Survey reveals hidden truths about teenagers

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, March 21, 2007

They’re the questions every adult concerned about youth wants to ask: How much drinking goes on? Are kids involved with gangs? How much are they using drugs or tobacco?

Sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students in Snohomish County and across the state answered these and other wide-ranging questions about their lives as part of the 2006 Healthy Youth Survey released Wednesday.

The project involved nearly 200,000 students statewide with 12,575 participating in Snohomish County. Students are surveyed every other year.

“Overall, the good news is marijuana use seems to be coming down,” said Jane Ballard, manager of health statistics and assessment for the Snohomish Health District. The biggest decline in Snohomish County – from 21.9 percent in 2002 to 15.1 percent in 2006 – was among sophomores.

There also was an increase in the percent of students reporting they regularly ate five fruits or vegetables a day, with the biggest increase – from 21 percent in 2002 to 25 percent in 2006 – being among 10th-graders.

However, there were issues of concern, among them the stark increase in gang membership reported by students.

Hundreds of teenagers in Snohomish County reported gang membership in the past year. At the high end, 9.4 percent of sophomores reported being in a gang, up from 5.3 percent in 2002.

Schools are a popular place to recruit new gang members, said Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Steve Haley, who has been tracking gang activity around the county.

“In most every school around the county it’s a hot topic,” Haley said. “Some are choosing to ignore it and others are being proactive. (We’re) trying to convince more schools to be proactive and deal with it now before it becomes so ingrained and they can’t get it under control.”

Students reporting they carried a weapon, such as a gun, knife or club, at school increased among all four grade levels since 2004. However, the biggest jumps were among 10th-graders, where the increase went from 7.3 percent to 9.3 percent and 12th- graders, where it jumped from 6.3 percent to 9.4 percent.

Binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks in a row, increased for Snohomish County eighth-graders, with 8 percent reporting they had drank in this manner in the past two weeks, up from 7.2 percent in 2004.

Binge drinking declined for 10th-graders and for seniors since the last survey.

Tobacco use declined among students in all four grades surveyed, with the biggest drop among eighth-graders, Ballard said.

The number of students who watched two or more hours of TV on school nights declined among eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders.

Fewer students are downing Mountain Dew and other soda, continuing a downward trend. Declines were most marked in eighth and 10th grades.

In eighth grade, 14.6 percent of students reported drinking two or more nondiet sodas in the last day, down from 19.6 percent in 2004. In 10th grade, 17.9 percent of students reported drinking two or more nondiet sodas, down from 22 percent.

With concerns over childhood obesity rising, some schools have been focusing on the access kids have to junk foods and carbonated beverages on campuses.

The Everett School District in fall 2004 was the first in the county to remove soda during class hours across all of its schools.

“They’re still drinking pop, but they seem to be drinking less,” district spokeswoman Mary Waggoner said.

Among the survey’s new topics were questions on sleep and breakfast habits.

While more than half of eighth-graders said they averaged eight or more hours of sleep on school nights, the number plummeted among seniors to less than a quarter.

Children between the ages of 6 and 12 should be getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep, said Dr. Sara Tamarin, a pediatrician for The Everett Clinic. Once the teen years hit, an average of nine hours is recommended.

Part of the problem with teens getting sleep is the change in their circadian, or day-night biorhythms, she said. Generally, they tend to both go to bed and get up later.

There’s a strong connection between the ability to focus in school and proper amounts of sleep, she said. “The failure to do so can have a fairly serious impact on school performance.”

Breakfast can affect schoolwork as well, she said, because skipping breakfast tends to hinder a student’s ability to concentrate and focus. “Even a low-fat breakfast bar is better than nothing and gives protein and energy to get through the morning hours,” Tamarin said.

Four state agencies, including the state Health Department and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shared the cost of the $540,000 survey. This is the tenth time since 1988 that the survey has been conducted.

Herald reporter Diana Hefley contributed to this report.

Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.