Alcohol use is 25 percent higher than the state average, a school survey finds.
Despite continued efforts to thwart the problem, substance abuse among Bainbridge teens remains steady and in some instances has increased, a new survey has found.
Alcohol use among Bainbridge teens is 25 percent higher than the state average, while marijuana use eclipsed state marks by 42 percent, according to the fall 2006 Healthy Living Youth Survey.
The survey results will be presented to the Bainbridge Island School Board at their regular meeting, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bainbridge High School Library.
Sponsored jointly by several state groups including the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Health, the survey asked students about their drug, alcohol and tobacco use, as well as other risky behaviors. Different versions were administered to students in grades six, eight, 10 and 12.
More than 50 percent of Bainbridge High School seniors said they drink alcohol at least monthly, while 43 percent said they got “drunk or very high from drinking alcoholic beverages” at least once in the past month.
More than 30 percent of seniors said they use marijuana at least monthly, while 20 percent said they don’t think occasional marijuana use poses any risk of harm.
“It’s frustrating,” Bainbridge Assistant Superintendent Clayton Mork said. “There’s a lot going on in the schools and the community to try to curb this kind of risky behavior, but the numbers have remained constant over time.”
Mork cited curriculum reforms and efforts by community groups to offer safe alternatives to drug and alcohol use, like family nights, among those efforts.
“Even if we were at the state average there would be a need for concern,” he said. “But there’s obviously something different going on here on the island.”
Local teen tobacco use is about on par with other areas in the state, the survey found. About 64 percent of Bainbridge teens said they’ve never smoked a cigarette; 72 percent said that at no time in the last year did they receive get information in classes about the dangers of tobacco use.
Most (92 percent) said they didn’t use tobacco at school, while 15 percent said they smoked at least a puff or a whole cigarette at least once a day.
There were positive results as well, Mork said. No students reported having ever used a needle to inject an illegal drug into their body.
Also, nearly 100 percent of students said they feel safe at school.
The survey is considered “representative” of student behavior if participation is greater than 70 percent; 84 percent of Bainbridge seniors took the survey.
