Survey finds shift in risks facing youths

According to the 2010 Emerson Hospital Youth Risk Behavior Survey results, nearly one-third of the high school students completing the questionnaire reported having driven a car while using a cellphone to talk or text at least once in the previous 30 days. Among those most likely to drive, 51.7 percent of 11th-graders and 73.1 percent of 12th-graders reported engaging in the practice.

In response to another new question on the survey, 17.2 percent of high school students, 11.4 percent of sixth-graders, and 20 percent of eighth-graders reported having been threatened, humiliated, or the target of hostile behavior from others through electronic communication during the previous 12 months.

Dr. Jessica Rubinstein, a Harvard pediatrician and chief of pediatrics at Emerson Hospital, said she wasn’t surprised the numbers of students reporting cyber-bulling were so high. She said they reinforce the need for more prevention. “It’s right here in front of you that something needs to be done,’’ she said.

Rubinstein said it will be interesting to see whether the recent law banning all texting while driving and cellphone use among teen drivers will have an impact on the survey results in two years. The students answered this year’s survey questions before the ban took effect.

“The important thing is to look at the trends after intervention,’’ Rubinstein said.

State lawmakers have also taken on the bullying issue, ordering school districts to institute antibullying programs in response to two Massachusetts teens committing suicide after being abused by classmates.

The Emerson survey, conducted every two years for the last decade, was administered on a voluntary basis in March to more than 8,597 public school students in grades 6, 8, and 9 through 12 from Acton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Groton, Dunstable, Littleton, Maynard, and Westford.

Grade 6 students were given 62 questions to answer, while eighth-graders had 89 questions, and high school students faced 111.

The survey’s results are provided to health coordinators and school administrators to help them develop education goals and intervention strategies.

“Working with Emerson enables us to create a living document whose results assist us in keeping abreast of the most recent risk behaviors our students deal with daily, from Internet safety to dating violence,’’ said Kathy Codianne, director of teaching and learning for the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Regional school systems. “Having this data allows us to assess how far we have come and where we need to go in providing prevention programming to students, their families, and our seven school districts.’’

While the survey revealed that many students are engaging in new technology-based behavior such as texting and cyber-bullying, results also show that risky behavior in areas such as sexual activity, smoking, drinking, and gambling have gone down.

“It’s a sign of the times,’’ Rubinstein said.

The percentage of eighth-graders who have tried smoking went down from 13 percent in 2008 to 11 percent this year, while the percentage of high school students went from 26 percent in 2008 to 22 percent.

The percentage of eighth-graders who have had an alcoholic drink went from 24 percent to 20 percent this year. For high school students, the percentage was 63 percent in 2008 and 57 percent this spring.

Christine Schuster, Emerson Hospital’s president and chief executive officer, said statistics show that curriculums teaching healthy behaviors can promote positive change.

“We believe that by gathering data directly from within our communities, we help to create the most effective educational programs and classroom instruction to give parents and children the best community-based prevention and intervention initiatives possible,’’ Schuster said.

Donna Pobuk, the wellness coordinator at Westford Academy, the town’s public high school, said the district will pay special attention to the bullying and cyber-bullying results.

“As a district, we’ve been working on establishing a positive school climate, and it’s been highlighted because bullying has been in the public eye,’’ Pobuk said.

Reported bullying in school was up among sixth-graders from two years ago, 23 to 26 percent, but held steady among eighth-graders and high school students.

Reports of attempted suicide were steady, as were reported levels of marijuana use and cocaine use.

Even though the suicide numbers remained low, just one is too many, Rubinstein said. She also said that technology can play a role in leading students to ponder suicide. According to the survey’s results, 1 percent of sixth-graders had attempted suicide, while the figures were 5 percent for eighth-graders and 4 percent for high school students.

“All this electronic communication increases bullying to occur and that can lead to more depression and suicide,’’ she said. “The hardest thing is that kids don’t feel like they have any resources to turn to, so that’s the current push.’’

The Emerson Hospital Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2008 is available online at www.emersonhospital.org, under the Community Health Resources menu, with this year’s report expected to be posted there soon, officials said.

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.