Sex down but drugs up in teen survey

Cy Ryan and Emily Richmond

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002 | 10:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sex and smoking among high school students have declined in the last eight years, but marijuana and cocaine use has risen since 1993, according to a study released by the state Department of Education.

Violence on high school campuses has also declined, according to "Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Survey," in which 9,215 high school students and 11,486 middle school students participated in 2001.

This was the first time middle student students have been questioned about their behavior patterns. The report was presented to a meeting of the state Board of Education Saturday in Las Vegas.

"The survey contains some good news, that we're making progress in reducing drug use," said Ron Ross, administrative specialist for the Clark County School District, who coordinated the local data for the state report. "However, there are clearly some areas of concern that we need to address as a community."

The breakdown of the Clark County survey responses should be available next week, Ross said this morning.

The high school students have been surveyed every two years on tobacco, alcohol and drug use, sexual and aggressive behavior, dietary habits and physical inactivity.

"There's no question we've made improvements" since 1993, when the state started the survey, David Sheffield, president of the state Board of Education, said. But he added, "We can't be satisfied."

"There's a 24-hour culture," said Sheffield of Elko. "It would be a different situation where they roll up the sidewalks." Students have more exposure because of the more open lifestyle, he said.

Jack McLaughlin, state superintendent of public instruction for the past year, said the survey shows risk-taking among Nevada youth "at unacceptably high levels."

For instance, 27 percent of the high school students used marijuana in the past 30 days. That's up from 19 percent in the first survey in 1993. And cocaine use has inched up to 6 percent from 4 percent eight years ago.

But glue sniffing or breathing fumes or sprays has dipped from 26 percent to 16 percent in the eight-year period.

Drug sales on school campuses apparently rose. The report said 35.7 percent of the high school students said somebody had offered, sold or given them an illegal drug on campus. That's up from 31 percent in 1999 and 30 percent in 1993.

In the 1993 survey 58 percent of the students said they had sexual intercourse. That fell to 49 percent last year. And the use of condoms has risen from 53 percent to 62 percent during the eight-year period.

The report in 1993 found 10 percent of the students had been pregnant or had gotten someone pregnant. That's down to 6 percent in 2001. That's in line with a report earlier this month by the state Division of Health that Nevada now ranks 10th in the nation instead of fourth in teen pregnancies.

Smoking is down and so is the percentage of those who carried a weapon to school.

Twenty-five percent of the students reported they had smoked cigarettes in the preceding 30 days, down from 30 percent in 1993 and from 33 percent in 1999.