High school seniors in McKean County drink, smoke and use more
drugs than in past years – and more than their peers nationwide,
according to a 2005 survey conducted through The Guidance Center
and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

The study – which is conducted every two years and looks at the
prevalence of substance abuse and violence – also indicates
students in 6th, 8th and 10th grades saw a decline in drug use
during that period.

Results of the survey, which is voluntary, anonymous and
conducted statewide, were released on Sunday by The Guidance
Center.

“Alcohol, cigarette, smokeless tobacco and marijuana use among
6th, 8th and 10th graders are way down, and this indicates a
possible change in they way kids are viewing substance use,” The
Guidance Center Program Director Lee Sizemore said. Sizemore
coordinates the local surveying.

According to the survey, while 50 percent of high school seniors
report drinking alcohol regularly, prevention efforts through
community and school-based programs seem to be working well with
younger students who report they are using drugs and alcohol less
frequently than students in years past.

The county’s senior high students are not unique in their
drinking, smoking and cigarette habits, however, as similar results
were seen across the state.

According to Sizemore, to ensure the validity of the survey, a
large sample size of 1,814 students in McKean County participated
in the survey in November 2005. The county outcomes were then
measured against results statewide gathered by the Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and national outcomes in the
“Monitoring the Future” study, which is conducted by the University
of Michigan.

Survey results help local schools, human service agencies,
universities, legislators and citizens understand changes and
patterns of behavior in county youth.

“With these results we can design better programs, know when-at
what age-it is best implement programs; and articulate our
strengths and needs to potential funding sources,” Sizemore
said.

The survey also assessed risk factors that lead youth to problem
behaviors. With this information community leaders can direct
prevention resources to areas where they are likely to have the
greatest impact.

Overall, younger youth in the 6th and 8th grades indicate they
are more at risk due to “community disorganization” and
“transitions and mobility.”

“Basically, this means the younger kids feel the presence of
neighborhood blight, fighting or drug selling; and moves such as
changing homes and schools are really effecting them,” Sizemore
said.

According to the survey, the older youth in the 8th and 10th
grade indicate they are most at risk due to “laws and norm
favorable to drug use” and “friends use of drugs.”

Sizemore said “This means that the older youth feel that
community and family norms aren’t strong enough-that rules and
expectations related to substance use are weak. They also are more
influenced by peers than the younger youth are.”

The information paints a very different picture of the needs of
younger youth versus the needs of the older youth.

“We now know how important it is for parents, communities and
schools to begin talking to youth before the 6th grade about
alcohol and drug use. In fact, we are helping folks do just that
with an exciting program for parents and 5th and 6th graders called
the Strengthening Families Program, a seven-week family workshop
that starts this September in every school district.”

Sizemore said the program helps families increase communication
and resist peer pressure and substance use. For the past several
years a lot of community agencies and schools in McKean County have
been coming together to help parents to start talking before their
kids start drinking.

Among the other key findings of the survey for McKean County
include:

* Alcohol is the drug used most often by county students in all
grade levels. Overall, 63 percent of all students surveyed admitted
to drinking alcohol at some point in their lives, and 28 percent
regularly use alcohol;

* As with alcohol use, binge drinking (consuming five or more
drinks in a row) tends to become more pervasive as students grow
older – 2.6 percent of 6th graders, 13.5 percent of 8th graders,
21.3 percent of 10th graders, and 30.6 percent of 12th graders
admitted to binge drinking;

* Almost 25 percent of 12th graders admit to driving after
drinking, 21 percent admit to driving after smoking marijuana, and
22.6 percent admit to being drunk or high at school;

* Overall, 50 percent of the students report their willingness
to try alcohol. Twenty percent of the 6th graders are willing. As
the youth grow older, so does their willingness to experiment.
Forty-five percent of 8th graders, 66.4 percent of 10th graders,
and 74 percent of 12th graders indicate they are willing to try
alcohol;

* The average age that county youth try alcohol is 12.5,
regularly drink alcohol is 14, smoke cigarettes is 12.1, and smoke
marijuana is 13.4;

* Overall, 34.5 percent of students have gambled for money;

* Approximately 40 percent of students said they were depressed
or sad most days, and 30.4 percent said they sometimes feel “life
is not worth it,” and

* Overall, 29.3 percent of the students had been threatened to
be hit or beaten up on school property in the past year, and 12.2
percent report they were actually attacked or beaten up.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and The
Guidance Center, through state-sponsored grants, pay for the costs
of surveying and the analysis of results.