grades In 2013, 188 7th and 8th grade students completed the Youth Survey. This number is somewhat lower than the numbers completing the SALT Survey in years and the Youth Survey in 2010 and 2011, but comparable to the number in (The Youth Survey was not administered to middle school students in 2009.) Year # responses Responses in 2013 represented slightly more males (96 or 52%) than females (90 or 48%). There were fewer 7th grade responses (87) than 8th grade responses (101). The following three charts show trends in the percentage of 7 th and 8 th grade students reporting past 30 day use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana, respectively, for the years

8 We observe similar trends in the reported middle school use of all three substances, namely: There is an overall decline in past 30 day use from 2002 to The most pronounced decline is from 2006 to As we saw with the HS data, there is an apparent uptick in use of cigarettes and marijuana, but not alcohol, from 2010 to 2011, and then a drop in 2012 and again in 2013 to below the 2010 level. As reported last year, caution is needed in interpreting the marijuana use results. In the cases of alcohol and cigarettes, the questions used in the Youth Survey match those used in the prior SALT Survey. However, for other drug use, the SALT Survey asked about use of other illegal drugs (including marijuana), while the Youth Survey (in order to meet the DFCS grant requirements) asks about marijuana use only. For this reason, the marijuana use prevalence may be biased downward relative to 2008 and earlier. 7 th and 8 th grade past 30 day use of prescription drugs, taken on your own, increased from 4.1% in 2010 to 5.9% in 2011, decreased slightly to 5.5% in 2012, and increased again in 2013 to 8.6% (representing 16 students). Of the 16 middle school students who reported past 30 day use of prescription drugs non-medically in 2011, three (19%) also reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. We also broke out past 30 day substance use results by gender, displayed below. SALT data were not available by gender. 8

9 These data need to be interpreted with caution, because of the relatively small number of middle school students reporting past 30 day use. However, the chart suggests different patterns for males and females. Past 30 day use for alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana appears to have declined from 2010 to 2013 for males and increased for females. For non-medical use of prescription drugs, male use more than doubled in 2013 compared to 2012, while female use decreased slightly from For alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana, female use in 2013 was higher than male use Findings on Access, Sources of Substances, Perception of Other Studentsʼ Use, Perceived Risk, Parental Disapproval, Bullying, and Use of Support Programs Access: Percent who answered ʻsort of easyʼ or ʻvery easyʼ to get some: How easy would it be for you to get some 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th NPMS Cigarettes Beer, wine, or hard liquor Marijuana Prescription drugs, not from a doctor, to get high

10 The survey asked students how easy it would be for them to get various substances. All four substances asked about (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs not from a doctor) show a marked increase in perceived ease for students to obtain them from 7 th to 12 th grades. The perceived ease of obtaining cigarettes and marijuana increased markedly from 8 th to 9 th grade. The perceived ease of obtaining prescription drugs, not from a doctor, increased steadily across the grades. Sources of alcohol (for those who drank in past 30 days): During the past 30 days, how did you usually get the alcohol you drank? NPMS (n=7) 9 th (n=11) 10 th (n=19) 11 th (n=33) 12 th (n=29) (n=92) I bought it in a store, such as a liquor store I gave someone else money to buy it for me I got it from a sibling I got it from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home without their knowledge I got it from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home with their knowledge I got it from a friend (not at a party) I got it at a high school party where an adult was in the house I got it at a high school party where no adult was home I got it at an on-campus URI party I got it at an off-campus URI party Sources of marijuana (for those who used marijuana in past 30 days): During the past 30 days, how did you usually get the marijuana you used? NPMS (n=11) 9 th (n=19) 10 th (n=18) 11 th (n=26) 12 th (n=17) (n=80) I bought it from a stranger or acquaintance I got it from a sibling I got it from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home without their knowledge I got it from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home with their knowledge I got it from a friend (not at a party) I got it from a friendʼs house, without their knowledge I got it at a high school party where an adult was in the house I got it at a high school party where no adult was home I got it at an on-campus URI party I got it at an off-campus URI party

11 Sources of prescription drugs (for those who used prescription drugs non-medically in past 30 days): During the past 30 days, how did you usually get the prescription drugs you used non-medically? NPMS (n=4) 9 th (n=4) 10 th (n=7) 11 th (n=6) 12 th (n=6) (n=23) I bought them from a stranger or acquaintance I got them from a sibling I got them from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home without their knowledge I got them from my parentsʼ/guardianʼs home with their knowledge I got them from a friend (not at a party) I got them from a friendʼs house, without their knowledge I got them at a high school party where an adult was in the house I got them at a high school party where no adult was home I got them at an on-campus URI party I got them at an off-campus URI party For the first time in 2012, the survey asked about sources of marijuana and prescription drugs used non-medically for those who had used these substances in the past 30 days, as well as about sources of alcohol, which the previous surveys had included. Overall, in 2013, high school students who drank in the past month reported giving someone else money to buy it for them as their most frequent source of alcohol, followed by getting it from a friend (not at a party), and getting it from their parentsʼ/guardianʼs home without their knowledge. The relative importance of these sources is unchanged from The reported sources appear to shift somewhat with different grade levels. For example, giving someone else money to buy it seems to become more popular with increasing grade levels, while getting it from parentsʼ/guardiansʼ home without their knowledge appears to become less popular with increasing grade levels. Because the numbers of students who reported having an alcoholic drink in the past month were relatively small when broken out by grade, reported sources by grade need to be interpreted with caution. This caution also applies to reported sources of marijuana and, especially, to sources of prescription drugs used non-medically. High school students who used marijuana in the past month reported getting it from a friend (not at a party) as by far the most frequent source, followed by buying it from a stranger or acquaintance and getting it from a sibling. Students who used prescription drugs non-medically in the past month reported buying them from a stranger or acquaintance as the most frequent source, followed by getting them from a sibling. Because the number of students who reported using prescription drugs non-medically was so small, trends across grade levels were not apparent. 11

12 Student perceptions regarding other students Percent indicating each choice In your opinion, what percent of Narragansett High School students do not smoke cigarettes? 9th 10th 11th 12th Over 50% but less than 60% Over 60% but less than 70% Over 70% but less than 80% Over 80% but less than 90% Over 90% In your opinion, what percent of Narragansett High School students do not drink alcohol? Over 50% but less than 60% Over 60% but less than 70% Over 70% but less than 80% Over 80% but less than 90% Over 90% In your opinion, what percent of Narragansett High School students do not use marijuana? Over 50% but less than 60% Over 60% but less than 70% Over 70% but less than 80% Over 80% but less than 90% Over 90% actual percent who did not (in the past 30 days) Smoke cigarettes: 92.0 Drink alcohol: 72.6 Use marijuana: 78.3 We can see from the actual percent of students who reported not using cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana in the past month that the high school students of all grades tended to greatly underestimate the percent of students who were not using these substances in the past month. For cigarettes, 85.3% of students overestimated their peersʼ use. For alcohol, 77.2% overestimated their peersʼ use, and for marijuana, 73.5% overestimated their peersʼ use. It is interesting that there is limited variation across grades in the perception of studentsʼ non-use. 12

13 Perceived Risk Percent who answered ʻmoderate riskʼ or ʻgreat riskʼ: How much do you think people risk harming themselves if they Smoke one or more packs of cigarettes per day? Have five or more drinks once or twice each weekend? 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th NPMS Smoke marijuana regularly? Although there is grade-to-grade variation, perceived risk for smoking cigarettes and for having five or more drinks once or twice each weekend was relatively level from 7 th to 12 th grades, with a slight decrease in perceived risk for high school versus middle school. Perceived risk of smoking marijuana regularly, in contrast, showed a marked decline from middle to high school, especially between 9 th and 10 th grades, with the overall averages who responded ʻmoderate riskʼ or ʻgreat riskʼ declining from 69.0% in middle school to 41.6% in high school. Information about the risks of marijuana appears to be different or perceived differently at the high school than at the middle school. Parental Disapproval Percent who answered ʻwrongʼ or ʻvery wrongʼ: How wrong do your parents/guardians feel it would be for you to 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th NPMS Smoke cigarettes? Drink beer, wine, or hard liquor regularly? Smoke marijuana? Use prescription drugs nonmedically? Parental disapproval responses tell a different story to that of perceived risk. Parental disapproval declines more or less steadily from 7 th to 12 th grade for alcohol and marijuana, but remains relatively constant for cigarettes and non-medical use of prescription drugs. These trends contrast with the grade-to-grade variation seen above in past 30 day use of these substances. 13

14 Bullying The survey also asked about bullying, both in terms of the number of days students stayed home because of feeling unsafe and of specific ways in which they might have been bullied. During the past 30 days, on how many days did you not go to school because you felt you would be unsafe at school or on your way to school? 7th 8th NPMS Percent by grade 9th 10th 11th 12th 0 days day or 3 days or 5 days or more days The number of students who reported at least one day of not going to school because of feeling unsafe was 26 (7.4%). For NPMS, this number was 16 (8.7%). These numbers are up somewhat from those who reported not going to school because of feeling unsafe in 2012 (5.6% and 5.7%, respectively). During the past 12 months, in which of the following ways, if any, have your felt bullied, singled out, or harassed at school? Check all that apply. I have not felt bullied, singled out, or harassed at school Verbally (e.g., name-calling, lying about you) Physically (threat or actual physical harm) Percent NPMS Via cell phone (calls, voic , text) Via the Internet ) s, material posted on Facebook, etc.) * Percents do not 100 because more than one category could be chosen. Types of bullying did not vary greatly across grade levels within the middle school and within the high school and their relative frequencies are reflected in the overall percentages reported above. About one middle school student in three, and one high school student in six, has felt bullied, singled out, or harassed at school in some way in the past 12 months. In 2012, about three middle school students in eight, and one high school student in five, felt bullied in some way at school in the past 12 months. 14

15 Use of Support Programs at 239 students of the 350 responding to the survey (68%) reported having taken advantage of at least one support program at (compared with 61% in 2012). Of these, 191 students (80%) took advantage of one program, 34 (14%) took advantage of two programs, and 14 (6%) took advantage of at least three programs. The percent of students who took advantage of each type of program is reported in the table below. Do you take advantage of the support programs at? (Check all that apply.) Percent who checked that program Academic hours 28.9 Extended school day 17.2 After school with classroom teacher/s 69.5 After school tutoring 4.6 Other 11.3 What Could Make Better? Students were also asked: What is one thing that could make Narragansett High School better? Two hundred fifty-two (252) of the 350 students who completed the survey (72%) wrote in an answer. The most frequently cited areas for improvement were: less smoking (cigarettes and marijuana) and drinking at school and on school grounds/more enforcement and prevention (10 responses or 4.0% of the 252 students who answered this question), including better oversight of the greenhouse area; and better enforcement of rules against bullying, more order, more fair punishments for bullying received 14 responses (5.5% of responses). Other responses included less homework, better lunches, and more freedom during lunches and in general. 15