Survey: Milton teens drinking more

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
miltonreporter@yahoo.com

Teen drinking statistics are on the rise in Milton, according to a recent survey conducted by the state Department of Health (DOH).

Results from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Study indicated that 52 percent of grade 12 respondents had at least one drink in the past 30 days, while 36 percent of respondents from that same age group reported binge drinking (that is, five or more drinks in one sitting) over that same period of time.
Both figures represented a double-digit percentage increase from 2005, when those figures were at 35 and 23 percent, respectively.

Though the numbers are secured by random sampling and could be somewhat skewed, DOH representative Barb Pafume advised community leaders with the Milton Community Youth Coalition to heed the trend and step-up its alcohol prevention programs.

“On a statewide level these numbers have generally gone down a little bit and, for whatever reason, they’ve gone up a little bit in Milton,” she said. “We have more work to do, is what it means.”

Now in its 22nd year, the bi-annual survey has questions about alcohol, drug use, sexual behavior, violence, and other potential hazards. It was administered randomly to 29,918 students in 144 schools earlier in the year.

Statewide, the survey indicated that 39 percent of respondents in grades 8-12 had a drink in past month, while 23 percent reported binge drinking. At 33 and 21 percent, respectively, Milton was lower on both counts, though Pafume cautioned the upward trends were important.

The coalition is a community group dedicated toward making Milton a better place for teens, and advocating against substance abuse is part of its mission. Pafume supports those efforts as part of her work with DOH.

Elsewhere, Pafume reported that tobacco use is generally down in the Milton schools, but marijuana and other drugs were on the rise. Some 58 percent of grade 12 respondents reported trying the drug. Though much less widespread, cocaine use saw increase from 4 to 11 percent of respondents.

Another statistic noted was that 32 percent of 12th graders reported being offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property during the last year. Some 27 percent of sophomores reported similar experiences.

Those figures were somewhat surprising to Manon Tenny, a licensed substance abuse counselor who does prevention and early intervention work at the schools through its student assistance program.

Her job involves working directly with both policy makers and students, and Tenny cited increased prevention messages, disciplinary measures, and increased supervision throughout the schools as possible counters to the trend.

The schools already have an anti-drug policy that includes a 10-day suspension and possible drug counseling for first offenders to an expulsion hearing for second offenders. There’s also a prevention curriculum that teaches students about the dangers of substance abuse from an early age.

Even so, Tenny acknowledged there are limits to what message of prevention can do, when set against the forces of media, peer groups, and people in the community.

“The prevention curriculum at the school helps, but it’s a lot like shoveling dirt into the grand canyon with a very small shovel,” she said “The school is only one point of influence for the kids…if you don’t attack {substance abuse} on all fronts, you don’t make a big dent.”

Referring to local results for the survey, Tenny noted that 29 percent of respondents said they knew an adult who sells drugs, while 47 percent reported knowing an adult who used an illegal drug in the past year—both of which are taking place in the community, not the schools.

In the big picture, Tenny noted that 73 out of 122 seniors at Milton High School took the test, and indicated there was the possibility that numbers could be skewed somewhat, depending on who took the survey. There’s also a danger of seeing the glass as half empty, she added.

“I try to balance it when I speak to parents,” she said. “These numbers are really troubling, that 21 percent of teens binged, but there’s still 79 percent that did not.”

“It’s easy to lose sight of kids who are making good choices, and that is the majority of kids,” she added.