Drug-Free Schools
The proportion of students who say that drugs are used, kept or sold at their high schools is up 18 percent over 2002 (from 44 to 52 percent). “This is a significant deterioration from last year, when most high school students attended drug free schools,” Califano observed.
As in previous years Catholic and other religious middle and high schools are likelier to be drug free than are public schools (78 percent vs. 58 percent). For the first time there was a large enough sample of students from secular private schools to assess their status: 76 percent of such schools are drug free. Girls vs. Boys
The incidence of high stress was greater among girls than boys, with nearly one in three girls saying they were highly stressed compared to fewer than one in four boys. And while girls and boys are equally likely to have more than $50 a week in spending money, girls with this much spending money are likelier than boys to smoke, drink, get drunk and use marijuana.
Parental Pessimism
Parents are likelier than teens to view teen drug use as a fait accompli. More than four out of 10 parents said teens are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to try drugs, compared to only one of 10 teens. Teens whose parents believe that future drug use is “very likely” are more than three times likelier to become substance abusers than teens whose parents say future drug use is “not likely at all.”
More than half of parents whose children attend schools where drugs are used, kept or sold would not send their teen to a drug-free school if they could. Asked why, these parents answer: no schools are drug free (54 percent), kids should make their own choices (22 percent), drugs are not a problem (11 percent), and the child likes his or her school (seven percent).
"Many parents think they have little power over their teens' substance use and a disturbing number view drugs in schools as a fact of life they are powerless to stop,” noted Mr. Califano. “How parents act, how much pressure they put on school administrators to get drugs out of their teens' schools, their attitudes about drugs, and how engaged they are in their children's lives will have enormous influence over their teens' substance use. Parent Power is the most underutilized weapon in efforts to curb teen substance abuse.”
Other Key Findings
- Fewer teens are associating with peers who use substances: 56 percent have no friends who regularly drink, up from 52 percent in 2002; 68 percent have no friends who use marijuana, up from 62 percent in 2002; 70 percent have no friends who smoke cigarettes, up from 56 percent in 2002.
- Teens who attend religious services at least once a week are at significantly lower risk of substance abuse.
- The average age of first use is 12 years 2 months for alcohol, 12 ½ for cigarettes and 13 years 11 months for marijuana.</span>
- Between the ages of 12 and 17, the likelihood that a teen will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs increases more than seven times and the percentage of teens with close friends who use marijuana jumps 14 times.
Five Ways Parents Can Reduce Teen Risk
- Be sensitive to the stress in your children's lives and help them cope.
- Understand when and why your children are bored and help relieve their boredom.
- Limit the amount of money your children have to spend and monitor how that money is spent.
- Know who your children's friends are.
- Be engaged in your children's lives: help them with their homework, attend their sports events, participate in activities together, and talk to them about drugs.
Part One: Teens At Risk
Source: CASA News Release
