Substance Use Prevention Coalition Reviews 2024 Illinois Youth Survey

[October 14, 2024] 

The Substance Use Prevention Coalition met on Thursday, October 10 at Lincoln Memorial Hospital to review data from the 2024 Illinois Youth Survey trends. The Illinois Youth Survey is a self-reported survey administered in school settings and is designed to gather information about a variety of health and social indicators including substance use patterns and attributes of Illinois youth.

Logan County schools who participated in the spring testing included New Holland-Middletown, West Lincoln-Broadwell, Lincoln Junior High School, Mt. Pulaski Elementary, Chester East Lincoln, Lincoln Community High School, and Hartsburg High School. Mt. Pulaski High School did not participate. There is a slight decline in the total number of students participating over the last 10 years. The percentage of students enrolled in Logan County schools participating in the survey were 71% of 8th graders, 63% of 10th graders, and 45% of 12th graders. In total, 60% of the youth in Logan County in these three grades participated in the survey. Survey participation numbers are recovering from 2020 when schools did not meet in person during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey results for 12th grade were generally not reported because the sample size was too low. Administering the survey in the spring means many in high school have graduated early.

The survey posed questions about alcohol, marijuana, tobacco products, prescription drugs, e-cigarettes or other vaping products, as well as parental beliefs and student lifestyle questions.

A sample of data from the survey follows:

The percentage number of overall substance use has decreased since 2022. Ninety-nine percent of 8th graders reported never having used tobacco products, however, there was an increase in use of marijuana among 8th graders. Both 8th and 10th graders were asked about marijuana consumption methods. The most common method of consuming marijuana was vaporizing, second was smoking, third was dabbing, which has a bigger and faster high, and the least common method was eating.

When 8th graders were asked about personal disapproval with the question, “How wrong do you think it is to use…?” 96% reported it was wrong for them to use alcohol, 97% reported it was wrong to use cigarettes, 91% reported vaping was wrong, 94% reported marijuana use was wrong, and 100% reported using prescription drugs not prescribed to them was wrong. When 10th graders responded to the question, 87% reported alcohol use was wrong for them, 93% reported cigarettes were wrong, 88% reported vaping was wrong, 81% reported marijuana use was wrong, and 97% reported that using prescription drugs not prescribed to them was wrong.

For perceived peer use, students were asked what percentage of students do you think at your school have used alcohol? For 8th graders, the perception was 30% of students had used alcohol compared to 9% actual reported use. For 10th graders, perceived peer marijuana use was 41%, compared to 8% reported actual use.

Under 5% of both 8th and 10th graders reported the perception of No Risk to all substances with the exception of marijuana in which 11% of 8th graders said there was No Risk and 15% of 10th graders said there was No Risk. A new law will require schools to educate about fentanyl in health classes.

For questions regarding parental opinions of substance use, both 8th and 10th graders reported an increase in parental disapproval of substance use, affirming the statement of their “belief that parents perceive as wrong or very wrong for them to participate in using these substances.” There was also an increase in positive responses to the question “In the past year have your parents talked to you about not using drugs?” as well as a steady increase over the past ten years in positive responses to the question, “Are family rules [about substance use] clear?”

There was an increase in perceived access to all substances. Questions about mental health indicated a small decrease in “feeling sad or hopeless over the last 2 weeks” from 8th graders.

For 10th graders the percentage was the same or lower as 2022 with no data from 2020 and for
12th graders, there was a decrease with no data from 2020.

Questions about fruit and vegetable consumption indicated a slight decrease in consumption for both 8th and 10th graders. The survey included questions about physical activity, such as “How many days are you active for at least 60 minutes?” Of eighth graders in 2024, 68% self-reported that they are active 5-7 days every week, which is an increase from 2022. Of 10th graders, 69% reported that they are physically active 5-7 days per week, down from 75% in 2014. Of 12th graders, 63% reported that they are physically active 5-7 days per week.

For more information about the Illinois Youth Survey, visit https://iys.cprd.illinois.edu/ 

The next Substance Use Prevention Coalition meeting will be on November 14 at 9 a.m. at Lincoln Memorial Hospital. The next Community Health Collaborative meeting will be December 5 at 8:30 a.m. also at Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

[Stephanie Hall]