TEENS PROBED ABOUT POT, SEX AND WELL-BEING

Hundreds of teenagers in Greater Victoria schools will be asked probing
questions about their well-being, sexuality, drug use and eating habits in
a provincewide survey this spring that will give a snapshot of what
teenagers are up these days.

The 144-question survey is being conducted by the McCreary Centre Society
in Vancouver to give government and youth workers insight into the health
and well-being of teens. Similar surveys were conducted by the centre in
1992 and 1998.

Grade 7-12 students are invited to participate in the confidential and
anonymous survey, which poses questions such as: With how many people have
you had sexual intercourse? How old were you when you first tried
marijuana? Did you ever seriously consider suicide? How often do you vomit
on purpose after eating?

In 1992, about 16,000 B.C. teens took part in the survey and in 1998 that
number grew to roughly 26,000 students.

Roger Tonkin, chair of the McCreary Centre Society, expects up to 30,000
teens will respond to the survey this spring.

Forty of BC's 60 school districts, including Greater Victoria School
District 61, have agreed to have the survey distributed to random schools.
SD 61 also participated in the previous two surveys.

"I think (the high participation) is because people are understanding that
in this day and age you have to have some evidence in order to support
whether you're doing a good job or whether you need more funding," says Tonkin.

The results are used by the B.C. ministries dealing with health and
children's issues and Health Canada, as well as community youth workers.

Some teenage trends have been pinpointed by analyzing the data from the
past two surveys, says Tonkin.

"In a number of areas youth behaviours and status have improved," he says,
noting that teens are delaying the onset of sexual activity by about a year
and that sexual abuse appears to be declining, according to other surveys.

"On the other hand, we've noticed quite a considerable increase in
marijuana use, and particularly at younger age groups."

The society receives about $500,000 in funding a year from the Ministry of
Children and Family Development and the Ministry of Health to conduct the
survey and to carry out other projects.

While there was "quite a furor" generated over the society's first survey,
Tonkin says parents now appear more accepting of it. John Roche, president
of Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Committees, doesn't have a
problem with conducting the survey and says he is unaware of any parents in
the district expressing concern.

"I think most kids these days are well-aware of the controversy around
drugs and pre-marital sex and so on," he says. "I don't think surveying the
kids and asking their opinions is going to cause them to run out and buy
drugs or go out and start having sex." SD 61 chair Charley Beresford
supports the survey and says most parents in the district do as well.

"It's a very helpful tool in assessing what the health challenges are for
our students," she says. "I think people understand there are some
challenging issues that need to be looked at."

The survey results are expected to be released next December.