substance use at srb and related issues presented by robin mcateer data courtesy of the 2008...
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Substance use at SRB and Related Issues
Presented by Robin McAteer Data courtesy of the 2008 Semester 2 MDM4U class
The Survey
The following survey has been developed by Mrs. McAteer’s Data Management class.The purpose of the survey is to gain insight into SRB students’ attitudes and behaviours regarding drugs and alcohol, and possible related issues such as stress, family, and social relationships.The survey is completely anonymous. We appreciate your participation and honesty in this project
The Sample
199 students surveyed (approximately 20% of students)
Sampled proportionally by grade, gender, and academic level
Classes randomly selected
Reliability of Results
Survey extensively edited to minimize bias Wording / language / amount of text Consistency of format Order of Questions Sensitivity of Questions
Due to the personal nature of some questions, some bias is inevitable
Results considered accurate +/- 6.2% 19 times out of 20
Overall Format
General information
Stress
Substance use
Family
Social / Friends
School related
Emotional Health
Most students (over 60%) responded with 1 or 2
15% responded with 4 or 5 (represents about 150 students)
How Often do you feel Sad, Depressed or Lonely?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Female Male
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
How often do you feel sad, depressed, or lonely?
1 (Never) …. 5 (All the time)
Fatigue at School
Students are tired at school!
Fatigue increases with each grade
Over half of grade 12’s answered 4 or 5
How often do you feel tired at school?
1 (Never) …. 5 (All the time)
Tired at School
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
9 10 11 12
Grade
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f G
rad
e
5 (all the time)
4
3
2
1 (never)
Stress Data
Level of Daily Stress
0
5
10
15
20
25
9 10 11 12
Grade
Fre
qu
en
cy
Low
Medium
High
Daily Stress by Gender
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
F M
Gender
Pro
po
rtio
n
Rate your average level of daily stress:
1 (Stress free) …. 5 (High level of stress)
Sources of Stress
Which aspects of your life do you find stressful? (Check all that apply)
Home life Physical Appearance Education / School work The future Social life World issues The Environment Other:
Sources of Stress
Most students (90%) find Education / School work stressful
About half of students feel stress about the future
Almost half of females feel stress about their appearance
What do you find Stressful?
- 20 40 60 80 100
Environment
World
Social
Appearance
Home
Future
Education
Proportion of Respondants who said "yes" (%)
Overall
Male
Female
Stress Relief
Which of the following do you find relieves your stress? (Check all that apply) Exercising Sleeping Reading/Writing Music/Dance/Visual Arts Using Drugs / Alcohol Video games Television/Computer Talking with friends Talking with family Talking with a significant other Socializing with friends / going out Eating Shopping Crying Other __________________
Stress ReliefWhat Relieves your Stress?
0 20 40 60 80
Talking with Significant Other
Crying
Reading/Writing
Shopping
Drugs/Alcohol
Talking with Family
Eating
Video Games
Exercise
TV / Computer
Music/Dance/Visual Arts
Socializing
Talking with Friends
Sleeping
Proportion who said "yes" (%)
Overall
Male
Female
How often do you use each of the following ? (Circle one number for each)
Never Rarely Occasionally Frequently Daily
(Monthly) (Weekly)
Marijuana 1 2 3 4 5
Cocaine or Crack 1 2 3 4 5
Ecstasy 1 2 3 4 5
Cigarettes
Heroin
Methamphetamines (Crystal Meth etc.)
Mushrooms
Acid
Alcohol
Prescription Drugs (recreational purposes)
Substance Use
Substance Use
•Half of students report “Never” or “Rarely” using alcohol
•20% of students use alcohol daily / weekly
Cigarette Use
84%
6%
2%
4%
4%
NeverRarelyMonthyWeeklyDaily
Alcohol Use
36%
15%
29%
18%2%
NeverRarelyMonthyWeeklyDaily
Substance Use (continued)
65% have never used marijuana (approximately 650 students)
13 % use weekly or daily (represents approximately 130 students)
Marijuana Use
65%
13%
9%
6%
7%
Never
Rarely
Monthy
Weekly
Daily
Comparison of Substance Usage
Substance Use Comparison
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Cigarettes Marijuana Alcohol
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f R
esp
on
dan
ts
Weekly/Daily
Rarely/Monthly
Never
Alcohol is the most commonly used substance
More students smoke marijuana the cigarettes !
Substance Use (continued)
Low usage rates of other drugs
15% have used perscription drugs for recreational purposes
11% have tried mushrooms (110 students)
9% have tried ecstasy (90 students)
Other Drugs: Usage Rates
0.0%2.0%4.0%6.0%8.0%
10.0%12.0%14.0%16.0%
Heroi
nM
eth
Cocain
eAcid
Ecsta
cy
Mus
hroom
s
Persc
riptio
n Dru
gs
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f S
tud
ent
Po
pu
lati
on
%Frequent
%Occasional
Age of First Use
How old were you the first time you used a drug for non-medical purposes? 15 (median)
or I have never used a drug for non-medicinal purposes. (56%)
How old were you the first time you had an alcoholic beverage (other than just a sip)? 14 (median)
or I have never had an alcoholic beverage (25%)
Grade Differences
Alcohol Use: Grade Comparison
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grade 9 Grade 12
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f S
tud
ents
Regularly
Occasionally
Never
Marijuana Use: Grade Comparison
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Grade 9 Grade 12
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f S
tud
ents
Regularly
Occasionally
Never
Notable increase in regular use of alcohol from grade 9 to 12
Increase in occasional / regular marijuana use (almost double)
Driving while Intoxicated
Have you driven with someone who you considered to be
intoxicated (alcohol or drugs) ?
Y N
If yes, describe the driver (check all that have ever applied)
Male driver
Female driver
Adult driver
Teenage driver
Drinking and Driving
Have you Ever Driven with an Intoxicated Driver?
yes31%
no69%
Intoxicted Driver Classification
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
Adult
Female
Teen
Male
Proportion of Those who Have Driven with this type of Intoxicated Driver
•About 25% of students have driven with a male or teen intoxicated driver
•About 8% have driven with a female or adult intoxicated driver
Parents / Family
SRB students and their parents don’t talk much about drugs and/or alcohol!
How Often do you Talk to your Parents about Drugs and/or Alcohol?
37%
52%
11%
Never
Seldom
Frequently
Parents Substance Use
Only 35% said “no” to this question
Do you think any of the adults in your immediate family have ever used recreational drugs? (check one)
Yes, they still do
Yes, they did at one time
Not sure
No
Adults use of Recreational Drugs
Yes, they still do
5%
Yes, they did at one
time34%
Not sure26%
No 35%
Parents/Teen Drug Use
Over 50 percent of the teens whose parents either still use or used to use recreational drugs are marijuana users.
Only 10% of teens whose parents never used drugs use marijuana.
Parents vs. Teens Drug Use
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Still Do Used To Don'tKnow
Never
Parents Use Recreational Drugs?
Pro
po
rtio
n
FrequentlyOccaisionallyNever
Marijuana Useby Teens
Parent Attitudes
How do the adults in your family feel about you or your friends using alcohol ? (check one)
They encourage it
They don't mind as long as we’re responsible
They discourage it
They ignore it I don't know
How do the adults in your family feel about you or your friends using drugs ? (check one)
Parent Attitudes
How Do Your Parents Feel about You Using Alcohol?
Don't Care (As long as we're responsible)
28%
Discourage it46%
Ignore It7%
Don't Know19%
Almost half of parents discourage teens use of alcohol
One in 5 teens doesn't know how their parents feel about their use of alcohol
Parents Attitudes
How do your Parents feel about you and your friends using Drugs / Alcohol?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Drugs Alcohol
I Don't Know
Ignore It
Discourage It
Don't mind as long aswe're responsible
Encourage It
More parents discourage the use of drugs than alcohol
One in 5 teens doesn't know how their parents feel about their use of drugs / alcohol
Parent BehaviourHave your Parents ever Purchased or Supplied
Alcohol for You or your Friends?
3%
20%
77%
Frequently
Occaisionally
Never
• Three quarters of students answered “Never”
Friends / Social Life
How Many of Your Friends use Drugs / Alcohol?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
9 10 11 12
Grade
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f R
esp
on
dan
ts None of them
Some of them
Most of them
All of them
30% of grade 9’s say that most or all of their friends use drugs / alcohol
75% of grade 12’s say that most or all of their friends use drugs / alcohol
Friends / Social SituationsHow often do you get Together with your Friends
and use Drugs or Alcohol?
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
9 10 11 12
Grade
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f R
es
po
nd
an
ts
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently
75% of grade 9’s never or rarely use drugs / alcohol when socializing with friends
75% of grade 12’s frequently or sometimes use drugs/alcohol when socializing with friends
Use at School
Do you ever use drugs or alcohol during the day at school?
Drug/Alcohol Use at School
4%
6%
11%
79%
Frequently
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Majority (79%) have never used drugs or alcohol at school
4% frequently use at school ( approximately 40 students)
Student Perceptions
Which of the following drugs do you think is dangerous?
0%10%20%30%40%50%
60%70%80%90%
100%
Mar
ijuana
Mus
hroo
ms
Ecsta
syAcid
Cocain
e
Heroin
Met
h
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f R
esp
on
dan
ts
No
Yes
Only 40% perceive marijuana as dangerous
Student Perceptions
How do you feel about underaged drinking?9%
7%
59%
19%
6%
Perfectly Fine
Fine with AdultSupervision
Fine as long asResponsible
It's Wrong
Not Sure
• Most students think responsible underage drinking is fine
• Only 19% think it’s wrong
• Pattern consistent across grades
Substance use Problems
Is there an adult in your immediate family who you think has a drug or alcohol problem? (check one)
Yes Maybe No
Do you have siblings or cousins who have had problems with drugs or alcohol? (check one)
In your opinion, do any of your friends have a problem with drugs or alcohol? (check one)
Have you ever thought that you may have a problem with drugs or alcohol? (check one)
¡
Family Substance Use Problems
Do you have a Sibling or Cousin who you think has a Drug or Alcohol Problem?
24%
13%63%
Yes
Maybe
No
Is there an Adult in your Immediate Family who you think has a Drug or Alcohol
Problem?
8%
10%82%
Yes
Maybe
No
•18% off students have an adult in their immediate family who they feel may have a problem
•37% have a sibling or cousin who may have a problem
Family Substance Use Problems
Combined Results: Students who have a family member who has a Drug or
Alcohol Problem
43%
57%
Yes or MaybeNo
43% of students have a family member (adult, sibling, cousin) who they feel may have a drug or alcohol problem
Substance Use Problems
Do any of your friends have a drug or alcohol problem?
23%
36%
41% Yes
Possibly
No
Do you think that you may have a drug or alcohol problem?
6%7%
87%
Yes
Possibly
No
• 13 % (about 130) students think that they may have a drug or alcohol problem
• 59% have a friend who they think may have a problem
School Response
What do you think the school should do about drug/alcohol use among students? (Check all that apply) No response is required – it’s not a problem
Increase education and enforcement of the rules and the law
Increase education about the effects of substance use and abuse
Increase the sense of community at SRB
Increase support services for those with problems (ex. counseling / rehab)
Other ____________________________________________________________
School Response
What should the school do about drug/alcohol use?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
No Response Required
Increase Sense of Community
Increase Knowledge / Enforcement ofRules
Increase Education
Increase Support Services
Percent of Respondants who agreed
Males
Females
Personal Observations
Students perceive factors such as stress, family life, and social life as being related to drug / alcohol useStudents find school very stressful!Dramatic increase in use from grade 9 to 12Most students have first hand experience with someone with a problemHard drugs are not prevalent at SRB
Personal Observations (cont)
Alcohol is the most frequently used substance among SRB studentsA substantial number of students use neither drugs nor alcoholStudents perceptions about the dangers of drugs / alcohol may be skewedParent / teen communication around drugs and alcohol is lacking.Most students do see drug / alcohol as a problem that requires some school response
