Pubdate: Sun, 10 Dec 2006
Source: Portales News-Tribune (NM)
Copyright: 2006 Portales News-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.pntonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3452
Author: Marlena Hartz, Freedom Newspapers

LOCAL STUDENTS TRACK WITH STATE'S RATE OF RISKY  ACTIVITY

Students in Curry and Roosevelt counties are doing  drugs, having sex 
and engaging in other risky  activities at rates comparable to 
students across the  state, according to data from a controversial 
student  survey.

That isn't necessarily positive, said Dan Green, a New  Mexico 
Department of Health epidemiologist who visited  Clovis Thursday to 
discuss the results of the 2005 New  Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey.

Among 40 states that participated in the 2005 survey,  New Mexico 
ranked highest for number of students who  used cocaine, injected 
drugs intravenously, smoked  marijuana and attempted suicide that 
resulted in  injury.

Participation in some risky activities -- including  alcohol, tobacco 
and illegal drug use, and drinking and  driving -- declined from 2003 
to 2005. Despite  improvements, substance abuse rates in New Mexico 
remain higher than the national average.

"A lot of the time the data raises questions, and it's  important to 
try to answer them," said Green, who  admitted he doesn't know why 
these risky behaviors are  so rampant among New Mexico students.

Last year marked the first Clovis Municipal Schools  participated in 
the survey. Some in Clovis still regard  its inquiries into the 
sexual activities of youth as  inappropriate, according to about 20 
eastern New Mexico  social workers who analyzed the results of the 
survey with Green Thursday.

Administered in grades 9 through 12, the survey --  which contains 
137 questions -- assesses habits that  lead to chronic conditions 
later in life. In New  Mexico, the survey is administered by the New 
Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Public 
Education  Department and the University of New Mexico.

Its questions are pulled from a Centers for Disease  Control survey 
administered nationally.

In school districts other than Clovis, the YRRS was  administered in 
2001 and 2003.

In 2005, 79 of 89 school districts in the state allowed  students to 
take the survey. A sample of 224 Roosevelt  students and 206 Curry 
students participated in 2005.

"We had a better participation rate than ever in this  (eastern) part 
of the state. That's the biggest victory  we had in 2005," Green said.

County results reaffirmed what many social workers say  they already knew.

In Curry and Roosevelt counties, about 70 percent of  students have 
ingested alcohol, for instance.

"These are not new problems," Clovis Schools Director  of Health 
Services Rhonda Sparks said.

"The important thing is to collect the data, and not  assume we knew 
but prove we know," Sparks said.

Armed with the data, those in social services can  better steer youth 
from behavior pitfalls, they said.  Obtaining state and federal 
grants to launch programs  that address problems is easier with data 
that proves  problems exist, they said.

"We want to tackle problems in some measurable way. The  point of the 
data is to validate you have a problem. If  you think you have a 
solution, this tells you if you  moved the needle," said Erinn Burch, 
executive director  of United Way of Eastern New Mexico.

Participation in risky behaviors is a societal issue  that "students 
bring to school," Sparks said.

"So, we are not going to solve them at school. We need  a county-wide 
system approach," Sparks said.

Copies of YRRS reports can be found online at  www.health.state.nm.us/yrrs.html
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MAP posted-by: Elaine