Teenage substance abuse down, in Iowa at least
It is about time there was a little positive news about teenage drug and substance abuse. According to an article on EmaxHealth and the 2008 Iowa Youth Survey, fewer teenagers are reporting alcohol and marijuana use.
The survey was taken in October 2008 and 81 percent of those surveyed said they had not consumed any alcohol in the past 30 days. And 87 percent reported no binge drinking in the past 30 days. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a short time span.
Also, 94 percent reported not using marijuana in the past 30 days when the survey was taken.
The real question is what does this really say about teens in Iowa and across the United States? Is alcohol and marijuana use really down? Surveys like these have to be taken with a grain of salt. Because the survey considers such a small amount of time, 30 days, in the life of a teenager when it comes to alcohol and marijuana use.
So what if they didn’t consume it within the last 30 days, what about the rest of the year? Perhaps the survey should be changed to include how many times a year a teenager drinks or uses marijuana.
Despite the decline in the substance abuse, there is another thing that the survey revealed. More teenagers are experiencing being threatened via the internet or over text message.
These surveys are a great way to talk about substance abuse with your family and the children in their family. Surveys help get a little bit of a dissection of what is going on in a certain area. It is always beneficial to consider the type of children that were surveyed, their socio-economic standing and many other factors.
Talking about these statistics and taking them into consideration is wise. The more information the better!
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