ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠLast week I attended a special community gathering sponsored by the Talbot Partnership, the Talbot County Council, the Talbot County Health Department, and the Talbot County Public Schools. Entitled “A County Crisis: Talbot Teen Substance Abuse,” the meeting first presented and then briefly discussed findings from the 2004 Maryland Adolescent Survey (MAS) which seeks to assess levels of health, well-being, safety, and substance abuse among sixth through twelfth grade students. Data drawn from the survey indicate that tobacco, alcohol, and other illegal drug use rates of Talbot teens are among the highest in Maryland. Although MAS includes only participants from the public schools, it would be foolhardy to think that the data doesn't have implications for Country School children and graduates - and parents.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠBriefly stated, among numerous questions, the survey asks respondents whether or not they have used cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana within the last thirty days, said to be a key indicator of on-going use. In 2004, although the results for grade 6 were lower than in the past, the results for grades 8, 10, and 12 were considerably higher. To get a flavor for the data, consider these findings:
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ5% of sixth graders, 30% of 8th graders, 55% of 10th graders, and 58% of 12th graders reported that they had used alcohol in the past 30 days;
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ2% of sixth graders, 15% of 8th graders, 28% of 10th graders, and 31% of 12th graders reported that they had used cigarettes in the past 30 days;
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ.3% of sixth graders, 10% of 8th graders, 32% of 10th graders, and 26% of 12th graders reported that they had used marijuana (considered a “gateway” drug) in the past 30 days.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠAmongst all of the state's counties, these results ranked Talbot County 8th graders as #1 in their use of alcohol in Maryland and #2 in their use of tobacco; Talbot County 10th graders as #1 in their use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana; and Talbot County 12th graders as #2 in their use of tobacco and #3 in their use of alcohol and marijuana.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠAlso very telling in the data were these findings:
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠadolescent users of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana report in dramatically higher rates than their non-using peers that their parents would think it was okay to smoke or use alcohol or marijuana;
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ65% of 8th grade tobacco users, 73% of 8th grade alcohol users, and 49% of 8th grade marijuana users report that their friends would think their substance use was okay; 21% of 8th grade tobacco non-users, 19% of alcohol non-users, and 17% of marijuana non-users report that their friends would think using these substances was okay;
•ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠvery high levels of all grades say they would take car keys from a friend who had been drinking, however:
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ16% of 12th graders say they had driven under the influence 1 to 2 times in the last 12 months;
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ18% of 12th graders say they had driven under the influence more than 3 times;
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ23% of 12th graders say they had been a passenger of someone under the influence at least 1 or 2 times in the last 12 months;
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ26% say they had been a passenger of someone under the influence more than 3 times in the last 12 months.
ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠWhile it is tempting to question the validity of anonymous, self-reported use data, clearly the results point to some very significant community-wide problems. In future weeks I will write further about some of the implications of the Maryland Adolescent Survey.
Community leaders who spoke at the meeting all pointed to the need for the implementation of strong and consistent measures in order to turn around the unhealthy and serious situation that currently exists within our community. A number of speakers implied that the survey data was understated, if anything. Teens who spoke at the meeting said that one of the root causes of the documented substance abuse is that there is too little for youth in our community to do. While this perception and reality need to be addressed, the following additional steps were also part of what was suggested:
• the community must come together in a united way, not delegating responsibility to any one entity (like the schools, churches, law enforcement agencies, the health department, families, etc.);
• consistent and on-going attention must be directed to remedying the underlying issues;
• parents need to use the study data to wake up, get mobilized into action, and enter into related discussions with their children;
• parents have to be willing to be strict, clear, and consistent with their children and offer significant levels of supervision and monitoring;
• parents have to realize they do in fact have an influence on their children's drinking;
• the adult community must become united around seeing youth tobacco, alcohol, or drug use as unacceptable and around seeing it as absolutely unacceptable to provide youth with these substances or to provide them with the circumstances which allow their use;
• the community must build norms which favor substance-free teens;
• the community must unite in making it hard for youth to get tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs;
• the community must foster ways to help families set limits in loving ways;
• systems and programs need to be developed which encourage teens to make healthy choices.
What was clear from all of the presentations, material, and research was that a concerted effort is essential and that it can indeed make a difference. It does mean that our community will have to consciously decide to go against much of what the culture and media thrust at teens (and adults) about what is acceptable behavior. The challenge is clear. The stakes are enormous. Our children are precious.
More information about this meeting and its related issues can be had by contacting The Talbot Partnership for Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Prevention at 410.819.8067 or www.talbotpartnership.org.