Iowa Youth Survey 2010 Southeast Polk Results

Who took this survey? Grade # in grade # surveyed % surveyed % % %

What is asked?  Demographics  Behaviors (things tried or done)  Things that have happened to student  Beliefs and attitudes  Peers, school, family, community Results also:  Combine “strongly agree” with “agree” (unless a “yes/no” question)  Reflect percentages

Who formulates the questions?  Iowa Department of Public Health  Iowa Department of Education  Iowa Department of Human Rights  Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy  Committee of youth development professionals

Can we trust the information?  Conflicting, inconsistent, illogical responses deleted  Unintentional, intentional errors deleted  The higher the proportion of students participating, the more likely the results are representative and without bias

Overview  Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana Ever, current, binge usage Age of first use Ease of access  Personal behaviors and attitudes Suicidal thoughts/plans/attempts Sexual activity Helping others  School climate  Parents/community

Our progress, at a glance  = Trend increasing in preferred direction  = Trend decreasing in preferred direction  = Trend increasing in less preferred direction  = Trend decreasing in less preferred direction  = No change in trend

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs Alcohol use 6 th 8 th 11 th Never drank 90  81  42  Current use (last 30 days) 4  9  34  Binge drinking (5+ drinks in couple hours, last 30 days) 2  4  8  Age of first drink ≤ 14 years (more than a few sips) 9  19  33  Easy/very easy to get 13  33  65 

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs Friend over 21 Friend under 21 Party Parents Parents w/o them knowing Bought at gas station Where 11 th grade students sometimes/often get alcohol (new question)

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs Cigarette use 6 th 8 th 11 th Never smoked (> few puffs) 97  90  68  Current use (last 30 days) 1  3  19  Age of first use ≤ 14 years (whole cigarette) 1  8  19  Easy/very easy to get 10  25  62 

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs Marijuana use 6 th 8 th 11 th Never smoked 99  94  66  Current use (last 30 days) 1  4  19  Age of first use ≤ 14 years 0  6  17  Easy/very easy to get 3  14  53 

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs How easy/very easy would it be to get: 6 th 8 th 11 th Other illegal drugs 3  10  21  Prescriptions (not for student)* 10  27  40  A handgun 7  14  20  *New question; no trend available

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs Alcohol use every day Cigarette use every day Marijuana use once a week 11 th grade students’ perception of risk of harm, physical or otherwise, of use* *Combined “great risk” and “moderate risk” 71  86  56 

Personal behaviors & attitudes Seriously thought about killing self (ever) Made a plan about how to kill self (ever) Ever tried to kill self Asked of 6 th and 8 th grade students only (new question) 6 th 8 th

Personal behaviors & attitudes Made a plan about how to attempt suicide (last 12 mos.) 8  Tried to kill self, once or more4  Tried to kill self, three or more times5  Asked of 11 th grade students only (formerly asked of all grades)

Personal behaviors & attitudes Felt so sad or hopeless, almost every day for 2 weeks or more in a row, that stopped doing some usual activities Males Females Seriously considered attempting suicide (last 12 mos.) 13 Asked of 11 th grade students only (new questions)

Personal behaviors & attitudes (“Strongly Agree” + “Agree”) 6 th 8 th 11 th Does not have much to be proud of 33  30  29  Against values to have sex as a teenager 89  82  36  Against values to use alcohol and drugs as a teenager 94  89  58  Important to help others 99 

School climate (“Strongly Agree” + “Agree”) 6 th 8 th 11 th My teachers care about me 92  88  86  Teachers available to talk w/ students one-to-one 91  84  85  At least one adult at school could go to for help w/ problem 91  90  88  School lets parent/guardian know if student doing good job 87  75  68  School lets parent/guardian know if student has done something wrong 96  92  91 

Parents & community (“Strongly Agree” + “Agree”) 6 th 8 th 11 th At least one parent/guardian goes to school activities 24  16  21  Someone in home has serious drug/alcohol problem 17  14  19  Adults in my community care about people my age 92  84  70 

Considerations  Every grade level has its own culture  Comparisons difficult across grades, with exception of:  th graders took survey in 2010 as 8 th graders – may compare responses  th graders took survey in 2008 as 11 th graders – may compare responses  Future surveys even years (fall 2012) – may be able to compare 6 th to 8 th graders

Initial conclusions  Overall, results much more positive across all domains than last survey period  Alcohol is perceived as easier to obtain than cigarettes, which are easier to obtain than marijuana  Perception that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes  Students want and need positive connections with parents, school staff, community members

Future steps  Continue to: Emphasize building staff role in connecting to students AND parents, for + and - “news” Provide information on substance use, including intervention, for students & families Reinforce/provide additional information on maintaining physically, socially, and emotionally healthy lifestyles Reinforce positive, pro-social behaviors (helping others, involvement in school and community activities, etc.)  Share full report, comparison of selected responses, slides  Make decisions about how to best apply implications of data