Alcohol and drug use by middle and high school-aged students have always been a concern in every school district.
In order to gage how prevalent these behaviors actually are in the
Saratoga Springs City School District, the Saratoga Partnership for
Prevention administers a biannual survey called the Prevention Needs
Assessment Survey. The survey has two parts - an anonymous student
survey and an anonymous parent survey - and was designed to assess
adolescent substance use, anti-social behavior and risk and protective
factors that predict problem behavior.
"The results this year are a mixed bag. We are pleased with the middle school findings but are a little concerned with eighth-grade trends," said Robin Ambrosino, Information Specialist at the Partnership for Prevention. "At this age, the most important thing to kids is acceptance by peers. If dominant peers are using alcohol or drugs, others will probably follow. We need to focus more on the transition from eighth grade to high school."
According to the survey, alcohol use within the last 30 days, binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks in a row) and marijuana use has crept up amongst eighth-graders to an average of about six percent in 2008 versus about four percent in 2006. Results from the sixth and seventh grade survey shows that less than one percent of students are using alcohol or drugs on a regular basis.
A main factor that drives alcohol and drug use is the students' perception of how prevalent usage is among their peers. Middle school students know that drugs and alcohol use is low amongst their peers, which in turn causes less peer pressure to try alcohol or drugs. This perception drastically changes when the students enter high school. By ninth grade, most students perceive that 50 percent of their peers are using substances which has driven the actual use to 25 percent. These numbers only grow larger as the students get older. By the time students are seniors in high school, they perceive that 95 percent of students are using, driving the actual use to about 50 percent. While these numbers are alarming, the rates have generally stayed flat from 2006 to 2008 when the survey was last administered.
"Despite the positive trend over the last two years, this shows us that we need to do more at the high school level. Middle school efforts to maintain substance abuse have worked but there are red flags as the student age," Ambrosino said.
Marijuana use in high school is creeping above the national average with just under 20 percent of 10th graders using it on a more regular basis whereas the national average is just about 15 percent. In 12th grade, the number jumps to about 35 percent of students using marijuana within the last 30 days as opposed to the national average of 20 percent.
According to the parent survey, there is very little gap between parents' and kids' perceptions about rules for alcohol and drug use in the middle school years, but this number jumps to a 25-point gap. Nearly 100 percent of parents said they believe their rules about drinking and using drugs are clear while only 76 percent of students believe their parents' rules are clear. Parental attitudes also show that they are more permissive about alcohol use than for other drugs or substances. While parents are becoming more realistic about their children's substance use, about 34 percent believe that their child has only consumed alcohol once or twice.
"There's always a gap between parents' perceptions and actual use. Most parents are aware that their kids are trying alcohol or other drugs, but they aren't typically aware of how they are trying them, such as binge drinking," Ambrosino said. "In fact, 15 percent of ninth-graders and up to 40 percent of twelfth-graders reported binge drinking at least once in the past month."
As a result of the first surveys taken in 2000, the Partnership for Prevention has launched initiatives to target middle school students such as D.A.R.E. All-Stars Camp, Strengthening Families and All-Stars Lunch Group and After School Club to support middle school students' transition to the high school. While these have proven successful, the high school trends found through the survey show that more needs to be done at the older levels to deter alcohol and drug use. Currently, there are plans to expand mentoring programs and efforts to increase parent education, awareness and supervision at the high school level.
"Saratoga Springs is a great school district with a lot to be proud of but there are trends that we need to keep an eye on and figure out how to manage," Ambrosino said.
"The results this year are a mixed bag. We are pleased with the middle school findings but are a little concerned with eighth-grade trends," said Robin Ambrosino, Information Specialist at the Partnership for Prevention. "At this age, the most important thing to kids is acceptance by peers. If dominant peers are using alcohol or drugs, others will probably follow. We need to focus more on the transition from eighth grade to high school."
According to the survey, alcohol use within the last 30 days, binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks in a row) and marijuana use has crept up amongst eighth-graders to an average of about six percent in 2008 versus about four percent in 2006. Results from the sixth and seventh grade survey shows that less than one percent of students are using alcohol or drugs on a regular basis.
A main factor that drives alcohol and drug use is the students' perception of how prevalent usage is among their peers. Middle school students know that drugs and alcohol use is low amongst their peers, which in turn causes less peer pressure to try alcohol or drugs. This perception drastically changes when the students enter high school. By ninth grade, most students perceive that 50 percent of their peers are using substances which has driven the actual use to 25 percent. These numbers only grow larger as the students get older. By the time students are seniors in high school, they perceive that 95 percent of students are using, driving the actual use to about 50 percent. While these numbers are alarming, the rates have generally stayed flat from 2006 to 2008 when the survey was last administered.
"Despite the positive trend over the last two years, this shows us that we need to do more at the high school level. Middle school efforts to maintain substance abuse have worked but there are red flags as the student age," Ambrosino said.
Marijuana use in high school is creeping above the national average with just under 20 percent of 10th graders using it on a more regular basis whereas the national average is just about 15 percent. In 12th grade, the number jumps to about 35 percent of students using marijuana within the last 30 days as opposed to the national average of 20 percent.
According to the parent survey, there is very little gap between parents' and kids' perceptions about rules for alcohol and drug use in the middle school years, but this number jumps to a 25-point gap. Nearly 100 percent of parents said they believe their rules about drinking and using drugs are clear while only 76 percent of students believe their parents' rules are clear. Parental attitudes also show that they are more permissive about alcohol use than for other drugs or substances. While parents are becoming more realistic about their children's substance use, about 34 percent believe that their child has only consumed alcohol once or twice.
"There's always a gap between parents' perceptions and actual use. Most parents are aware that their kids are trying alcohol or other drugs, but they aren't typically aware of how they are trying them, such as binge drinking," Ambrosino said. "In fact, 15 percent of ninth-graders and up to 40 percent of twelfth-graders reported binge drinking at least once in the past month."
As a result of the first surveys taken in 2000, the Partnership for Prevention has launched initiatives to target middle school students such as D.A.R.E. All-Stars Camp, Strengthening Families and All-Stars Lunch Group and After School Club to support middle school students' transition to the high school. While these have proven successful, the high school trends found through the survey show that more needs to be done at the older levels to deter alcohol and drug use. Currently, there are plans to expand mentoring programs and efforts to increase parent education, awareness and supervision at the high school level.
"Saratoga Springs is a great school district with a lot to be proud of but there are trends that we need to keep an eye on and figure out how to manage," Ambrosino said.
Main Menu
Leave a comment