One in seven high school students reported misusing prescription opioids, one of several disturbing results in a nationwide survey of teenagers that revealed a growing sense of fear and despair among youth in the United States.
The numbers of teenagers reporting “feelings of sadness or hopelessness,” suicidal thoughts, and days absent from school out of fear of violence or bullying have all risen since 2007. The increases were particularly pointed among lesbian, gay and bisexual high school students.
Nationally, 1 in 5 students reported being bullied at school; 1 in 10 female students and 1 in 28 male students reported having been physically forced to have sex.
“An adolescent’s world can be bleak,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the survey and analyzed the data. “But having a high proportion of students report they had persistent feelings of hopelessness and 17 percent considering suicide is deeply disturbing.”
In 2017, 31 percent of students surveyed said they had such feelings, while 28 percent said so in 2007. In 2017, nearly 14 percent of students had actually made a suicide plan, up from 11 percent in 2007.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is given every two years to nearly 15,000 students in high schools in 39 states, and poses questions about a wide array of attitudes and activities.
The report did offer some encouraging trends, suggesting that the overall picture for adolescents is a nuanced one. Compared to a decade ago, fewer students reported having had sex, drinking alcohol or using drugs like cocaine, heroin or marijuana.
Because this was the first time that the question about prescription opioids had been given, the researchers who compiled the report could not say whether the 1 in 7 (or 14 percent) figure represented an increase or decrease.
David C. Harvey, a social worker who is executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, said that even without a means of comparison, the numbers offered an important look at the lesser-known impact of opioids on adolescents. He said they strongly suggest that opioid use may be contributing to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases among young people.
Mr. Harvey noted that the report also shows that condom use is declining among teenagers. Fifty-four percent of teens who were sexually active reported using condoms the last time they had sex, compared to 62 percent in 2007. Combining that decline with prescription drug abuse, he said, is “a recipe for disaster,” referring to transmissions of HIV and hepatitis as well as other STDs, such as syphilis. Read more via New York Times
Access the full CDC report here
excerpt on data collection
"Two questions on the standard questionnaire and national questionnaire measured sexual minority status. Sexual identity was ascertained with the following question: “Which of the following best describes you?” Response options were “heterosexual (straight),” “gay or lesbian,” “bisexual,” and “not sure.” Sex of sexual contacts was ascertained with, “During your life, with whom have you had sexual contact?” Response options were “I have never had sexual contact,” “females,” “males,” and “females and males.” No definition was provided for sexual contact. Across all the states and large urban school districts included in this report, 30 states and 21 large urban school districts included the question on sexual identity and 26 states and 21 large urban school districts included the question on sex of sexual contacts.
To obtain a sufficient sample size for analyses of healthrelated behaviors by sexual identity subgroups, students who selected “gay or lesbian” or “bisexual” were combined into a single subgroup and are referred to as “gay, lesbian, and bisexual students.” Students who selected “heterosexual (straight)” are referred to as “heterosexual students,” and students who selected “not sure” are referred to as “not sure students.” Sex of sexual contacts was ascertained from the questions, “During your life, with whom have you had sexual contact?” and “What is your sex?” Response options were “female” and “male.” To obtain a sufficient sample size for analyses of health-related behaviors by sex of sexual contact subgroups, students who had sexual contact with only the same sex or with both sexes were combined into a single subgroup and are referred to as “students who had sexual contact with only the same sex or with both sexes.” Students who had sexual contact with only the opposite sex are referred to as “students who had sexual contact with only the opposite sex.” Students who selected “I have never had sexual contact” are referred to as “students who had no sexual contact.” Students who had no sexual contact were excluded from analyses on sexual behaviors, female students who had sexual contact with only females were excluded from analyses on condom use and birth control use, and male students who had sexual contact with only males were excluded from analyses on birth control use."