Patrick-Murray Administration Announces Decline in Youth Bullying Rates and Drop in Alcohol and Tobacco Use Amongst Adolescents

BOSTON — The Patrick-Murray Administration today released new reports on health behaviors of youth in Massachusetts, showing reduced rates of bullying among high school students and lower rates of tobacco and alcohol use among high school and middle school students, among other findings.

The data is drawn from two reports issued today: Health and Risk Behaviors of Massachusetts Youth, 2011 and A Profile of Health Among Massachusetts Middle and High School Students, 2011.

“I am encouraged by many of these findings,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “We have worked diligently with our partners across the Commonwealth to reduce bullying in our schools and alcohol and tobacco use among young people, but we have much work left to do.”

Key findings from both reports include:

Decline in High School Bullying Rates; New Data on Cyber-Bullying Also Released

The percentage of high school students who reported being bullied at school has significantly declined from 23% in 2003 to 18% in 2011. For the first time, the report also included data on rates of cyber-bullying. In 2011, 14% of middle school students and 16% of high school students reported being victims of cyber-bullying.

“Students, parents, educators and everyone in our community has a role to play in ensuring that bullying is not seen as just an acceptable part of growing up,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby, MD. “Preventing bullying of any kind — whether in the classroom, playground or on the Internet — is a top priority for our Administration.”

“We are fully committed to making sure that every student has the chance to reach his or her potential in a safe and supportive learning space,” said Education Secretary Paul Reville. “I am encouraged that an increasing number of students feel like they have that type of safe learning environment, and we will continue partnering with both adults and our young people to cultivate norms of kindness and support in schools across the Commonwealth.”

The Administration is working on a variety of levels to reduce rates of bullying among our young people:

• Governor Patrick in May 2010 signed landmark anti-bullying legislation which created new strategies to prevent, report and effectively address issues related to bullying.
• The Governor’s Statewide Youth Council was created in 2008, comprised of youth representing each county in Massachusetts partnering with schools on anti-bullying efforts.
• On January 25, 2012 for the first time, “No Name Calling Day” was recognized in classrooms across the Commonwealth, as Governor Patrick joined students who wore black and took a pledge to 'Black Out Bullying'.
• In addition to anti-bullying efforts, Governor Patrick’s Safe and Successful Youth Initiative is working with partners and providers to reduce youth violence and create safe communities for young people.

“Superintendents and principals have used the impetus of the anti-bullying law signed by Governor Patrick to develop local plans with clear protocols on how to respond to bullying,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester. “I am encouraged that fewer high school students reported being the victims of bullying. We need to continue to increase the number of students who feel safe and secure in their school environment.”

Continued Reductions in Rates of Alcohol Use

Rates of alcohol use are declining among both high school and middle school aged youth in Massachusetts, according to the report. Lifetime alcohol use among high school students has shown a significant decline since 2003, from 75% to 68%. Fewer high school students are reporting alcohol use before the age of 13 since 2003, from 25% in 2003 to 15% in 2011. Among middle school students, lifetime alcohol use decreased from 26% in 2009 to 20% in 2011.

“We know that there is a proven relationship between underage drinking and substance abuse disorders later in life,” said DPH Commissioner John Auerbach. “That’s why we’re committed to working with parents, schools, community leaders and other stakeholders to reduce rates of alcohol use among our young people.”

• DPH has funded over 30 local coalitions across the state to prevent underage drinking at the community level.
• Working with these coalitions, DPH has held a series of more than 50 Town Hall Meetings to engage parents, community leaders and other stakeholders on ways to prevent underage drinking and substance abuse in their area.
• DPH has also created a series of innovative health communications and marketing campaigns to prevent underage drinking and substance abuse, aimed at a wide variety of audiences including young people themselves, parents, educators, and community members.

Continued Drop in Smoking Rates Reported

Rates of cigarette use are declining among both high school and middle school aged youth. Both lifetime and current (past 30 days) cigarette use have been steadily declining among high school students since 2003 (lifetime use declined from 53% to 39%; and current use declined from 21% to 14%). Fewer high school students are reporting cigarette use before age 13 (15% in 2003 vs. 7% in 2011). And lifetime cigarette use in middle school students dropped from 15% in 2009 to 10% in 2011.

DPH employs several strategies to prevent youth tobacco use, including:

• the development of “The 84 Movement”, a statewide initiative which engages youth to educate their peers that the majority of young people — 84% — do not smoke.
• in conjunction with local Boards of Health, enforcing state and local laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors.
• educating parents and stakeholders about tobacco industry marketing to youth.
• encouraging municipalities to develop local policies to counteract tobacco marketing to youth.

“Although these are successes to celebrate, new challenges are emerging,” said Lois Keithly, director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control and Prevention Program at DPH. “As cigarette use declines, the tobacco industry continues to look for other ways to market their product to our young people.”

Use of Other Tobacco Products on the Rise

The latest statewide data on use of Other Tobacco Products such as cigars and smokeless tobacco show that they are gaining popularity among young people. The rate of tobacco use other than cigarettes was 17.6% among high school students in 2009 — higher than the rate of cigarette use.

Health and Risk Behaviors of Massachusetts Youth, 2011 is a jointly-issued report from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) and reflects the results of two surveys conducted among high school and middle school students in the state:

• The Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MYRBS) which has been conducted among high school students by DESE with funding from the national Centers for Disease Control Disease and Prevention (CDC) since 1993. Most of the questions on this survey are mandated by CDC, though Massachusetts has added some questions of its own.
• The Massachusetts Youth Health Survey (MYHS) which has been conducted among both high school and middle school students by DPH since 2007. DPH provides content for all questions in the MYHS.

Both surveys are conducted simultaneously in order to reduce the burden on schools selected to participate.

A Profile of Health Among Massachusetts Middle and High School Students, 2011 is designed to complement the above report, and provide more in-depth analysis with data presented by gender, grade, and race/ethnicity, and other factors.

Health and Risk Behaviors of Massachusetts Youth, 2011 is available by contacting JC Considine at DESE, (781) 338-3112.

Download A Profile of Health Among Massachusetts Middle and High School Students, 2011  file size 1MB file size 7MB .

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