Lexington High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015 Results

Background on Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey Department of Elementary and Secondary Education administers the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in selected high schools every other year. Conducted analysis of YRBS in Lexington since Focuses on major risk behaviors threatening health and safety of young people – tobacco use, – alcohol and other drug use, – sexual behavior that might lead to unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, – dietary behavior and physical activity, and – behaviors associated with intentional and unintentional injury. Survey is anonymous

Demographics of 2015 YRBS (N=1732) Grade: 29% in 9th, 26% in 10th, 25% in 11th, and 20% in 12th Gender:49% male, 50% female; 0.1% transgender, 0.9% other Ethnicity:55% White, 3.0% Black, 27.5% Asian, 2.8 % Hispanic/Latino, 11.5% Other

Comparison Groups Lexington High School data compared to: – Previous LHS Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data – National YRBS data (through 2013) – Massachusetts YRBS data (though 2013) – Regional six school study (2014) A YRBS administered to students from six school districts (Acton, Acton- Boxborough, Boxborough, Concord, Concord-Carlisle, Groton-Dunstable, Littleton, Maynard, and Westford) in grades 9 through 12 in 2014

Patterns of Student Cigarette Use Only 11% of students have ever tried smoking (down from 15% in 2013 and lower than the 32% average for Massachusetts High Schools and 16% of comparable schools) In 2015, 3% of all students report smoking cigarettes in past 30 days (also down from 5% in 2013).

Cigarette Smoking Trends Over Time Lexington and National (smoked in last 30 days)

Patterns of Marijuana Use 21% of students have tried marijuana in their lifetime – Lower than 41% national average, 41% Massachusetts average and 27% regional six schools report average 13% reported using marijuana at least once in the past 30 days. – Lower than the 25% national average, 25% Massachusetts average, and 17% six schools report average – Students more likely to have used marijuana than to smoke cigarettes

Marijuana Use Over Time Lexington and National (smoked in last 30 days)

Patterns of Other Drug Use Serious drug use has gone down over time – Less than 2% of students report using other drugs (e.g. sniffing glue, heroin, cocaine, or other drugs) in their lifetime. – In 1995, 14% reported they had sniffed glue/aerosol at least once in their life compared to only 1.8% in – In 2002, 3.3% reported they had used cocaine at least once compared to only.6% in In 2015, 2% reported using over the counter medicines to get high and 2% used Rx pain medication to get high at least once in their lifetime.

Patterns of Student Drinking In 2015, 63% of students reported drinking alcohol in their lifetime – Decrease from 67% reported in 2013 and 78% reported in 2011 and 2009 Of the students who reported ever drinking: – 41% reported having at least one drink on one or more days in the past month (decrease from 50% in 2013) Higher than 35% national average, 36% Massachusetts average, and 28% six schools report average – 19% of students reported binge drinking (more than 5 drinks in a row) in the past month (decrease from 24% reported in 2013) Compared to 21% national average, 19% Massachusetts average and 16% six schools report average

Student Drinking Over Time Lexington and National (drank in last 30 days)

Sexual Activity 13% of students report having sexual intercourse – Compared to 14% in 2013 and 17% in 2011 – 47% national average, 38% Massachusetts average, 24% six schools average Older students more likely to engage in sexual intercourse – 1% of 9 th graders – 7% of 10 th graders – 17% of 11 th graders – 26% of 12 th graders 69% of students who are sexually active report using a condom compared to 66% 2013, 78% indicated they or their partner took birth control pills.

Sexual Activity –Oral Sex 21% of students report having oral sex – Decreased from 22% reported in 2013, 27% reported in 2011, and 29% in 2009; compared to 32% in regional six school study Older students are more likely to have oral sex: – 7% of 9 th graders – 14% of 10 th graders – 27% of 11 th graders – 37% of 12 th graders Of those who have had oral sex, 19% report having four or more partners (23% in 2013) 32% of students reported sending or receiving a sexual message electronically and 24% of students reported sending or receiving a sexual picture electronically.

Harassment 19% of students report being a victim of harassment at school or because of something that happened at school. – Of students who report harassment, 30% told no one Of students who report being harassed: – 81% report being harassed by students while in school – 14% report being harassed by a teacher while in school – 30% report being harassed over the internet or by Males and females report roughly equal levels of harassment Gay or lesbian students were more likely to report being harassed than heterosexual students, bisexual students, or students not sure about their identity

Stress Students report very little stress from sports, extracurricular activities or clubs. Students express the most stress associated with academics – 14% report classes cause “extreme stress”; 14% report homework cause “extreme stress” – 91% report their stress has increased since starting high school – 95% felt pressure from themselves to do well in school; 80% felt pressure from parents to get good grades; 62% felt pressure from teachers to get good grades Young women report more academic stress – Doing poorly on a test bothers young women more than young men (51% of women “bothered a lot” compared to 38% men) Planning for the future causes extreme stress – 33% of students indicated feeling “extreme stress” planning for life after high school

Academic Stress

Coping with Stress Programming at LHS designed to help reduce stress may be having a positive impact – Proportion of students who report classes cause them extreme stress continues to decrease from 2004 to 2013 – Students report a number of healthy responses for dealing with stress: 61% indicated they listen to music when they experience stress 44% reporting they exercise when they are feeling stress. Only 7% of students indicated that they dealt with stress by using alcohol and drugs – But only 24% of students thought their teachers were aware of their level of stress

Suicide and Self-harm 15% of students (n=262) have seriously considered suicide in the last 12 months – Roughly equal to the 2013 data – Compared to 17% nationally and 12% in Massachusetts and comparable communities 2% of students (n=39) attempted suicide over the last year – Down slightly from 3% in 2013 – Compared to 8% nationwide, 6% in Massachusetts, and 4% in comparable communities

Consider Suicide Consider Suicide 15% (n=262) of students report “ever seriously considered attempting suicide” in last 12 months

Lexington Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015 Results

2015 YRBS (N=970) First year that YRBS was given in Lexington Middle Schools Modified version of High School YRBS Demographics: Grade: 49% in 7 th grade, 51% in 8 th grade Gender:50% male, 49% female; 0.2% transgender, 0.2% gender fluid,.2% othe Ethnicity: 52% White, 2.6% Black, 22.4% Asian, 2.9 % Hispanic/Latino, 20% Other

Drug and Alcohol Use Only 2% (n=21) of students ever report trying cigarettes – 3.6% of 8 th graders at comparable school Less than 1% (n=2) of students report smoking cigarettes during the prior 30 days. Only 1% of 7 th graders and 8 th graders report ever trying marijuana in their lifetime Less than 1%(n=3) reported using marijuana at least once in the past 30 days. 9% of 7 th graders (n=40) and 18% of 8 th graders (n=87) ever report drinking alcohol ( compared to 12% of 8 th graders in comparable schools) – 2% of 7 th grade students and 4% of 8 th grade students reported having at least one drink on one or more days in the past month (Equivalent to 4% of 8 th graders in comparable schools)

Sexual Activity Less than 1% (n=6) of Lexington Middle students report ever having sexual intercourse 9% of 7 th grade students (n=41) and 17% (n=84) of 8 th grade students report having received or sent sexual messages 3% of 7 th grade students (n=16) and 12% of 8 th grade students (n=59) report having sent or received sexual pictures.

Harassment 32% of 7 th grade students (n=40) and 29% of 8 th grade students (n=142) report ever being bullied at school – 35% of females report ever being bullied at school compared to 28% of males. 20% of 7 th graders (n=93) and 21% of 8 th graders (n=101) report ever being bullied electronically. – 25% of females report being bullied electronically compared to only 16% of males.

Academic Stress 23% of 7 th grade and 8 th grade students report that classes cause them “a lot of stress” (18%, n=174) or “extreme stress” (5%, n=50). – 11% of Hispanic students report that classes causes them “extreme stress” compared to 6% of White students, 5% of Black students, 2% of Asian students, and 6% of Southeast Asian students. – 7% of females report that classes cause them “extreme stress” compared to 4% of males. 39% of 7 th and 8 th grade students report that homework causes either “a lot of stress” (32%) or “extreme stress” (7%) – 13% of Black students report that homework causes them “extreme stress” compared to 9% of white students, 11% of Hispanic students, 4% of Asian students, and 6% of Southeast Asian students. – 10% of female students report homework causes extreme stress compared to 4% of males

Consider Suicide 13% of 7 th and 8 th grade students report having ever seriously considering suicide. – 10% of 7 th grade students report ever having considered suicide – 16% of 8 th grade students report ever having considered suicide (compared to 6.4% of 8 th grade students in comparable schools). Suicide ideation varies by gender and race – 10% of males considered suicide compared to 16% of females – 17% of Southeast Asian students considered suicide compared to 16% of Asian students, 13% Black students, 12% White students, and 7% Hispanic students

Conclusions Progress continues in reduction of cigarette smoking and drug use in High School. Stress remains a challenge for students of LHS and LMS – Stress may contribute to risky behavior – Planning for the future source of stress for high school students – This atmosphere makes health education programming particularly important Programs to reduce stress may be having an impact in High School – Health education continues to have a positive impact on student decision making – Students report they receive the most accurate information about sex and drug/alcohol problems from teachers (55%), compared to the internet (20%), friends (11%) and parents (9%) – Preparing students to cope with academic stress important from Middle School through High School.