Opioid Task Force views results of 2018 Logan County Youth Survey

 

[January 19, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

The Logan County Opioid Task Force met on Thursday, January 18th. Among the items on the agenda for the day was a review of the results of the 2018 Youth Survey.

Nadia Klekamp took the group through the report using a power point presentation comparing Logan County to other rural areas as well as to the state, and also comparing the 2018 local results to the results from previous years.

In 2018, a total of 438 students participated in the survey. Students were surveyed in grades eight, 10 and 12. Of that group there are 785 students county-wide so 56 percent of the total student enrollment participated.

The youth survey is a self-administered, voluntary questionnaire. Klekamp said that the overall goal of the survey is to collect information from at least 50 percent of the student body, so the Logan County survey was in line with the state wide goal. She also noted that of the students taking the survey, 82 percent were in eighth grade, while only 12 percent of the participants were high school seniors.

The first statistic Klekamp shared pertained strictly to eighth grade students. The question posed was “On how many occasions (if any) have you had….” The students were then to answer how many times they had used or consumed alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, or prescription drugs (recreationally) in the past 30 days from the survey date.

With the exception of prescription drugs, which was level with 2016 at three percent, all the other categories saw increases in use. Eighteen percent of students reported using alcohol compared to 15 percent as reported in 2016. However, the peak usage appeared to be in 2012 when 21 percent of students reported use of alcohol.

Marijuana and tobacco use were also up with a report of 9 percent and 15 percent respectfully. Usage of marijuana was up five percent over the 2016 survey. Tobacco use was at an all-time high with previous years showing a low of seven percent in 2014 and a high of 13 percent in 2010.

Logan County percentages compared higher than the state average in this category and also in the “Rural Illinois” averages.

The same students were also asked if they had participated in binge drinking, five or more alcoholic beverages in a row at one time. Seven percent of Logan County eighth graders said they had participated in binge drinking.

Another question was addressed to the 10th grade or sophomore students, those who have just reached the legal driving age. They were asked how many times they had driven a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. Ninety-two percent of the students said they had never driven after drinking and 84 percent said they had never driven after using marijuana.

This compared well to state statistics with 96 percent statewide saying they never drink and drive and 94 percent saying they do not use marijuana and drive.

Among the eighth graders 95 percent said their parents would think it is very wrong for them to consume alcohol. Ninety percent said it would be considered wrong to use marijuana and 98 percent said their parents would not approve of smoking.

Though the students know that their parents would disapprove of these bad habits, they also feel that if they participated in such things, parents were likely to never find out. The eighth graders were asked if their parents would catch them if they drank without permission. Forty percent said their parents would not catch them. Forty-four percent said that their parents would also not catch them if they went to a party were alcohol was served.

Eighth graders were also asked about how well their parents communicate with them about not using or consuming alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.

Across the board, more than 50 percent of the students say that their parents do talk to them about these topics.

In 2016, 51 percent of students answered yes to the alcohol abstinence question compared to 56 percent in 2018 – a five percent increase.

Concerning the tobacco talk question, 56 percent answered yes in 2016 compared to 58 percent in 2018.

However, regarding the marijuana question there was a decrease in the percentage.

In 2016, 57 percent of students said their parents spoke to them about not using marijuana compared to only 55 percent in 2018.

Klekamp said she thought this shift could be because of the overall wider acceptance of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Another question posed to eighth graders addressed availability of substances. Students were asked how easy it would be to obtain alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and prescription medications.

Thirty-three percent said it would be very easy to get alcohol.

Twenty five percent said it would be very easy to get marijuana, tobacco or prescription drugs.

Klekamp noted that again, marijuana seemed to be an easier access substance over the 2016 survey when only 20 percent said it would be easy to get.

In 2016, 30 percent said it would be easy to get tobacco compared to 25 percent in 2018, showing that it is getting more difficult for students to obtain the substance.

There was a similar increase in difficulty in obtaining prescription medications. In 2016, 31 percent of the students said it would be easy while in 2018 only 25 percent thought they could easily get prescription medications.

Klekamp attributed at least a portion of this improvement to the increased participation in drug take back days, the 24-hour drop box for unused medications offered at the Lincoln Police Department and the drop boxes located at the Logan County Department of Public Health.

Other questions on the survey pertained to mental health with two questions asked about depression and suicide.

Eighth grade students were asked if they “feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing some usual activities.” Thirty-three percent of the students surveyed said yes.

The same question posed to 10th graders revealed that 44 percent of Logan County students have experienced that type of depression.

Twelfth grade students were not asked this particular question.

Tenth grade students only were also asked if they had every seriously considered attempting suicide. Twenty one percent or 41 Logan County sophomores said that yes they had considered suicide.

During and after the presentation the group discussed some of the results. There was a concern that parents are not engaging with their children and not doing enough to impress upon youngsters the impacts of using alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. Task force members focused a great deal on the marijuana numbers and talked about how to help students understand that recreational usage and medicinal usage are two separate circumstances.

The group talked about parent involvement. The task force is working on what they call a “parent survival kit” that will consist of a bag handed out at student or community events filled with information about harmful habits. The bags are being prepared for the Wellness Expo in February.

The group also talked about having some kind of mandated presentation at freshman orientations. The goal was to address parents who are required to attend. The questions that came up focused on the inability to isolate the parents during that time, so the discussions would have to take place in front of the kids. Some thought that could be a favorable situation. It was noted that there could be a scenario where parent and child were to look at each other and the children would be asked “how often do your parents talk to you about harmful habits.” Someone said putting the parents on the spot could help ‘put the parents in check’ leading them into being more responsible.

The group also discussed the latest trend in e-cigarettes or vaping. The Juul or ‘juul-ing’ is growing in popularity among teens.

The group saw two issues that needed to be addressed. The first problem is that parents do not recognize the Juul as a vaping tool. The Juul is very small and strongly resembles a computer thumb drive. The second issue is that the kids do not understand that this is a harmful habit.

The group talked about doing another “In plain sight” type event. Lincoln D.A.R.E. Officer Christy Fruge’ has accumulated her own collection of items that she uses in her D.A.R.E. program to talk with kids about harmful habits. While the event held in 2017 at the ALMH Market was done by a professional group and cost a great deal of money, Fruge’ and others felt they could set up something similar on their own.

Director of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Community Health Collaborative and moderator for the task force, Angela Stoltzenburg said that the biggest challenge the group faces is getting parent participation. She noted that at the 2017 event very few parents went through the bedroom that was filled with drug and other harmful substance items.

There was also mention of doing another movie at the Lincoln Community Theater. A few years ago the theater provided a free viewing of the documentary style movie “Chasing the Dragon.” Stoltzenburg said that it was held on a Saturday morning and that about 50 to 60 parents attended. She said the theater was then owned by David Lanterman and he had given the Task Force the theater space and played the movie free of charge. Stoltzenburg said she had spoken with the new management and was left with the impression that to do this again would probably involve a cost.

The group also discussed the fact that a lot of these habits are starting with children who are pre-high school. Giving a presentation at freshman orientation might be beneficial, but there also needs to be something to address the parents of the younger age levels.

Discussion was held about having a mandated meeting prior to school registration in the junior high level or hosting an open house at registration time and requiring parents to attend. Both of these tactics would have to be with the cooperation of the school boards and school administration.

At the end of the day, the group had multiple ideas to look into for future programs, and anticipate continuing to cultivate these ideas into something that may be viable for the future.

For those interested in viewing the complete 2018 Logan County Youth Survey, a copy is provided in PDF format at the end of this article. There is also a link provided to the Illinois Youth Survey website.

[Nila Smith]

2018 Logan County Youth Survey - Pdf

Illinois Youth Survey website
https://iys.cprd.illinois.edu/