Teen's Survey of Derry Residents finds drinking and driving, substance abuse seen as greatest problems facing local youth.

Press Release, January 2005 -Community Alliance for Teen Safety

Derry residents believe their town is a good place in which to grow up, but they are also worried about problems facing their children.  The risks from drinking and driving are seen as the most serious threat to youth safety, with substance use (especially alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) following close behind.  This was the finding of a survey conducted last September by Pinkerton Academy students Alex Scarelli, Chris Freda, Mike Pearson, and Acacia Garvey.  The students are members of the Teen Advisory Board of CATS, Derry’s Community Alliance for Teen Safety, which supported their initiative.

It was the students’ idea to survey townspeople, and they collected 145 completed surveys from local residents who braved the rainy DerryFest celebration and another 166 from shoppers at the local WalMart a few days later. The survey showed that the strong majority of Derry adults disapprove of underage drinking under any circumstances.  They also found that residents overestimated the prevalence of eighth grade drinking, smoking, and marijuana use, suggesting that the community as a whole may see teen substance use as a bigger problem than it actually is.

The survey, which was developed by the teens with the assistance of an outside evaluator, asked people to rank the seriousness of eleven problems Derry teens face: pregnancy, alcohol use, cigarette/tobacco use, drinking and driving, marijuana use, heroin use, other illegal drugs, suicide, eating disorders, sexually transmitted infections, and bullying.  85% of survey-takers over 18 rated drinking and driving as a “serious” or “very serious” problem for local youth, followed by alcohol use (82%), cigarette smoking (80%) and marijuana use (78%).  Both men and women ranked drinking and driving as their most serious concern, but women were more worried than men about alcohol use (84% of women compared to 74% of men considered it serious) and eating disorders (72% of women compared to 56% of men considered it serious).

The students also wanted to know how widespread residents think youth substance abuse is. The survey asked people how many eighth graders they believe are “regular” users of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana—that is, how many used in the past thirty days.  Five choices were offered; only one was the actual percentage reported by a survey of all Derry eighth graders in June 2004.  Overall, 87% overestimated the number of eighth graders who smoke (correct answer: 15%), 63% overestimated the number who use alcohol (correct answer: 28%), and 62% overestimated marijuana use (correct answer: 13%).  The youngest respondents, those 11 – 13,  had the most accurate estimates (they overestimated less), but older teens, those age14 – 18, were least accurate (they overestimated most).  Derry residents should be relieved to know that substance use, although always troubling in youth, is far less prevalent than they imagine.

The students surveyed residents’ attitudes about the sometimes contentious question of whether young people should be allowed to drink in some circumstances. Nationally, some adults advocate abstinence from alcohol for life, some until reaching legal age, and others believe that introducing alcohol to minors in a family setting is the best way to establish responsible drinking habits.  The Derry survey asked residents whether it was acceptable for youth to drink if they weren’t driving.  82% of those over 18 said it was not acceptable under any circumstances.  Only 4% answered “yes,” 10% answered “sometimes,” and 3% were “not sure.”  Women tended to be more restrictive in this regard.  87% of women, but only 70% of men, said it was never acceptable for underage youth to drink. Clearly, Derry citizens come down solidly on the side of postponing any alcohol consumption until the age of 21.

Nearly a fifth (17%) of the survey-takers were youth age 14 – 18, and they ranked the seriousness of problems very similarly to adults, with the exception of bullying.  69% of adults said bullying was serious, but only 55% of teens.  A few youngsters age 11 – 13 were surveyed (9% of the sample)  and they ranked bullying dead last in terms of seriousness, with only 36% saying it was a serious problem for youth. Clearly, what adults see as bullying behavior is interpreted differently by youth.  Not surprisingly, youth had more lenient attitudes about underage drinking, with only about 60% advocating total abstinence for minors.