1. Iowa Youth Survey 2010 Southeast Polk Results

2. Who took this survey? Grade # in grade # surveyed % surveyed 647947098% 848043591% 1143239692%

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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 

9. 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) 29 21 17 14 12

10. 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 

11. 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 

12. 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

13. 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 

14. 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 1016 48 35

15. 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)

16. 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 22 16 31 Seriously considered attempting suicide (last 12 mos.) 13 Asked of 11 th grade students only (new questions)

17. 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 

18. 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 

19. 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 

20. Considerations  Every grade level has its own culture  Comparisons difficult across grades, with exception of:  2008 6 th graders took survey in 2010 as 8 th graders – may compare responses  2005 8 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

21. 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

22. 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