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Substance
Abuse (Youth)
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Reduce
the percentage of high school students who consumed alcohol within
the past 30 days.
Target:
28.8 percent.
Baseline, 1997: 43.8 percent of adolescents, grades 9
through 12, consumed alcohol within the past 30 days.
Target setting method: Better than the best. Represents
34 percent improvement.
Reduce
the percentage of high school students who had five or more drinks
of alcohol within the past 30 days.
Target:
15 percent.
Baseline, 1997: 23.8 percent of adolescents, grades 9
through 12, consumed 5 or more drinks within the past 30 days.
Target setting method: 37 percent improvement.
Reduce
the percentage of high school students who used marijuana in the
past 30 days.
Target:
16 percent.
Baseline, 1997: 25.6 percent of adolescents, grades 9
through 12, used marijuana within the past 30 days.
Target setting method: 37.5 improvement.
Reduce
the percentage of middle and high school students who sniffed glue
or spray containers to get high at some time in their life.
Target:
13 percent.
Baseline, 1997: 18.4 percent of middle school students
and 17.4 percent of high school students used inhalants to get
high.
Target setting method: 29 percent improvement for middle
school students; 25 percent improvement for high school students.
Reduce
the percentage of middle and high school students who have ever
used any form of cocaine.
Target:
4 percent.
Baseline, 1997: 5.6 percent of middle school students
and 6.6 percent of high
school students used cocaine.
Target setting method: 29 percent improvement for middle
school students; 39 percent improvement for high school students.
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Health
Promotion -
Substance Abuse (Youth)
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The abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs is
a serious health problem in North Carolina that drains significant
resources and jeopardizes the well being of youth. The use of alcohol
and other drugs by youth can have particularly serious consequences,
as all too often it prevents young people from reaching their intellectual,
social, and emotional potential. Alcohol and other drugs may also
predispose young people to high-risk behaviors such as sexual behavior
that may result in unwanted pregnancy or infections with sexually
transmitted diseases. Alcohol and other drug use, combined with driving,
often results in related traffic fatal and non-fatal injuries.
Youth who use alcohol and other drugs
affect the lives of others as well. The most visible casualties
are victims of alcohol or other drug-related automobile crashes
and victims of crimes committed to support an addict’s alcohol
or other drug habits. Less visible are the mothers, fathers, sisters,
and brothers who are affected by the alcohol or other drug use of
a family member.
The 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
conducted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
reports that 5.6 percent of middle school students have used cocaine.
The proportion of middle school students reporting cocaine use increased
81 percent over 1995 levels. Another drug behavior of concern is
the use of inhalants; about one-fifth (18.4 percent) of middle school
students reported sniffing glue or breathing the contents of spray
containers or paints to get high. The high school YRBS reports that
three in four students had used alcohol for other than religious
purposes and that almost one-third had done so by age 13. Increased
use of marijuana among adolescents has received considerable attention,
with reported use by high school students continuing to increase
in 1997, up about 52 percent from 1993 levels.
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Disparities
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Middle School
Students using
cocaine were more likely to be male (6.3 percent) than female (4.9
percent). Students of other races (9.7 percent) were most likely to
report cocaine use, followed by White students (6.5 percent) and African
American/Black students (3.2 percent). Note: "other races"
is defined as Hispanic/Latino, Asian or Pacific Islander, American
Indian, Alaskan native, or other. Females (20.2 percent) were more
likely than males (16.3 percent) to have used inhalants to get high.
African American/Black students were far less likely to use inhalants
(12.3 percent) compared to White students (21.8 percent).
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High School
In 1997, compared
to 1993 levels, the proportion of White females who reported drinking
alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey increased 18 percent, while
the proportion of African-American/Black males who reported drinking
decreased by 23 percent. The proportion of White males who reported
having five or more drinks of alcohol in a row in the 30 days prior
to the survey increased 25 percent from 1995 to 1997. Increases in
marijuana use in the 30 days prior to the survey were apparent across
all groups with White females (21.0 percent reported marijuana use)
having the largest proportionate increase, a 92 percent increase from
1993 levels (10.9 percent). African-American/Black males were most
likely to have used marijuana recently (31.7 percent) and African
American/Black females (17.4 percent) least likely. |
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Determinants/Risk
Factors
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Family drug use, family management practices,
family conflict, and low bonding to family; early and persistent behavioral
problem; academic failure, low commitment to school, and peer rejection
in early grades; association with drug-using peers and adults; attitudes
favorable to drug use; early onset of drug use; and antisocial behaviors |
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| Health Promotion - Substance Abuse (Youth)
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