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 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.
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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/ |
