Executive
Summary of the 2003 PPAAUS - Primary Prevention
Awareness, Attitude, & Use Survey
STUDENT
PERSPECTIVES ON THE USE OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO,
OTHER DRUGS, AND VIOLENCE
FRANKLIN COUNTY OHIO SCHOOLS
Introduction
Research
on the use of alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs has consistently shown that the
use of these substances by young people
is correlated with a wide range of negative
behaviors including low academic performance.
In 1988, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Consortium, a program of the Educational
Council, initiated a needs assessment
of students in grades six through twelve.
Every three years, this assessment is
repeated; 2003 was the sixth occasion
of the survey, and almost 79,500 students
in public and non-public schools were
included in the Primary Prevention Awareness,
Attitude, and Use Survey. This summary
contains highlights of the report. For
comprehensive results of the 2003 Franklin
County report or those of other triennial
surveys, contact the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools Consortium.
The purpose of this PPAAUS assessment
is to provide information that can be
used to guide prevention and intervention
programs and to provide an overall evaluation
of the effectiveness of these programs.
Many items and topics in PPAAUS have remained
the same over the years to allow the Consortium
to track trends in usage, behavior and
attitudes. The analyses of PPAAUS results
also identify the predictors of drug use.
These predictors can then be used to provide
direction to prevention efforts.
SURVEY
HIGHLIGHTS
Alcohol
-
2% of sixth graders, 6% of seventh and
eighth graders, 21% of ninth and tenth
graders, and 35% of eleventh and twelfth
graders drank regularly (at least once
a month).
-
.5% of sixth graders, 2% of seventh
and eighth graders, 7% of ninth and
tenth graders, and 14% of juniors and
seniors drank alcohol at least once
a week.
-
The average age of first use of alcohol
for middle school students was 11.2
and for high school students, 13.7.
-
85% of sixth graders, 70% of seventh
and eighth graders, 47% of ninth and
tenth graders, and 34% of eleventh and
twelfth graders had never drunk alcohol.
Click here for Regular Use of Alcohol graph.
Tobacco
-
.5% of sixth graders, 2% of seventh
and eighth graders, 7% of ninth and
tenth graders, and 10% of eleventh and
twelfth graders reported smoking cigarettes
daily.
-
An additional 3% of middle school students
and 7% of high school students smoke
at least once a month up to twice a
week.
-
The average age of first use for middle
school students was 11.0 and for high
school students, 13.1.
- Less
than one-half percent of the sixth graders,
one-half percent of the seventh and
eighth graders, one percent of ninth
and tenth graders, and three percent
of the juniors and seniors indicated
regular use of chewing tobacco.
- 91%
of sixth graders, 82% of seventh and
eighth graders, 70% of ninth and tenth
graders, and 62% of eleventh and twelfth
graders had never smoked cigarettes.
Trends:
After increases in cigarette use in 1994
and 1997, use in 2003 continued a downward
trend that began in 2000. Smokeless tobacco
use has been decreasing slightly since 1991.
Click here
for Regular Use of Cigarettes graph.
Marijuana
- 1%
of sixth graders, 5% of seventh and
eighth graders, 14% of ninth and tenth
graders, and 20% of eleventh and twelfth
graders smoke marijuana once a month
or more.
-
Average age of first use for middle
school students was 12.0 and for high
school students, 13.9.
- 98%
of sixth graders, 89% of seventh and
eighth graders, 73% of ninth and tenth
graders, and 61% of eleventh and twelfth
graders had never smoked marijuana.
Trends:
After a large increase in use from 1991
to 1994 in all grades, marijuana use remained
fairly stable to 1997. In 2000, decreases
in use were seen in all grades. This trend
continued in 2003, to levels at or below
the 1994 levels.
Click
here
for Regular Use of Marijuana graph.
Messages about Drinking
-
Teachers, coaches, club advisors and
parents were most successful at conveying
"It's not OK to drink.“
- An
average of 88% of sixth through eighth
graders and 75% of ninth through twelfth
graders felt that teachers gave them
the message that drinking is not acceptable.
- 85%
of students who had a coach thought
they received a negative message about
drinking from that person.
- 77%
of middle school students and 62% of
high school students thought that parents
disapproved of drinking alcohol.
-
54% of sixth through eighth graders
and 23% of ninth through twelfth graders
indicated that the message from friends
was “It’s Not OK to drink.”
-
37% of middle school students and 19%
of high school students perceived a
message of “It’s Not OK to drink” from
the media.
“Message”
items were also included for tobacco and
marijuana. The responses for these items
produced similar patterns as messages about
drinking.
For club advisors and coaches, percentages
are based on ONLY those students who participated
in activities or sports.
Click here
for graph of Messages about Drinking.
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Perpetrators
- 29%
of Franklin County students
had “pushed others around to
get something you want” (5%
had done this more than three
times).
- 21%
of students had pushed others
around to make them afraid (4%
more than three times).
-
33% had threatened to beat up
someone (8% four times or more).
-
27% of students reported they
had beat up someone (7% more
than three times).
Victims
- 11%
of middle school students and
7% of high school students reported
that they had been robbed (by
force, weapons, or threats)
at school within the past year
(2% of all students reported
they had been robbed more than
three times).
-
19% of middle school students
and 13% of high school students
said they had been physically
attacked at school (2% of all
students were attacked four
times or more)
-
40% of the sixth through eighth
graders and 41% of the ninth
through twelfth graders had
been verbally attacked (10%
four times or more).
-
22% of middle school students
and 17% of high school students
had feared for their physical
safety at school.
Problem
Behaviors
-
13% of Franklin County students
in grades six through eight
and 32% in grades nine through
twelve had skipped school at
least once in the past year.
-
36% of sixth through eighth
graders and 54% of the ninth
through twelfth graders had
cheated on a class test at least
once.
-
4% of middle school students
and 11% of high school students
reported that they had sold
drugs in the past year.
-
18% of middle school students
and 23% of high school students
had vandalized property.
Prevention Programs
- 83% of the Franklin County
students had participated in
Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(D.A.R.E) at least once in school.
- 31% of all students surveyed
had been in drug-free clubs
or activities such as Youth
to Youth or Teen Institute.
- 24% of students had participated
in conflict resolution programs
like peer mediation and Peaceful
Schools.
- 37% of the Franklin County
students had participated in
drug-free leadership or camps
or retreats (for example, Youth
to Youth or Teen Institute).
Family
and Friends
-
Students who report that their
families have “strong family
values against the use of alcohol,
tobacco, or other drugs” are
much less likely to use tobacco,
alcohol and marijuana than those
students who report that their
family does not have those values.
-
Students whose friends give
the message “It is NOT OK to
use” report much lower use of
alcohol and marijuana than those
students who have friends that
do not deliver this message.
Other
Correlates of Tobacco, Alcohol,
and Marijuana Use
-
Higher levels of social activities
and “work-for-pay” activities
are associated with higher levels
of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana
usage.
-
Students who use alcohol, cigarettes
and marijuana also report higher
levels of skipping school, cheating
in school, selling drugs, vandalizing
property, getting drunk and
lower grades in school.
PPAAUS
maintains very good internal and
external reliability. Reliability
coefficients from PPAAUS average
.7935.
For more information, please
contact The Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Consortium, a program of the Educational
Council, 1929 Kenny Road, Suite
120, Columbus, OH 43210, 614-292-8707.
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