Texas School Survey of Substance Use Among Students: Grades 712 2002

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Texas School Survey of Substance Use Among
Students Grades 7-122002
Liang Y. Liu, Ph.D.

• Texas Commission on
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse

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Introduction

• Statewide school survey conducted biennially
  since 1988 by TCADA with the Public Policy
  Research Institute at Texas AM University
• To provide timely information about the extent
  and nature of the substance use problem among
  youths enrolled in public schools
• A multistage cluster approach was used to select
  school districts for the statewide sample
• A weighting scheme was incorporated for data
  analyses to reflect the actual distribution of
  student population

2002 Texas School Survey G7-12
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Survey Participant Composition

• 149,220 students in grades 7-12 from 77 school
  districts completed the 2002 survey

Due to oversampling of border area where 93 of
the border sample is Hispanics
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Patterns of Substance Use

• 53 of students had used tobacco, alcohol,
  inhalants, marijuana, or other illicit drugs
  during the past school year
• Alcohol continues to be the most widely used
  substance, with 71 reporting lifetime use
• Tobacco use decreased dramatically since 2000,
  while use of the club drug Ecstasy increased
  sharply
• 32 reported lifetime use of marijuana, and 14
  past-month use
• 26 reported binge drinking (5 drinks at one
  time), and 7 were considered heavy drug users

2002 Texas School Survey G7-12
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Trends in Lifetime Use
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Trends in Past-Month Use
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Number of Cigarettes Smokedin the Past Month

2002 Texas School Survey G7-12
TCADA Texas School Survey
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Binge Drinking (5 Drinks at One Time)
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Lifetime and Past-Month Useof Inhalants
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Past Month Use of Marijuana 1988-2002
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Lifetime and Past-Month Use of Selected Illicit
Drugs
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Trends in Lifetime, Annual, and Past-Month Use
of Ecstasy
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Demographic Correlates of Substance Use

• Inhalants, beer, and cigarettes were the first
  substances tried by Texas secondary students
• Girls slightly surpassed boys in lifetime use of
  alcohol, although boys were more likely to be
  current drinkers
• Students who lived with both of their parents
  were less likely to use substances
• Students who earned grades of C or lower reported
  higher use for all illicit drugs than A and B
  students
• Working students were two times more likely to
  use smokeless tobacco, hallucinogens, and Ecstasy

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Lifetime Use of Alcohol or Any Illicit Drug by
Gender
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Past-Month Use of Any Illicit Drug by Ethnicity
1988-2002
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Past-Month Marijuana Users Who Used Marijuana in
Various Ways
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Past-Month Use of Substances by Students
Employment Status
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Protective and Risk Factors Related to Substance
Use

• Since 1994, the percentage of current drinkers
  who always or most of the time got alcohol from
  stores has decreased by 40 percent
• Youths who believed substances were dangerous to
  use were less likely to actually use those
  substances
• Adolescents whose parents disapproved of
  substance use were less likely to use substances
• Students who participated in extracurricular
  activities reported lower levels of substance use
• Substance users felt less secure in their homes,
  neighborhoods, and schools than non-users

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Use of Substances at Partiesin the School Year
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Trends in Perceived Availability and Annual Use
of Marijuana
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Past-Month Drinkers Who Always/Most of the Time
Get Alcohol from Various Sources
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Perceived Parental Disapproval of Substance Use
by Grade
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Past-Month Use of Tobacco vs. Perceived
Availability, Danger, and Parental Disapproval of
Tobacco Use
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Past-Month Use of Marijuana vs. Perceived
Availability, Danger, and Parental Disapproval of
MJ Use
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Past-Month Use of Substances by Type of
Extracurricular Activity
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Past-Month Use of Substances by Extracurricular
Activity Participation
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Alcohol- and Drug-Related Problems

• Over 22 of secondary students reported they had
  experienced trouble with friends/school/police
  due to their substance use or driving after
  drinking/using drugs in the past school year
• 9 of all secondary students went to school drunk
  and 12 went to school high on marijuana on at
  least one occasion in the past school year
• The percentage of students who experienced
  drug-related social problems has increased since
  1992
• 23 of seniors drove after having had a good bit
  to drink, and 18 of seniors drove while high
  from drugs

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Students Reporting Difficulties with
Friends/Dates Due to Substance Use
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Seniors Who Had Driven While Drunk or High from
Drugs
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Sources of Information and Assistance for
Substance Problems

• The percentage of students who reported receiving
  substance use information from any school source
  has dropped from 87 in 1990 to 61 in 2002
• Students in younger grades reported having
  received information on substance use from more
  school sources than older students
• 75 of students said they would seek help for
  drinking or drug problems from their friends
  rather than adults
• Students in grades 7-9 were much more likely to
  have sought help for their substance problems
  than reported two years ago

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Students Who Received Information from Any School
Source
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Lifetime Use of Substances by Seeking Help from
Adults
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Recommendations

• Parents, schools, and communities need to address
  risk and resiliency areas to maintain a downward
  trend in substance-use rates
• Parents should have ongoing communication with
  their children and emphasize their disapproval of
  using substances
• Competent and effective counseling services
  should be readily available so that professional
  help can be sought
• Parents and schools should not assume that those
  students who achieve academically are not at risk
  of substance use

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Recent information on prevention, drugs of
abuse, research, clearinghouse services, and
training opportunities can be found at the TCADA
websitewww.tcada.state.tx.us
Acknowledgement to Brian D. Robertson, graduate
student at the Texas AM University System Health
Science Center, for creating this presentation.
2002 Texas School Survey G7-12