Alcohol keeps firm grip on state’s teens

Public school students in Minnesota exercise more, do fewer drugs and wear their seat belts more often than they did three years ago, according to data released by the Department of Education on Wednesday.

But drinking habits among Minnesota's 12th-graders haven't changed over that time.

The state Department of Education released the results of the 2007 Minnesota Student Survey, which is given to the state's sixth-, ninth- and 12th-graders every three years. It asks questions about tobacco, alcohol and other drug use as well as sexual and eating habits and the status of their home lives.

According to the 2007 data, 30 percent of 12th-graders reported binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row) within the past two weeks, and 62.7 percent reported using alcohol during the past year. Both are consistent with the 2004 findings.

"I think that it should be eye-opening to parents and be of real concern," said Alice Seagren, state education commissioner.

While those statistics might be surprising to parents of high school students, they weren't surprising to Shakopee High School Principal Jim Murphy.

"When kids drink, it's not social drinking like you see among adults," he said. "Usually, it's just to get drunk."

The survey, which was administered anonymously this spring to students in 309 of the state's 338 school districts, also shows an increase in the number of seniors who have used marijuana in the past year -- from 27.1 percent in 2004 to 30.7 percent in 2007.

But a decline in most categories of drug use mirrors a national trend, said Carol Falkowski, director of chemical health for the state's Department of Human Services.

"I think it is incredibly encouraging," she said. "This is great news for Minnesota students."

The 2007 data also show that a majority of Minnesota students receive A's and B's at school, confide in their mothers more often than their fathers and think some students at school tease or threaten students of different races or backgrounds.

Making 'stupid decisions'

At Lakeville South High School, students learn about drugs and alcohol in health class. They have seen mock car crashes and heard from speakers who have struggled with drug abuse. But is that enough to keep kids from drinking or misbehaving?

"I think a lot of people just goof around" in class, said senior Blake Nicols, captain of the school's basketball team. "It's hard watching my good friends make stupid decisions, and do things that I know I would regret doing. But it's hard to instill that in kids my age -- you're in that period of time when you're on top of the world and everything is all good."

While drinking rates among high school seniors have remained stagnant over the past three years, the number of students driving after drinking or riding in cars with friends who have been drinking has declined. The number of ninth-grade students drinking has also decreased, which Murphy sees as a positive sign.

"For a long time, we saw a trend that kids were starting to drink at younger and younger ages," he said. "Let's hope that that trend is turning around."

Part of the reason drinking rates among 12th-graders haven't declined, Falkowski said, is that Minnesota "has a very strong cultural acceptance of alcohol use" and ranks among the top states in levels of drinking among its citizens. Students may be taught to not drink at school, but get a different message at home, she said.

On a positive note

The student survey data show a decrease in students using methamphetamine during the past year, with only 2.2 percent of seniors having used it, compared with 4.9 percent in 2004.

And 61.7 percent of seniors say they always use a seat belt, up from 57.3 percent in 2004.

Seagren credits anti-smoking and seat-belt campaigns for lowering smoking rates and raising seat belt usage.

Lakeville South junior Kayla Jensen, who runs cross country and track and is in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, wants her community to keep the results in perspective.

"Even though it might seem like a lot of kids do drugs or alcohol, there are also a lot that don't. People always talk about how bad kids are these days, but there are also a lot of kids that are making good decisions and doing the right thing."

When it comes to drugs and alcohol, the numbers back up her observation.

In the last month before the survey, the vast majority of Minnesota's students said they didn't have any drinks or drugs at all.

Emily Johns • 952-882-9056

30 percent

of 12th-graders reported binge drinking within the past two weeks

62.7 percent

reported using alcohol during the past year.

30.7 percent

of 12th-graders used marijuana in the past year in 2007.

27.1 percent

used marijuana in 2004.