NCJ Number
200107
Date Published
January 2002
Length
122 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of Delaware's 2001 school surveys on drug abuse among Delaware students.
Abstract
Beginning in 1989, the State of Delaware began surveying 5th, 8th, and 11th graders in public schools throughout the State to gain an understanding of drug use prevalence among the State's youth. The year 2001 objectives of the school survey were to estimate the incidence and prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse and to assess student attitudes regarding drug use. The 2001 surveys also sought to compare trend data from 1989 to the present and to present statistical data to inform State policy regarding drug intervention, prevention, and treatment programs for youths. Data from 4,431 eleventh graders, 6,957 eighth graders, and 7,084 fifth graders indicates that 1989 and 2001, drug use among 5th graders has remained low and stable. Cigarette use by 8th and 11th graders in Delaware has been steadily declining since 1999 while monthly alcohol use has remained relatively stable since the 1990's. Marijuana use among 11th graders in 2001 was the highest it has ever been at the same time that marijuana use among 8th graders was at its lowest level since 1995. Among risk factors for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use was the fact that most students reported that it was easy to buy alcohol, tobacco, and most other types of drugs. The 2001 surveys also include items regarding the school environment and focuses on such things as prevalence of violence, level of respect for teachers, and prevalence of drugs, including prescription drug use in school. The survey also revealed that parental involvement was positively related to decreased drug and alcohol use and, conversely, students whose parents smoked cigarettes were more likely to smoke and use other drugs. Finally, the report compares Delaware with the national view of youth drug involvement and states that while rates of alcohol and tobacco use by youths in Delaware were comparable to the national average, rates of marijuana use among Delaware youths was higher than the rest of the Nation.