NORMAN STUDENTS TAKE HEALTH SURVEYS

NORMAN -- A report released this week shows that students from Norman's
high schools use less drugs, alcohol and tobacco products than the national
average. However, more Norman students believe they are overweight compared
to nationwide statistics. Officials with the Oklahoma State Department of
Health presented the results of a survey conducted with 3,275 students to
the Norman Board of Education Monday night. The six categories of the Youth
Risk Behavior Survey were behaviors that contribute to injuries, tobacco
use, alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors and physical
activity. Students at Norman High School, Norman High School North and
Norman's 9-12 alternative education program responded to the survey last
October. Sharon Heatly, director of guidance and counseling for the
district, said the survey is similar to one conducted in 1999 and provides
valuable information about students' behavior.

The health department's survey -- which required parental permission and
guaranteed anonymity -- indicated that Norman students were below the
national average in several areas.

Raymond McCaffrey, a representative from the Cleveland County Health
Department, presented graphs that compared this survey to national
statistics and to survey results from the district in 1999.

Superintendent Joe Siano said the district will use the survey information
to work with its many partners, agencies and organizations in the Norman
community.

Since the 1999 survey, Norman students have shown improvements in seat belt
safety and a decline in alcohol, drug and tobacco use.

However, the percentage of students who have considered attempting suicide
increased by almost 5 percent when compared to the former report. The
percentage still remains below the national average. McCaffrey broke down
the numbers by specific grade levels.

In 1999, between about 9 and 14 percent of students had thought about
committing suicide, and in 2001, that percentage had increased to about 14
to 18 percent. The national average for high school students ranges from
about 18 to 22 percent.

Local students are above the national average -- both in 1999 and in the
2001 survey -- in perceiving themselves to be overweight.

Assistant Superintendent Ruth Ann Carr attributes this to the way media
portray weight issues today. She said the district's family and consumer
living classes have tried to address that problem to some extent by looking
at nutrition.

"That's probably an area that we need to tap into some outside resources
and what's the best way to do that," she said. "When you're talking about a
student's self-image, there's a lot of factors."

The district's participation in the survey in 1999 came following a
training conference attended by board members. The health department
provided the members with information about the survey, and Carr said
district officials felt like the information was needed by the school and
community.

Since the results of the first survey were presented, the district
implemented several programs to help improve students' behaviors and
perceptions. Carr said the reason the district participated in the study in
October was to monitor how the programs were affecting students.

Survey results provided by the health department include:

Behavior

In this area of the survey, 6.1 percent of Norman's teens reported they
rarely or never used seat belts when riding in a car. This is a decrease
from the 1999 survey of 7.2 percent and the current national average of
16.4 percent.

Norman students responded 16.7 percent to having seriously considered
attempting suicide in the past 12 months compared to the national average
of 19.3 percent. The 16.7 percent number is 4.9 percent higher than
Norman's 1999 survey.

Alcohol

Norman teens were below the national average in alcohol use. Nationally,
33.1 percent of the students surveyed said they rode with a driver who had
been drinking alcohol. Local students reported 27.1 percent, down 2.1
percent from 1999. About 11.5 percent of Norman teens said they drove after
drinking. The national average was 13.1 percent.

Students in Norman also rank below the national average when reporting
episodic heavy drinking -- five or more drinks at once. Norman's percentage
is 24.9, down 5 percent from the last study. The national average is 31.3
percent.

Violence

Norman also fell below the national average in the violence category. About
8 percent said they had been involved in a physical fight during the past
year. The national average was 14.2 percent.

Norman teens were below the national average on the number who had been
threatened or injured with weapons on school property. About 7.5 percent
locally compared to 7.7 percent nationally. When broken down by grade
level, the 11th- and 12th-grade numbers were slightly above the national
average.

About 6.6 percent of local students responded yes to being forced to have
sexual intercourse, while nationally 8.8 percent reported being forced into
sexual intercourse.

Tobacco

The use of tobacco by Norman students is also lower than the national
average. In Norman, 13.7 percent claimed to have smoked at least 20 of the
30 days preceding the survey, while the national percentage for that
category was 16.8 percent.

The survey also asked students how they obtained the tobacco products. In
1999, a large percentage claimed to have gotten them from other people,
with a small percentage being able to buy them in a store. However, the
2001 survey claims a larger percentage of Norman students were able to buy
them in the store. No national data was available for comparison in this area.

Drugs

Following suit, Norman students also ranked below the national average on
drug usage in all areas. Drug usage survey results include: marijuana --
37.1 percent Norman, 47.2 percent national, 43.1 percent Norman in 1999;
inhalants -- 9.4 percent Norman, 14.6 percent national; cocaine -- 8.6
percent Norman, 9.5 percent national.

The percentage of Norman students who have been offered, sold or given an
illegal drug on school property was about half that of the national average
- -- 16.9 percent in Norman versus 30.7 percent nationally.

Sexual Behavior

About one third -- 33.8 percent -- of Norman teens claim to have had sexual
intercourse, but that number is still below the 49.9 percent claimed with
the national average. In 1999, about 38.4 percent of Norman students
admitted to having sex.

Weight, Nutrition And Exercise

In health areas, 61.5 percent of Norman students said they had participated
in vigorous physical activity during the last seven days before the survey
was presented. The national average is 64.7 percent. About 30 percent of
Norman teens perceive themselves to be overweight, which is above the
national average -- 20.8 percent -- by about 10 percent.

High school students in Norman are also half as likely to eat fruits and
vegetables. About 15.6 percent claim to eat five servings each day, while
32.9 percent do nationally.

Carr said the survey can assist the school district as it plans to develop
programs for students and can also help other groups in the community.
Since the 1999 survey, the district has worked with several agencies and
has given the district some direction toward intervention programs.

The survey will be used for describing risk behaviors, creating awareness,
setting program goals and supporting health-related legislation. It will be
useful to state and national health agencies to monitor areas of need and
plan programs to meet those needs.

The survey was given at the high schools at no cost to the district. The
health department tabulated the surveys and provided the district with the
reports.

"An important thing to remember is that this is information that parents
need to be aware of, because they have a huge influence in their children,
and much of the intervention needs to start in the home," she said.

For more information about the survey, call Heatly at 573- 3511.