Survey finds risky behaviors by Winnacunnet students on the rise

HAMPTON — Winnacunnet High School students are engaging in riskier behaviors in nearly all categories surveyed than in previous years, according to the results of the recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

These risky behavior choices include the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco, as well as participation in both violent and sexual activities, carrying weapons, and riding in cars with drivers who've been drinking.

The school's students — who come from Seabrook, Hampton, North Hampton and Hampton Falls — show risk factors above the New Hampshire state average.

The results of the survey also indicate some good news, according to Winnacunnet High School social worker Talley Westerberg. Winnacunnet students report high levels of participation in sports, involvement in their communities and healthy eating choices. More than 85 percent reported having post-high school plans, a rate higher than the state average.

And fewer students report feeling depressed or making plans to commit or attempting suicide.

The survey has been done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1989, and was created to monitor the health risk behaviors connected with the leading causes of death, illness and social problems affecting the nation's youth.

Administered to students across the United States every two years, the latest survey was done in April 2007 and taken by 23,406 students across New Hampshire. At WHS, all four grade levels were included in the 980 who took from among the school's roughly 1,300-student population.

"That's a high level of participation," Westerberg said. "That's more than 75 percent, and a very good statistical sample."

Although some of the increases in risky behavior are not huge — sometimes only an uptick of 1 or 2 percent — Westerberg said, any increase in risky behaviors is a cause for concern.

School administrators and the Winnacunnet School Board are not sweeping the results under the rug, she said. A special meeting of the high school and the Seacoast Safety Net substance abuse coalition was held recently to discuss the ramifications and possible remedies for the problems highlight in the survey.

Westerberg said one cause of concern she has with this and surveys done in previous years is that no questions were asked about the recreational use of prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse is considered by many law enforcement and substance abuse prevention professionals as the major drug abuse problem among local populations. Westerberg said at Winnacunnet, prescription drug use, including drugs such as Vicodin, Adderal and OxyContin, is probably the major cause of behavior reports made to her by teachers.

Mirrors community

Westerberg said the school mirrors the social behavior and values of those living in the communities that send students to Winnacunnet.

"Substance abuse is a huge issue in the (WHS sending) communities, it's not just the kids," Westerberg said. "Winnacunnet High School is part of a large community, and it reflects that community."

In counseling kids, school officials find students reporting risky behavior among their family members, she said, whether it's drinking too much, using illegal drugs or smoking.

Youth smoking shouldn't be trivialized, Westerberg said. Tobacco is a gateway drug; rarely will students smoke marijuana if they haven't already smoked cigarettes. At WHS, nearly 25 percent of students reported smoking one or more times in the previous 30-day period, which indicates they're regular smokers, she said. The New Hampshire average of student smokers is 19 percent.

Westerberg found some other results from the survey particularly disturbing. Students reported higher levels of drug use on every question when compared both to the school's 2005 survey results and the 2007 state average.

Included in the survey were questions about use of marijuana, cocaine, aerosol inhalants, heroin, methamphetamines, ecstasy, steroids and marijuana use, with marijuana more highly used, according to the survey. Some 46.2 percent reported using marijuana one or more times in their lives; nearly 30 percent reported they used it once or more in the past 30 days.

More alcohol

51.2 percent of students reported they had their first drink before the age of 13, and more than one-third — 36 percent — of the survey takers indicated they'd had five or more drinks in a row within a couple of hours in the previous 30-day period.

Westerberg said the telling information is where the students got the alcohol.

"The N.H. Liquor Commission does a good job preventing stores and restaurants from selling alcohol to kids," she said. "Less than 11/2 percent said they got alcohol from a store or bar. But, 18 percent said they gave someone money to buy for them and 171/2 said someone bought it for them. That's disturbing."

Winnacunnet school counselors are all working to steer students away from or stop risky behaviors, Westerberg said. Additionally, students and parents can come to them to seek help and support from school professionals with full confidence their problems will, by law, be kept in strictest confidence, she said.

Students suspended for in-school substance abuse can get 10-day suspensions, but the school directs students and parents to Seacoast Youth Services in Seabrook to participate in its substance abuse program. The results have been good, Westerberg said, although there are repeat offenders.

The school has a substance abuse counsellor on staff 31/2 days a week to work with students with problems. Funding comes from the state education department and the school's annual budget. Westerberg hopes money can be found to have the counselor at WHS full time.

In New Hampshire, inpatient treatment facilities for teenagers with substance abuse problems are limited, she said. The only solution for that is state funding through the Legislature.

Prevention is the best cure, Westerberg said, and parents are their children's first line of defense against risky behavior.

Far from being helpless in preventing or stopping risky behavior, Westerberg said parents have a huge impact on their teenagers.

"Parents think they have no input in their kids lives once they get to high school, and that's wrong," Westerberg said. "If a kid knows a parent is going to be waiting up for them when they come home to take a look in their eyes or a sniff of their breath, then they're less likely to drink or use drugs. If it means setting an alarm clock to make sure they're up when their children get home, then set the alarm. These kids don't need less supervision when they get to high school, it's just a different kind of supervision."

By the numbers

51.2 percent — Had their first drink before the age of 13

46.2 percent — Used marijuana one or more times in their lives

30 percent — Used marijuana once or more in the past 30 days

18 percent — Gave someone money to buy alcohol for them

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