Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jul 2006
Source: Monroe Times (WI)
Copyright: 2006 Monroe Publishing LLC
Contact:  http://www.themonroetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4064

SURVEY REVEALS TEENS' VIEWS

Some Teens Report Their Parents Don't Know Where Their Children Are At.

DARLINGTON -- Over half (54 percent) of teens "strongly agree" that 
their families love them and give them support when they need it. 
Based on teen perceptions, 65 percent of teens feel their parents 
monitor them at a "very high" level, while 15 percent feel their 
parents practice "low" or "very low" parental monitoring. Teens 
report they are more likely to have good talks with their parents 
about personal problems and plans after high school than drugs and sex.

Fifteen school districts and more than 3,700 students took part in 
the Southwest Wisconsin Youth Survey.  UW-Extension faculty and 
academic staff in Crawford, Grant, Lafayette and Richland counties 
are involved in processing and presenting the findings. The seventh 
through 12th grade students who took the survey attended schools in 
the Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) District 3.

Teens were asked how often their parents knew where they were after 
school or going out at night, who their friends were and if they knew 
the parents of their friends.

Seventy-two percent of teens reported that their parents knew where 
they were going, whom they were to be with and if they were going to 
be late. Twenty percent of seventh-grade teens report their parents 
never or rarely know where they are after school.

Of the teens who strongly agreed that their parents think it's wrong 
for teens to drink, 81 percent reported not using alcohol in the last 
30 days, while 40 percent of teens who strongly disagreed with that 
statement reported not using alcohol in the last 30 days. Similar 
results can be seen with the use of tobacco and other drugs and other 
teen behaviors.

Sixty-four percent of teens who reported having consistent 
enforcement of family rules strongly agreed that their family loved 
them and provided support when they need it. Of the teens who 
reported inconsistent family rules, only 40 percent strongly agreed 
that their family loves and supports them.

Sixteen percent of teens who say their parents would report them for 
school code violations and support the school consequences or assign 
their own, binge drank in the past month. Thirty-two percent of teens 
who reported their parents would not report them binge drank in the past month.

"The importance of eating family meals together can also be taken 
into consideration. Twenty-one percent of teens, when asked how many 
nights a week do you eat as a family, reported none," said Jessie 
Potterton, Lafayette County 4-H youth development educator. "The data 
however, links eating three or more dinners a week with higher grades 
and reduced levels of alcohol and tobacco use. Fifty-one percent of 
teens reported eating three or more dinners a week together as a family."

The school districts of Argyle, Belmont, Benton, Black Hawk, 
Cassville, Cuba City, Darlington, Fennimore, Iowa-Grant, Ithaca, 
Lancaster, Platteville, Potosi, River Ridge and Seneca participated 
in the survey, which was conducted in September. Participating school 
districts and the Grant County Drug-Free Coalition funded the survey.

A full report on the SWYS results is due out this summer. For more 
information on the survey, contact the local school district or 
Potterton at (608) 776-4820. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake