STUDENTS REPORT USING LESS ALCOHOL, BEING BULLIED MORE, SURVEY SHOWS

Montana high school students say they are drinking alcohol less
frequently and using seat belts more when driving, but report being
bullied more by fellow students, a survey released by the state
Office of Public Instruction on Wednesday shows.

Half the students also said they had texted or sent e-mails while
driving the previous 30 days, while 53 percent said they had talked
on a cell phone while driving. It was the first time these questions
have been asked in the survey.

The survey also notes that the number of high-schoolers who have used
marijuana in their lifetime is down from 42.2 percent in 2009 to 39.2
percent in 2011.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey polled 4,148 high school students in
46 randomly selected Montana high schools in February. It's compiled
from a 93-item questionnaire developed by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.

The self-reporting survey of students is administered by the state
Office of Public Instruction in February of odd numbered years, under
a cooperative agreement with the CDC.

State Superintendent Denise Juneau said the survey "reminds us how
important it is to continually engage youth in frank conversations
about risky behaviors."

"It also gives us an opportunity to confront our biggest challenges
in ensuring the safety of our young people and highlights the efforts
of effective programs whose messages are reaching students," she said.

The survey found significant decreases in alcohol abuse by high
school students since 2009.

The percentage of students who said they have had at least one drink
of alcohol during the past 30 days dropped to 38 percent this year
from 43 percent in 2009 and 58 percent in 1999. Likewise, the
percentage of students who reported binge drinking, or having five or
more drinks of alcohol in a row, during the past 30 days dropped to
25 percent this year from 30 percent in 2009.

There was no change in the percentage of students who reported using
methamphetamines during their life. The 2011 survey found that 3
percent had used meth, the same percentage as in 2009, but it was
down from 14 percent in 1999.

Results showed that 13 percent of students said they never or rarely
wore a seat belt when driving a car, or about the same percentage as
in 2009, but down from 20 percent in 2003.

The percentage of students who drove a car after drinking dropped to
11 percent in 2011, down from 12 percent in 2009 from 22 percent in 2001.

Those students who have tried cigarette smoking dropped to 44 percent
in 2011, down from 50 percent in 2011 and 70 percent in 1999.

For the second year in the survey, students were asked about bullying
and cyber-bullying. In 2011, 26 percent of students said they had
been bullied on school property the past 12 months, an increase over
the 23 percent in the 2009 survey.

Nineteen percent said in 2011 they had been electronically bullied,
such as through email, chat rooms, instant messaging, websites or
text-messaging the past 12 months. That's up from 18 percent in 2009.

"Bullying continues to remain a major issue for Montana students and
requires actions by administrators, teachers, parents and
policymakers," Juneau said.

The number of high-schoolers reporting marijuana use in their life
peaked in 2001 at 46.7 percent. That number dropped to a low mark of
39.1 percent in 2007 before rising a bit to 42.2 percent in 2007 and
falling again at 39.2 percent this year.

Those who said they've used marijuana during the past 30 days dropped
to 21.2 percent in 2011 from 23 percent in 2009. The peak year in
that category was also 2001, at 27.1 percent.

However, the percentage of students who said they were offered, sold
or given an illegal drug on school property during the past 12 months
increased to 25 percent in 2011, up from 21 percent in 2009 but down
from 30 percent in 1999.

Montana voters in 2004 approved a ballot measure allowing the use of
medical marijuana.

Asked for the first time about prescription drug abuse, more than 18
percent of high school students reported taking a prescription drug
without a doctor's prescription.

As for sexual behavior, 48 percent of students reported they had had
sexual intercourse, about the same figure as in 2009 and an increase
from the 43 percent in 1999. Nearly 35 percent said they had had
sexual intercourse during the past three months, an increase from 32
percent in the 2009 survey.

Of those currently sexually active, 62 percent said they used a
condom during their last sexual intercourse, down from 68 percent
from 2009. About 21 percent of sexually active students said they
used birth control bills before their last sexual intercourse, down
from 27 percent in 2009.

The 1999-2011 Montana High School Trend Report can be found here:
http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/YRBS/11/Trend/11Trend_HS.pdf