Substance Abuse Risk Factors

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Substance Abuse Risk Factors
for "Upper Valley" Youth
A Student's Perspective
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Just the Facts
If the 2006 Healthy Youth Survey is any
indication, underage drinking should be an area
of particular concern for the Snoqualmie Valley.
While 10th graders were seemingly consuming at
rates on par with the state average (this in
itself is obviously not acceptable), as Valley
students get older, substance abuse becomes far
more rampant and dangerous, far exceeding the
state averages. 52 of Mount Si High School 12th
graders reported having drunk a glass, can, or
bottle of alcohol in the past 30 days as opposed
to just 42 of students statewide. Perhaps even
more unsettling was the report that 34 of Mount
Si High School 12th graders admitted to binge
drinking (consecutively consuming 5 alcoholic
beverages) in the past two weeks, while only 26
of the rest of the states 12th graders reported
doing so.
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So the Big question still remains
Why are Valley youth so susceptible to substance
abuse?
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Well, if you were to ask a student, there are a
number of reasons the Snoqualmie Valley has a
particularly troubling substance abuse problem
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1
Risk Factor
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We live in a very rural community...
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Rural communities are at a distinct disadvantage
when it comes to defeating substance abuse
because of two specific characteristics of small
towns, a lack of activities and an excess of
seclusion and privacy.
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Risk Factor A Rural Community A Lack of
Activities
I was on Myspace a few days ago, where I found a
statement that seemed to perfectly sum up one of
the key reasons students in the Valley abuse
alcohol. When an anonymous student was asked in
one of many random surveys on the popular social
networking site if she drank alcohol and why, the
student answered Its North Bend, it is either
go to church or get drunk. The Snoqualmie
Valley, like all rural communities, simply do not
have as many activities or opportunities as more
urban communities. When teenagers are presented
with a lack of activities, substance abuse
becomes more and more appealing as a means of
excitement. Our youth have a few places to go
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The Theater
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The Outlet Mall
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and "The Pass"
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So what do we do about it?
but there are simply not enough different
activities for Valley youth. As a community we
need to continue to push for more activities and
opportunities for teenagers in the Snoqualmie
Valley because when youth are busy and involved
in their community, they dont have time to
experiment with alcohol and other illegal
substances.
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Risk Factor A Rural Community An Excess of
Seclusion and Privacy
We live in a very peaceful, pristine area and
although it is one of the Snoqualmie Valleys
shining qualities, it also is a key reason teen
drug use can occur so undetected. With an
abundance of secluded areas, including
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forests
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the Snoqualmie River
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and large, expansive properties
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So what do we do about it?
The community need to be aware that just because
we dont always see it happening, that doesnt
mean that it isnt going on. Parents and law
enforcement officials need to be aware of these
secluded areas where teens can congregate and get
away with the usage of illegal drugs, and bring
these areas to light. We need to crack down and
make sure that teens are taking advantage of the
Valleys isolation.
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2
Risk Factor
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Mount Si students appear to be
at a higher potential for depression and
suicide...
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Risk Factor Higher Levels of Depression and
Suicide
The sudden and shocking death of Valley student
Rachel Keizer brought the uncomfortable reality
of teen suicide to the forefront in the Valley.
It is no coincidence that communities with higher
reported rates of teenage depression and suicidal
tendencies have higher reported rates of teen
substance abuse. Many teenagers become drug
dependent as a means of coping with their
problems. For one reason or another, a disturbing
number of Valley youth are either depressed or
suicidal and many of those same teenagers are
turning to alcohol and drugs as a means of
escaping such torment.
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So what do we do about it?
Valley students need better access to treatment
not only for drug dependency, but for one of its
root causes, depression. Youth need an accessible
and confidential place where they can go, in
confidence, and be treated for issues with their
mental well-being. Debby Peterman, the Snoqualmie
Valley Community Network, and many other local
organizations are pushing for a Teen Health
Center to be placed in our district. After many
focus groups, the students reaction has been
fairly unanimous, students want this facility to
become a reality. It is up to you to throw your
support behind this project, but we all must be
more cognizant in identifying signs not only of
substance abuse, but of depression and suicidal
thoughts, as the two often go hand-in-hand.
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3
Risk Factor
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The Snoqualmie Valley's growing affluency...
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Risk Factor Area's Growing Affluency
There is a dangerous misperception that kids who
come from more privileged families arent in
any danger of substance abuse. More affluent
communities tend to spend less time focusing on
eliminating youth drug use because they assume
this falsity to be fact. The reality is, as more
and more money comes in to the community (and
accordingly more and more wealthy families),
there is still a grave danger for substance
abuse. Children from more affluent families are
often under a great deal of pressure to perform
well in school, and life in general, and that
leads to a great deal of stress. High levels of
stress often lead teens to want to blow off steam
and go out with their friends and drink.
Substance abuse isnt just limited to the less
well-off students who want nothing to do with
their school or their community, it often is
prevalent amongst the areas best and brightest!
Such students begin to believe this means of
relieving stress is acceptable, after all TV has
glamorized underage drinking with young,
beautiful, rich characters getting intoxicated on
national television. You cant tell me youve
never seen an episode of
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So what do we do about it?
Affluency doesnt eliminate substance abuse. As a
community we need to realize that as our areas
demographic begins to change, so do our
communities risk factors. What this community,
and a lot of communities like ours, need is a
campaign to deglamorize underage drinking. But
not only that, we need outlets for students who
are feeling the stress of their parents and their
own expectations for themselves. If these outlets
arent created, illegal drug use often becomes
that much needed diversion.
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Risk Factor
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Mount Si High School's huge sports culture...
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Risk Factor Mount Si High School's Sports Culture
A great number of Mount Si High School students
are involved in athletics, and that is something
to be very proud of. Sports are a major part of
the high schools social climate and Mount Si
students take great pride in their athletic
endeavors. Why shouldnt they? We have
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great facilities
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great teams
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and great fans
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Risk Factor Mount Si High School's Sports Culture
Although we have a lot to be proud of when it
comes to athletics, a dominant sports culture is
a breeding ground for substance abuse. Jocks have
always been portrayed as heavy partiers, and
sadly, numerous athletes live up to this dubious
billing. Studies have shown that student
athletes, when they drink, tend to consume far
more alcohol than non-athletes and are far more
likely to engage in risky, alcohol-related sexual
behavior. Athletes have a heightened sense of
invincibility, as peer pressure tends to be
greater for athletes as they are often forced to
compromise their values in the name of
camaraderie. The media also contributes greatly
to this concept that alcohol and athletics are
one in the same, just look at a few of these ads
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Budweiser
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Malboro
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Heineken
Here, Heineken is targeting armchair athletes. By
the way, who really plays Gamecube? According to
Nintendo, their key demographic is 8 to 16 year
olds Who are they really targeting?
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So what do we do about it?
While there is not a whole lot we can do to
change national ad campaigns parents, educators,
and coaches must encourage youth not to fall into
the trap of the stereotypical, hard-partying
athlete. One of the biggest complaints from
athletes and non-athletes alike at Mount Si, is
that coaches turn a blind eye towards their
athletes substance abuse as administrators fail
to enforce the agreed upon athletic code. We must
continue to encourage participation in athletics,
but we must be aware that athletes are
particularly susceptible to substance abuse,
especially at such a sports focused school like
Mount Si. Participation in high school athletics
are a privilege, not a right, athletes should not
get preferential treatment because of fears that
punishment may affect their participation,
ultimately punishment will help substance abusing
athletes in the long run.
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Risk Factor
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Health education in the Snoqualmie Valley may not
be
spending enough time covering the physical
effects of alcohol...
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Risk Factor Students aren't aware of the
physical damage of alcohol
This may sound like a peculiar statement, after
all, all students in the Valley receive health
education courses which devotes a substantial
amount of instruction time to substance abuse.
Yet what I have found is that a great deal of the
instruction time goes to teaching students about
the dangers of drunk driving, at the expense of
reinforcing the permanent physical effects of
substance abuse. A lot of my peers use with the
attitude that as long as they dont get on the
road, there are no permanent consequences. My
perceptions were supported by the 2006 Healthy
Youth Survey results. While 17 of Snoqualmie
Valley 12th graders reported driving with a drunk
driver in the past 30 days, it was significantly
lower than the state average of 24 of state 12th
graders reporting. Nevertheless, as shown in
previous slides, our district has a much higher
rate of substance abuse.
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So what do we do about it?
Our community has made great strides in reducing
the number of drunk driving teens and teens
riding in cars with drunk drivers, and we must
continue to do so until all drunk drivers are off
of our streets. Yet in the process, from a
students perspective at least, educators have
neglected to devote more attention to the
lasting, physical destruction caused by substance
abuse. Snoqualmie Valley youth, and their
parents, need to be aware of the fact that the
human brain is not fully developed until one is
in their mid-20s and that one can harm that
development by abusing alcohol and other illegal
drugs. A lot of students, and parents for that
matter, have never heard this fact about
substance abuse and it is a key contributor to
the reason why many people take a relaxed
attitude when it comes to drugs. There is a
reason for the 21 year old drinking age,
substance abuse laws are created for a reason!
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6
Risk Factor
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The mythical rampant "drug culture"
at Mount Si High School...
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Risk Factor The Myth that "Everyone is doing it"
For some reason, there lies a common
misperception that anyone who
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walks down these hallways
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learns in this classroom
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sits in this auditorium
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and eats in this cafeteria...
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Risk Factor The Myth that "Everyone is doing it"
goes home and abuses
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alcohol
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marijuana
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'shrooms
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ecstasy
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and other illegal drugs and substances
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Risk Factor The Myth that "Everyone is doing it"
Somewhere along the line, Mount Si High School
developed a reputation as being heavily saturated
in drugs and alcohol. At some point this
perception might have been true, but these days
(in actuality) Mount Si High Schools drug
culture in general is not as rampant as the
student body makes it out to be. The problem with
going to a school where there is such a
perception that everyone is doing it, is that
it suddenly feels socially acceptable to take
part. More people begin to use at Mount Si High
School and at the middle school level because
they begin assume that if they dont, theyll be
in the minority amongst their peers.
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So what do we do about it?
First off, as student leaders at our respective
schools, we need to encourage our fellow
classmates to not live up to this dubious
distinction and make the entire school look bad
in the process. Yet it is all of our
responsibility to try to normalize the social
climate in our schools and bring reality to the
forefront. Middle school students need to know
the truth about how many high schoolers actually
go out on Friday night and binge drink or smoke
marijuana because if you asked them, their
answers would probably be far greater than the
actual percentage. A lot of middle schoolers who
begin to use at a fairly young age do so with the
idea that once they get to high school, theyll
be like everyone else already. We are in
desperate need of a social norms campaign at
both the middle school level and the high school
level, so we can begin to change this incorrect
perception about our schools youth. All teens
want to be accepted, so how powerful would the
message be if they found out that if they became
substance abuser, they would actually be in the
minority!?
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Risk Factor
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The Snoqualmie Valley hasn't
done enough to stop teen substance abuse...
yet
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But were getting there. Events like the key
leaders summit and organizations like the
snoqualmie valley community network are
encouraging steps in the right direction.
Students need to know that adults in there
community care about there wellbeing and are
genuinely concerned about their futures. WEve
made strides, but we wont go any further unless
all sectors band together, pooling resources and
talent, to eradicate teen substance abuse here in
beautiful snoqualmie Valley.
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So how does your sector fit into the equation?
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After every risk factor, we have asked the
question So what are we going to do about it?
Now I guess the real question is up to you
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What are going
you
to do about it?