June 15, 2018 – (ABC News) – A newly released study of about 15,000 high school students has found that fewer are having sex and fewer are using drugs. The use of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens or ecstasy declined to 14 percent from 22.6 percent, but 14 percent of the students studied reported misusing prescription opioids.
“We were surprised to see that 14 percent of high school students reported having misused prescription opioids,” Dr. Kathleen Ethier, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Adolescent and School . In 2015, the National Vital Statistics System reported that the total number of drug-overdose deaths among teens was 772, with most linked to opioids.
Health, told ABC News. “Prescription opioid misuse can lead to overdose and increased risk for HIV. This is the first year we’ve had national YRBS data specific to the misuse of prescription opioids, and I think most people will agree that 1 in 7 high school students reporting this behavior in the midst of a national opioid crisis is particularly concerning.”
The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a study of students across 21 urban school districts covering 39 states, was conducted from 2007-2017.
The number of teens engaging in sexual behavior declined to 39.5 percent from 47.8 percent, but those who did have intercourse were less likely to use a condom — that rate fell to 53.8 percent from 61.5 percent — which may concern some parents because half of all new sexually transmitted disease infections occur in 15-to-24-year-olds.
Teens identifying as sexual minorities — including homosexual, bisexual or non-binary — rose to 14.6 percent. This group typically experiences higher rates of substance abuse and is at greater risk of suicide or abuse from peers.
Fewer teens are carrying weapons around. The number who reported carrying a gun, knife or club in the prior 30 days fell to 15.7 percent from 26.1 percent in 1991. But 3.8 percent still said they carried a weapon onto school property in the previous 30 days.
In 2016, NVSS reported that for students aged 10-19, firearms accounted for 87 percent of all homicides and 43 percent of all suicides.
