Township of Ocean Healthy Community-Healthy Youth Initiative 2012 Attitude and Behavior Survey A project of the Township of Ocean Department of Human Services And the Township of Ocean Alliance to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse

2012 Report This report will provide an overview of the strengths and risks of the youth in Ocean township. It will provide information about the level of drug and alcohol abuse among our youth. It will compare results of the 2006, 2009, 2012 youth assessment to provide some insight into the effectiveness of the Healthy Community- Healthy Youth Initiative in Ocean.

Report Contents This overview is divided into 4 sections: –The Survey- providing information about how we gathered the data. –Assets- providing information about the 40 Developmental Assets. –Risk Behaviors- Providing information about the level of alcohol, drug, and other high risk behaviors among our teens. –High Risk Patterns- Providing information about patterns of behavior that threaten the health and well- being of our youth. –Summary

The Survey

The Attitude and Behavior Survey Survey administered to the 6 th, 9 th and 12 th grades students of the Ocean Twp School District in November This was the third time we conducted this survey. The first time was December The th grade respondents became the 12 th grade respondents in the 2011 administration.

The Survey The Survey, developed by Search Institute, has been validated and utilized in communities across the nation. Over 3 million young people have been surveyed. The survey provides a reliable picture of the strengths the youth of our community possess and the risks they face.

The Demographics: Who did we survey in Ocean

Who did we survey in Ocean?

Developmental Assets

Assets: The building blocks of healthy youth and healthy communities The research has identified 40 Developmental Assets. Twenty can be classified as External Assets, building blocks provided from outside the young people that help them to grow strong. Four categories of external assets are Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, and Constructive use of time. Twenty assets can be classified as internal assets. They refer to inner strengths of the young person that can be fostered by experiences in their lives. Four categories of internal assets are Commitment to learning, Positive values, Social competencies, and Positive identity.

The formula is simple: The more of these 40 assets a young person has…the greater the chance for success… The less of these 40 assets a young person has…the greater the level of high risk behaviors, including drug and alcohol abuse, sexual activity, violence, depression and suicidality. In 2005, almost 2/3 of our young people were considered asset deficient.

The Goal In 2005 we became intentional about increasing the level of assets in the youth of our community. The School District, the Human Services Department, Project Extend, and other youth serving organizations, with the support and assistance of the Township Council, the Police Department, and the Alliance to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse, cooperated in the mission to increase those positive building blocks in our community. In 2009, we established the Community Hope Fund to support the efforts of groups promoting developmental assets in youth.

Progress! In % of kids had a protective level of assets In % of kids had a protective level of assets In % of kids had a protective level of assets

Growing protection

Progress is being made- but there is still work to do… We continue to see the drop in assets from 6 th to 9 th grade and again from 9 th to 12 th grade. And we continue to see cause for concern with the high risk behaviors of our youth…

External Assets The four slides that follow show the results of the survey for each category of the external assets. You will see the individual assets that comprise each category and the percent of youth who endorsed indicators of those assets for each of the three year measures.

The Support Assets are a measure of the youth’s perception of care and concern in the home, school and community. Family support, positive communication in the family and parent involvement in school are measures of home support. Youth also benefit from positive relationships with adults other than their parents and a caring neighborhood. In school, a positive caring environment supports young people’s growth and learning. We are seeing improvement in all areas.

The Empowerment assets measure the degree to which the community promotes young people’s self-efficacy by demonstrating the belief that youth have something to offer to others. Again, we are seeing in these areas.

The assets in this category measure the youth’s perception of boundaries that help them to succeed and avoid risk.

These asset categories measure how youth use their time. The more time youth spend in constructive activity, the less they are at risk.

Internal Assets The four slides that follow show the results of the survey for each category of the internal assets. You will see the individual assets that comprise each category and a comparison of the percent of youth who endorsed indicators of those assets for each of the three year measures.

These asset categories measure internal conditions related to well- being. There is a significant trend of improvement in all areas (except reading for pleasure). These improvement reflect the internalization of both the climate and expectations of the school community.

These assets reflect the internal strengths of youth and seem to increase with the external assets of youth empowerment. Significant growth in all areas is noted.

These assets reflect how young people make decisions and negotiate the relationships. We see improvement in all areas.

These assets reflect how youth think about themselves. There is improvement over the six years of measurement in all ares.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

High Risk Behaviors The survey asked a number of questions to assess the youths’ engagement in high risk behaviors. The researchers who developed the test built in measures to provide assurance that the information provided by the survey is accurate.

The Survey found that Two thirds of our seniors and one quarter of our freshman used alcohol in the thirty days before the survey. One in three seniors and one in ten freshmen reported smoking marijuana in the thirty days before the survey. One in four seniors and one in ten freshmen report smoking cigarettes.

Drinking and Driving The survey found that about one in four seniors report driving after drinking. About 4 in ten seniors report riding in a car with someone who had been drinking.

Assets Protect The following table shows the data regarding our youths substance use when considering their asset level. Comparing the purple to the light blue bars demonstrates that those with high levels of assets are far less likely to drink, drug, or drive drunk.

(1) (2) (1) Driven after drinking once or more in last 12 months (2) Rode once or more in last 12 months with a driver who had been drinking Asset Level

Six Year Progress A review of the use patterns over the six years of the Healthy Youth-Healthy Communities Initiative indicates progress in the area of improving chemical health of youth. 12 th grade students remain relatively stable with sizable decline in driving related use. Significant trends of improvement seem to be occurring at the 9 th grade measure, but not holding through the 12 th grade measure.

Substance Abuse Behaviors 2006, 2009, 2012 Comparing Total Percentages In comparing these averages, differences more than 3% may indicate a significant change.

Changes in substance use th9th12thTotal 6th9th12thTotal6th9th12thTotal Alc-30 days Alc-2 weeks Tobacco Inhalants Marijuana Other Drug Drinking/Dr Riding Following the red numbers from left to right traces the class of 2012 to 6 th grade

Assets and Mental Health

Depression, Suicidality, and Eating Disorders Of concern to this community is the emotional well-being of youth. Anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in the number of youth being screened for suicidal thoughts. Neighboring communities have suffered the loss of youth by suicide. The survey provides some data that help us to measure the level of such issues in our youth. The following graph indicates (by grade) the percent of youth who report being depressed over the past year, those experiencing depression over the past thirty days, those who have engaged in anorexic or bulimic behaviors, and those who have attempted suicide.

Assets Protect On the following slide, we see the same data regarding depression, suicide, and eating disorders as those conditions are affected by developmental assets.

Summary

So where do the data lead… We continue to have many young people using alcohol and other drugs. About one in four of our youth are engaged in patterns of behavior that are harmful to them. About one in five of our youth report significant sadness in their lives. At the 12 th grade measure, we see a decline in drinking and driving related behaviors, but we do not see a signficant decrease in other high risk behaviors.

So where do the data lead On average, our young people report about 20 internal and external assets. There has been a significant increase in the number of assets reported by youth. Assets serve to protect our youth from high risk patterns and to promote success.

So the data suggest we… Continue to provide experiences in the community, school and home that promote the development of internal assets and provide external assets. Promote the establishment of clear and consistent boundaries for young people’s behavior in the home through high school. Continue to focus on the Intermediate school age youth in our prevention efforts. Continue to address the prevention of substance abuse with a comprehensive and integrated program of service.

Your efforts as parents, teachers, and community members…

…are helping the youth of the Township of Ocean…

…to develop the internal and external strengths…

…that will promote their well-being.

…Thank you For more information visit our website at To volunteer to work with the Alliance to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse to promote a Healthy Community and Healthy Youth, please contact us at