Pot use, sex up among Stowe teens

On the other hand, fewer Stowe and Morristown high school students are drinking alcohol, according to the survey.

Statewide, the survey showed teen alcohol and tobacco use declined while marijuana use was virtually unchanged from 2011. The number of teens statewide reporting they had had sexual intercourse increased slightly.

The survey also found that nearly 60 percent of Vermont high school seniors text or email while driving.

This was the first year that the health department assessed texting and driving behavior as part of its Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

In Stowe, 42 percent of students reported they had texted or sent an email while driving. In Morristown 34 percent reported doing so.

Statewide, more than 33 percent of high school students and more than 56 percent of high school seniors reported texting

The survey is administered every two years to monitor risky behaviors among Vermont teenagers, including use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, and sexual activity. It also looks at physical and mental-health issues such as bullying, body image, nutrition and exercise.

The survey is jointly conducted by Vermont’s Department of Health and Department of Education. A total of 36,385 students in grades six to 12 at 187 schools took the 2013 survey.

Alcohol use

In Stowe, 46 percent of students in grades nine through 12 said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, down from 50 percent in 2011.

Older students were more likely to drink: 95 percent of 12th-graders reported they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, compared to 26 percent of ninth-graders.

Thirty-one percent of students reported they had binged — five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours — during the past 30 days, down from 35 percent in 2011.

In Morristown, 35 percent of students in grades nine through 12 said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, down from 41 percent in 2011. Forty-nine percent of 12th-graders said they had drank in the past 30 days, compared to 20 percent of ninth-graders.

Twenty-two percent of Morristown students reported they had binged during the past 30 days, a slight increase from 21 percent in 2011.

Statewide, alcohol use has declined, with 33 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reporting consumption in the prior 30 days, compared to 35 percent in 2011, and 19 percent reporting they had binged, compared to 21 percent in 2011.

Tobacco and marijuana

In Stowe, 18 percent of students reported they had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days, unchanged from 2011. Girls were at 16 percent, boys at 20 percent.

In Morrisville, 12 percent of students said they had smoked in the past 30 days, a significant decline from 20 percent in 2011. Boys were at 10 percent, girls at 13 percent.

Statewide, students who smoked in the past 30 days remained unchanged at 13 percent.

In Stowe, 46 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reported trying marijuana, up from 41 percent in 2011. Sixty-nine percent of 12th-graders said they had tried pot, compared to 31 percent of ninth graders.

Thirty percent of Stowe students reported they had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days, up from 28 percent in 2011.

In Morristown, 38 percent of students in grades nine through 12 said they had tried marijuana, down from 46 percent in 2011. Forty-five percent of 12th graders said they had tried pot, compared to 30 percent of ninth-graders.

Twenty-five percent of Morristown students reported they had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days.

Statewide, 39 percent of students in grades nine through 12 said they tried marijuana and 24 percent said they had smoked it in the past 30 days.

Sexual activity

In Stowe, 46 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reported they’d had sexual intercourse, up from 37 percent in 2011. Boys (49 percent) were more likely to report they’d had sex than girls (40 percent).

In Morrisville, 38 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reported they’d had sex, down significantly from 47 percent in 2011.

Additionally, 50 percent of students in Stowe and 41 percent of students in Morristown said they had had oral sex.

Sixty-six percent of students in Stowe and 63 percent in Morrisville said they used a condom during their most recent sexual experience, compared to 59 percent in Stowe and 72 percent in Morrisville in 2011.

Statewide, 43 percent of students in grades nine through 12 reported they’d had sexual intercourse, up from 41 percent in 2011.

Risky perceptions

The survey asked students for their opinions on whether behaviors such as smoking cigarettes were dangerous and whether they approved of various risky behaviors.

Thirty-six percent of Stowe students in grades nine through 12 said they think it’s wrong for someone their age to drink alcohol, compared to 49 percent of students statewide. Thirty-two percent of Stowe students said they think people their age risk harming themselves if they binge drink on weekends, compared to 38 percent statewide.

Forty-two percent of Stowe students said they think it’s wrong for someone their age to smoke marijuana, compared to 57 percent statewide. Twenty-two percent said they think people their age risk harming themselves if they smoke marijuana regularly, compared to 31 percent statewide.

Stowe and Morristown schools make efforts to help students make healthy choices, ranging from classroom instruction to guidance programs to special seminars and presentations. Guidance counselors also talk individually with students.

Pierre LaFlamme, the substance-abuse counselor at Stowe High School, educates sixth-graders about risky behaviors in a class called “life skills.”

The Stowe High School Teacher, Parent, Student Team will host its second annual World Café on Tuesday at the Stoweflake to discuss the results of the survey.

The school also has a Climate Committee made up of teachers and students that takes yearly surveys regarding students’ perceptions on alcohol and drug use and encourages them to make healthy lifestyle choices.

“They’re really trying to figure out how to bring parents into that,” LaFlamme said.

Highlights of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, along with full reports, are posted at healthvermont.gov/research.

Second Annual World Café

Tuesday, April 1, 7-9 p.m.

Stoweflake Resort and Spa

Exploration of substance use and abuse by adolescents. Sponsored by Stowe High School Parent, Teacher, Student Team.

Information: Pierre Laflamme, pierrre.laflamme@lssuvt.org; 253-7229, ext. 2209

Youth Risk Behavior Survey highlights among Stowe High School students

• 46 percent said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days

• 31 percent said they had “binged” in the past 30 days

• 46 percent said they have tried marijuana

• 30 percent said they had smoked marijuana in the last 30 days

• 18 percent said they had smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days

• 46 percent said they have had sex

• 42 percent said they have sent a text or email while driving