Study Finds 40 Percent of Suburban High Schoolers Have Tried Cigarettes; 37 Percent Have Had Sex

Almost 69 percent of suburban high school students did not drink alcohol in the month before a recently-released study was conducted; 81 percent did not use marijuana.

On the other hand, that means 31 percent of students did use alcohol in the previous 30 days, and 19 percent did use marijuana, according to the study, conducted in 20 suburban public high schools by the Cook County Department of Public Health and Children's Memorial Hospital's Child Health Data Lab.

Called the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, the study, which polled 1,718 students in fall 2010 and let them answer anonymously, was part of a national effort by the federal Centers for Disease Control to assess teens' health risks and behaviors.

Some good news on teens

"The good news I see is that the majority of kids are making healthy choices.   So the real question is how can we support and highlight the majority or “normal” healthy behaviors and effectively aid those that need help," said Margaret Polovchak, director of the Maine (Township) Community Youth Assistance Foundation, a non-profit agency devoted to promoting healthy behaviors for teens.

The Maine Township agency, which works with schools in Des Plaines, Niles, Glenview and Park Ridge, promotes the message to teens and their parents that most high schoolers don't drink and do drugs. It reinforces the idea that healthy choices are the norm.

Youth agencies providing alternatives

Other youth agencies, such as , provide a substance-free space for teens to engage in recreation.

Giving kids permission to be good

In Niles Township High School District 219, which includes parts of Skokie, Morton Grove and Niles, school psychologist Todd Putnam explains the district wants kids to understand that most kids don't engage in risky undertakings.

"There's a discrepancy between perception of use and actual use," he said.

"If students think their friends are using, they're more likely to make that same unhealthy choice. The flip side of that is when students learn they're fitting in by not using, they're given permission to belong by abstaining."

Niles Township surveyed its students' risky behaviors

The Niles Township high schools, including Niles North and Niles West, and the Niles Township Youth Coalition conduct their own survey of teen risk behaviors, the Social Norms Survey, and they have four years of data, which Putnam said establishes a trend line.

"Our data is more favorable than what's on (the Cook County Public Health Department survey)," Putnam said.

The Niles Township study found that:

86 percent of high schoolers did not smoke in the past 30 days
73 percent have not drunk alcohol in the past 30 days
83 percent have not used marijuana in the past 30 days
89 percent did not carry a weapon to school in the past 30 days
74 percent have never had sexual intercourse 
Comparing Niles Township results to larger study

While the questions asked in the larger Cook County Public Health Department Survey were worded differently in many cases, that study found (across 20 suburban high schools):

88 percent of high schoolers did not smoke cigarettes in the past 30 days
69 percent did not drink alcohol in the past 30 days
81 percent did not use marijuana in the past 30 days
90 percent did not carry a weapon in the past 30 days
63 percent never had sexual intercourse
Obesity, exercise, weapons, bullying

The Cook County Department of Public Health Study also found, among the suburban high school respondents:

26% are overweight or obese
Over 75% were not physically active for 60 minutes every day
80% did not eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables
Nearly 30% of 12th grade students drank a soda or pop one or more times per day in the last week
More than half of African American students watched TV 3 or more hours per day on an average school day
30% of students watched videos or played computer games for 3 or 4 hours per day on an average school day
70% attended P.E. classes every day
62% played on one or more sports teams during the last year
14% of boys carried a weapon (e.g. gun, knife, club) at least once in the last month
20% of 9th graders were bullied on school property during the last year
40% of high school students have ever tried smoking cigarettes
12% of high school students are already current smokers (smoked a cigarette during the last 30 days)
Agency says teens really do listen to parents

Polovchak, of MCYAF, maintains that strong parental and community norms can increase the number of teens who turn thumbs down on destructive choices.

"Science tells us that positive reinforcement of healthy behaviors works to sustain and increase healthy choices," she says. "We also partner with parents. Parents, contrary to popular belief, have the greatest influence on a child’s behavior by setting clear expectations and a positive example."