STUDY REVEALS TEEN ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR

One of the most sobering findings of a health study of Kootenay-region
adolescents released earlier this year was the number of kids who have
tried marijuana. The number in 1998 had more than doubled in the
previous six years.

This was one of many findings regarding the overall physical and
emotional health of young people in B.C. that is contained in an
ambitious study called the Adolescent Health Study 2, put out by the
McCreary Centre Society of Burnaby.

The surveys were conducted in 1998, following an earlier study in
1992. For the latest report, almost 26,000 young people from Grades 7
to 12 around B.C. were asked a series of questions covering a range of
topics that fit under a broad definition of health.

The areas included drug and alcohol use, exercise, feelings about
appearance, racism, suicide, sexual activity, smoking, seat belt use,
emotional health, work and attitudes toward school, among others. The
report gives a broad look at the attitude and behavior of young people
today.

School Board No. 51 trustees brought up the issue of marijuana use at
a meeting this spring, expressing concern that the use of the
substance was higher in the Kootenays and Boundary than in the
province as a whole - 52 per cent locally compared with a provincial
average of 40 per cent. The rate in the lower mainland was the lowest
in the province with 33 per cent of students reporting they had used
marijuana.

Another point of concern was that a third of the young people surveyed
in the region said they had ridden in vehicles with a driver who had
been drinking. Again, this was the highest percentage of any region in
the province.

It's not all bad news though. In fact, the report concludes that on
the whole most kids seem to be healthy, have an optimistic outlook,
enjoy school and get along with their families. Fewer kids in this
region seem to feel they have experienced discrimination because of
race or skin colour.

Another positive result is that a majority of kids in the region are
active outside of school, becoming involved with work, sports,
community or church groups, and volunteering. For many survey
subjects, the region's results are generally close to those
province-wide.

As to what will happen with the enormous amount of information from
the report, the first likely step will be to bring the information up
for discussion by the Boundary Child and Youth Committee (CYC), which
is made up of representatives of all backgrounds, such as the school
district, government ministries, the Boundary Family and Individual
Services Society (BFISS) and other groups in the region that work with
young people and families.

"We've probably got the most active and effective CYC in the
province," says school superintendent Denny Kemprud. "I don't think
the McCreary study is going to gather dust in the district."

The surveys were done in May 1998 as health agencies distributed them
to various students around the province and collected them. In all,
about 10 classes were surveyed throughout the Boundary. Public health
nurses distributed and collected the questionnaires and took caution
to ensure anonymity. Students were even told to seal their responses
in envelopes before submitting them.

"It was considered to be very confidential," says local public health
Linda Manzon.

Some of the same questions and answers came up in another survey, says
Manzon, this one done strictly close to home by Laura Cross of
Touchstone Initiatives. Her report, "Boundary Youth - A Needs
Assessment," was released in March and will also go to the CYC. The
funding for her study came from BFISS and the Community Futures
Development Corporation.

"I'm hoping that it functions as a bit of a springboard," says Cross,
who got her surveys back by the end of January and delivered her
report a couple of months later. The questions in her survey asked
young people to identify the extent of a range of problems in the
community and point toward some solutions.

The school district was supportive of the study, allowing Cross to go
into the schools to distribute the surveys. She also reached a broader
age group among youth by distributing surveys among social service
agencies for youth.

The respondents ranged in age from 12 to 29, and in all, Cross had 403
surveys returned.

The common theme across the Boundary for young people was boredom and
the lack of activities, while drugs and alcohol also figured highly.
Relationships, jobs and school also came up as areas where problems
can arise.

Another finding of the study is that young people most often approach
their friends to discuss problems, and Cross hopes that more can be
done to take advantage of the counselling that young people provide
among themselves.

In general, she hopes that like the McCreary Report, her work will
help the Boundary CYC to spur ideas, such as a youth conference, or to
find ways to take advantage of the interest kids have in volunteering
or developing entrepreneurial skills.