Survey: Teens still using drugs, alcohol

The findings of the 2010 Youth Development Survey were presented to East Rockaway community members and school officials at a meeting on Feb. 9 at the Rhame Avenue School. The results of the survey, which was taken by students in grades 7 through 12 in November 2010, showed noticeable improvements in student behavior as well as some areas for concern for parents and school officials.
The Youth Development Survey, provided by New York state, was last administered in 2008, according to school social worker Kristen Mednick. Those results were the basis of comparison with the most recent results in a PowerPoint presentation Mednick compiled.
More than 28,000 students in Nassau County completed the survey, which gauged the prevalence of substance use and other problem behavior. The results showed a positive trend for East Rockaway students when compared to 2008 — but there is still work to be done, said Mednick. One category that caught the attention of those in attendance last week was the use of prescription painkillers among ninth-graders: 10 percent said they had used prescription painkillers in the 30 days before they took the survey.
Some 44.5 percent of 11th- and 12th-graders reported binge drinking in the previous 30 days. That was down nearly 5 percentage points from 2008, but still more than five percentage points above the Nassau County average.
Mednick also highlighted some improvements the school community has made, thanks in part to the Coalition for Youth in East Rockaway, which was created in April 2009 as a response to the 2008 survey. Student responses indicated that the availability of alcohol and drugs has decreased noticeably, as has the number of parents who allow alcohol, tobacco and drug use.