Indicator Description
Typical measures for this indicator are the percent of young people who report any days with alcohol, drug, or tobacco use in the past month and age of first use. Research has shown an association between early age of first use and addiction problems as an adult.  Many school districts periodically conduct surveys of students. These surveys often include questions about both attitudes and behaviors related to substance use.

What to Measure

• The percent of youth who report substance use during the past month.
• Substance use in the past year or over multiple years.
• Lifetime use.
• Age of first use.
• Attitudes toward alcohol and drug use.

Where to Find Local Data

Surveys may have been conducted by local or state health agencies, local schools, or community groups. Examples of national surveys from which data are available at the state, and in some communities, at the local level include:

• YRBSS: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System monitors priority health risk behaviors among youth in the United States.
• Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults.
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) tracks illegal drug, alcohol, and tobacco use.
• Partnership Attitude Tracking Study tracks the attitudes consumers have about illicit drugs.

Interpretation Guidelines

• It may be useful to compare results from local self-report surveys with the established national surveys or state averages among the same grade levels.
• Some populations are not captured in surveys administered to children in classrooms. These youth that do not regularly attend school are often those at greatest risk for substance use. Therefore, your data may be an underestimate of the true rate of use.
• Difficulties obtaining parental permission to participate in a school-administered survey may exclude children from the sample affecting your results.

Tips

• School officials may be hesitant to share the results from surveys because they are concerned about receiving negative press. Engage in a partnership with school officials to address the drug, alcohol, and tobacco use among students.
• If your local school district does not currently use a survey, encourage them to purchase one and start tracking this information.

Source: Rhode Island Kids Count. 2005 Rhode Island Kids Count Fact Book, 2005.