Drug and alcohol abuse is rising among local teenagers, according to a recent survey, but school officials are alarmed by the numbers of attempted suicides.
The anonymous youth risk behavior survey was taken last February by 1,005 Waltham High School students and 640 seventh- and eight-graders. The results were compared to a similar survey administered in 2004. There was a 91 percent return rate for middle schoolers and a 70 percent return rate for high school students, said Assistant Superintendent Alec Wyeth.
Results show 15 percent of high school students reported having attempted suicide - up from 5.9 percent in 2004.
"What I'm hoping is that multiple sectors come together," said Marina Bartley, executive director for the Waltham Partnership for Youth. "No one can address any of these issues by themselves."
Sean O'Brien is the parent of two Kennedy Middle School students.
"The data as it relates to the middle school level was eye opening," O'Brien said. "From the standpoint of issues relating to bullying and suicide and drug abuse at that level, I wasn't quite comfortable with that."
The data show more than 26 percent of high school students had five or more drinks in a row with in a couple of hours. Thirty five percent of high school students said they attended parties where alcohol was served.
In 30 days prior to taking the survey, 13.4 percent of middle school students said they'd had at least one drink. This figure was was up 11.4 percent since 2004.
Marijuana use in the high school is dropping from 36 percent to 31 percent since 2004. Middle school marijuana is up 4 points from 2004 with 10 percent reporting to use pot.
With figures in hand, school and city officials met with families at McDevitt Middle School last night to discuss the results and offer tips on changing the statistics.
"I think what the data is most useful for is to engage the community like this through community planning," Bartley said. "You can compare data against (the district) to see trends and you can compare local data against state data."
Bartley said the partnership for youth is focusing on alcohol and drug abuse, bullying and mental health issues with regards to the data. She noted an increase in depression related issues since 2004. Bartley said substance abuse issues, however, are not dramatically different since 2004.
Kennedy Middle School student Victoria Concetti said peer pressure is an issue at her school, but she rarely is pressured to abuse drugs and alcohol.
"There's a lot of pressure with grades," she said. "I personally have never been asked to do drugs and alcohol, and if I was I would say, 'No.' I've heard rumors and stories (of other middle school students abusing substances) but they've never been confirmed."
Waltham High student Hannah Kimker said peer pressure is a tough issue at school.
"I think the pressure to fit in (is tough). Girls especially, they buy certain clothes to be popular," she said. "There's also the kind of pressure to do well. You want to please your parents and get good grades."
Last night's forum was the first in a three-part series called Healthy Behaviors For Success and was sponsored by Waltham schools and the Waltham Partnership for Youth.
The next forum is Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., at Kennedy Middle School, 655 Lexington St.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jgilbrid@cnc.com.
