Communities That Care Youth Survey

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Communities That Care Youth Survey
Communities That Care Youth Survey 2007
Demographic Data

• 2006

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Demographic Profile of Surveyed Youth gr. 7-12
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Survey Validation

• Four strategies were used to assess the validity
  of the surveys. (204 students)
• In the first strategy, surveys from students who
  reported an average of four or more daily uses of
  the following drugsinhalants, cocaine,
  LSD/Psychedelics, Ecstasy, methamphetamine and
  heroinwere eliminated from the survey data set.
  This strategy removes the survey of any student
  who did not take it seriously. (115 students)
• The second strategy supplements the drug use
  exaggeration test by examining the frequency of
  five other antisocial behaviors Attacking
  Someone with Intent to Harm, Attempting to Steal
  a Vehicle, Being Arrested, Getting Suspended and
  Taking a Handgun to School. Respondents who
  reported an unrealistically high frequency of
  these behaviorsmore than 120 instances within
  the past yearwere removed from the analysis. (73
  students)
• In the third strategy, students were asked if
  they had used a fictitious drug in the past 30
  days or in their lifetimes. If students reported
  any use of the fictitious drug, their surveys
  were not included in the analysis of the
  findings. (154 students)
• The fourth strategy was used to detect logical
  inconsistencies among responses to the
  drug-related questions. An example of an
  inconsistent response would be if a student
  reported that he or she had used alcohol three to
  five times in the past 30 days but had never used
  alcohol in his or her lifetime.(56 students)

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• Research has identified risk and
• protective factors in four domains

• Risk factors are characteristics that
• are known to increase the likelihood that
• a student will engage in one or more
• problem behaviors.

Protective factors buffer young peoples exposure
to risk.
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Plymouth Youth Risk and Protective Factor Profile

• Lowest Protective Factors
• Social Skills
• School Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement
• Religiosity
• Highest Risk Factors
• Laws and Norms Favorable to Drug Use
• Parental Attitudes Favorable toward Antisocial
  Behavior
• Peer Rewards for Antisocial Behavior
• Early Initiation of Drug Use

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Lowest Protective Factors grades impacted
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Highest Risk Factors grades impacted
Antisocial Behaviors
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Antisocial Behaviors Grade-Level Results
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Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use
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Grade-Level Results
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Current Substance Use (past 30 days) Plymouth
High Schools 12th grade () compared to Mass.
And Nation 12th grade ()
12th graders reported current use of drugs other
than marijuana, heroin and inhalants as 7
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Selected Student Populations
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Selected Student Populations and Plans
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Student Achievement Results
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Plymouth Juvenile Court 2007(as of August 2007)

• 60 Kids on Risk Needs Supervision
• 76 CHINS cases
• 20 on administrative supervision and paying
  restitution
• 9 kids on conditional liberty (case pending, but
  on community supervision)
• 66 Care and Protection cases, representing 105
  children (these are the most serious abuse and
  neglect cases)

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• Never underestimate the power of a few committed
  people to change the world. Indeed, it is the
  only thing that ever has.
• Margaret Mead

mroy_at_plymouth.k12.ma.us