It doesn’t take Tom Cruise in his underwear to know that high school can by risky business. A recent survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tries to gauge how often and in what form kids partake in risky behavior. Results from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are used to determine funding and design adolescent health programs. On Jan. 9, the New Hampshire Department of Education announced results from the Granite State.

During the spring of 2007, 1,638 New Hampshire students from 61 out of 69 randomly selected public high schools took the anonymous, 99-question survey. It asked about violent behavior; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies; dietary behaviors; and physical activity. Results from the survey were compared to past surveys in order to determine trends in adolescent health. For example, while the number of students who had considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months dropped from 26.1 percent in 1993 to 13.7 percent in 2007, the number of students who brought a gun to school went up from 3.9 percent in 2003 to 5 percent in 2007. 

“In general, most things are trending in a positive direction, especially if you look back in 1993 and 1995. That doesn’t mean it’s trending perfectly. There are little blips here and there, but for the most part it’s trending in a good direction,” said Mary Bubnis, HIV/health education coordinator for the Department of Education. She pays particular attention to sex-related statistics. “The number of people who had heard of HIV went from 88.6 to 89 percent. That’s a little tiny change, but every change in the right direction is great for me,” she said.

Bubnis was discouraged by some of the findings, however. According to the survey, 24.6 percent of students surveyed felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two straight weeks or more that they stopped doing some usual activities during the past 12 months. “I think that’s so sad. I had a blast when I was in high school. But I think there is more of that now. Students struggle with more stressful things now,” she said. 

The primary function of the survey is to gather data so that the Center for Disease Control, state and local agencies can determine priorities for health programs and funding. Each high school that participated receives a community data report.
“The community can look at local data and compare it to the state and make decisions based on what issues are prevalent in their communities,” Bubnis said. Some schools opted not to take the survey. “It’s a voluntary thing. A lot of schools feel that they miss enough academic time already,” she added.

Recent violence at Portsmouth High School brought the importance of creating a safe learning environment into sharp focus. According to the report, the percentage of students who did not go to school on one or more occasion in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe went from 3.9 percent in 1993 to 4.5 percent in 2007. But the percentage of students who were in at least one physical fight during the past 12 months dropped from 36.9 percent in 1993 to 27 percent in 2007. 

Portsmouth High School and Exeter High School both took part in the survey. After receiving the results last week, Exeter principal Victor P. Sokul Jr. made 10 copies and handed them out to his school psychologist, curriculum coordinator, nurse and other school officials. “We will review it and look at the data and see what it tells us. We want to know where the holes are in our curriculum and where we can give kids more information,” Sokul said.

He was less optimistic about the survey’s findings than Bubnis. “I’m always discouraged by the results,” he said. The most troublesome statistics for Sokul concerned driving while intoxicated. “It’s not exclusively a high school problem, it’s a community problem,” Sokul said. According to the report, the number of students who had ridden in a car whose driver was under the influence of alcohol dropped from 30.8 percent in 1993 to 25.4 percent in 2007. Although the number has decreased, Sokul is still concerned. “If the percentage is zero, I’m happy, but it’s never zero.” 

In 2007, 71.2 percent of students surveyed admitted to having had at least one drink of alcohol in their lives. In the previous 30 days, 44.8 percent of the students surveyed had consumed at lease one drink of alcohol. Also in the previous 30 days, 5.1 percent of the students surveyed had had at least one drink of alcohol on school property.

Sokul has been the principal of Exeter High School for two and a half years. This is the first year a survey has been carried out at Exeter under his watch. Therefore, he was unable to comment on trends based on past surveys. Before Exeter, Sokul was the principal of Keene High School and an assistant principal at Concord High School. When asked if he saw any difference between the behavior of students at Exeter and Keene or Concord, Sokul said, “Some of the percentages here seem to be a little lower, not a lot lower. I don’t want to cast a light that we are so much better, but the numbers do seem to be a little bit lower. We are doing a lot of things well, but we’re not there yet.”

After reviewing the survey’s results with other school officials, Sokul hopes to find a way to reduce risky behavior among his students. One of the most effective ways to do that is to make sure the school provides the right information.
“Are we giving the kids enough information, so they can make informed choices about what’s good and what’s not good? We have a lot of these things in our curriculum, but until (the survey questions are) answered with 0 percent, we’re not there yet. Will we ever get to 0 percent? Probably not.” 

The survey reported that 44.7 percent of students have had sex, and 4.2 percent had sex before reaching the age of 13. The number of students who used a condom during their most recent sexual encounters rose from previous surveys to 64.2 percent. Nineteen percent of students reported they had smoked a cigarette within the last 30 days, and 39.9 percent said they had smoked marijuana at least once in their lives. 

To view the full report, visit www.ed.state.nh.us.