TEENS ASKED ABOUT POT, SEX AND LIFE

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.

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 out of B.C.'s 60 school districts, including School District 61, have
agreed to have the survey distributed to random schools. SD 61 also
participated in the previous two studies.

"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 of Health and Children and Health
Canada, as well as community youth workers. Some teenage trends have been
pinpointed by analyzing the data from the last 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.

"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 to
be 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 no
parents in the district have expressed concern about it to him.

"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 in December.