ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUG USE DROPS AMONG TEENS;
DESPITE PROGRESS DRUG USAGE REMAINS TWICE THE 1991 RATE

WASHINGTON, June 18, 1998 -- Drug use by most teen-agers declined significantly during the just-completed school year but remains at the third highest level in 11 years and twice as prevalent as at the beginning of the decade, according to the 1997-98 PRIDE Survey.

"We have made remarkable progress in the past two years, but to return to drug use levels of 1990 we would have to cut today’s usage in half," said Dr. Thomas J. Gleaton, president of PRIDE, the Atlanta-based organization that conducted the survey.

The 11th annual national survey of 154,350 students in grades 6-12, is the strongest indication of declining drug use by teens since 1991. Last year, PRIDE and several federally sponsored studies indicated that drug usage fell in some categories and rose in others.

In the latest survey, in seven grades studied, there were no statistically significant increases in drug use except in the 12th grade.
Decreases were found for the categories "any illicit drug," "any alcohol," and cigarettes for junior high (grades 6-8) and senior high (grades 9-12) - the first across-the-board decline in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use (annual and monthly) since the1990-91 school year.

When analyzed separately, however, the 12th grade class showed a decrease in any illicit drug use in terms of raw percentage points, but the decrease was not statistically significant.

Twelfth graders reported slight increases in cigarette, cocaine, uppers, and downers usage on both annual and monthly bases.

For all other grades (6 through 11), usage either remained unchanged or fell for all alcohol, tobacco, and other drug categories.

"Today's announcement is the best news in seven years. But it is also a warning that if we allow the drug issue to fade out of view again, we could be back next year with bad news," Gleaton said.

He said the 1996 elections made the drug problem a major issue again, and since then slight improvement have been seen in a number of indicators. Candidates talked about the role of parents in preventing teen drug use and the percent of students who said their parents talked with them often about the dangers of drugs rose.

In the past school year, without the national debate, that percentage fell again to the second lowest level in six years.

The report announced today showed that drug use was 32% lower among students who said their parents talked with them "a lot" about drugs compared with students who said their parents never talked with them about drugs (35.5% annual use for the "never" group vs. 24.1% use for the "a lot" group.

Yet only 30% of student said their parents talk with them often.

Other factors were seen as preventive as well.

When parents set clear rules, use was cut by 59% (49.2% annual use for the group that said their parents "never" set clear rules vs. 20% use for the "a lot" group.

Youth who were involved in after-school community activities "a lot" were more than twice as likely to stay away from drugs as students who "never" participated in after-school programs (39% annual use for the "never" group vs. 17% use for the "a lot" group).

A similar pattern applied for students who frequently participated in school-related activities such as band, clubs and sports teams (41% annual use for the "never" group vs. 22% use for the "a lot" group).

Those who participate in religious activities were also protected from drug use (44% annual use for the "never" group vs. 18% use for the "a lot" group).

Students who made good grades "a lot" were four times more likely to stay away from drugs (71% annual use for the group that "never" makes good grades vs. 17% use for the "a lot" group.)


First decrease in junior high cigarette use

Two drugs that have shown persistent and strong increases in use during recent years – cigarettes and marijuana – showed decreases.

For the first time in the 11 years of the PRIDE Survey, use of cigarettes in junior high fell, from 32% in 1996-97 to 29%. Cigarette use by junior high students was the only drug category measured by PRIDE that had increased in each of the past 11 years.

Cigarette smoking by senior high students also fell (from 50% to 49%) but smoking by 12th graders increased from 52% to 54%.

The rate of marijuana smoking, which tripled among junior high students from 1990-91 until 1996-97 (from 5% to 15%) also fell, as did marijuana smoking by senior high students (from 36% to 33%).

These are encouraging signs for the future," Gleaton said. Students who smoke cigarettes and marijuana are far more likely to use illicit drugs, he said.


Methodology

The study was conducted during the 1997-98 school year and involved 154,350 from California to New York. The PRIDE Survey represents data from sixth through twelfth grade students collected between September and June of the school year. Participating schools are sent the PRIDE Questionnaire with explicit instructions for administering the anonymous, self report instrument.

Schools that administer the PRIDE Questionnaire do so voluntarily, or in compliance with a school district or state request.


Comparing PRIDE Survey to others

Results of the PRIDE Survey are generally consistent with the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF). Data from MTF has not been released for the 1997-98 school year.
Any Illicit Drug Annual Use: PRIDE vs. Monitoring the Future (MTF)
YEAR 1996-97 1995-96 1995-95 1993-94 1992-93 1991-92 1990-91
Grade 8 10 12 8 10 12 8 10 12 8 10 12 8 10 12 8 10 12 8 10 12
PRIDE 27.9 39.1 41.6 25.9 38.0 40.8 21.3 32.3 35.8 19.3 28.6 31.9 15.0 22.6 28.2 13.5 21.1 25.1 13.0 20.5 24.8
MTF 22.1 38.5 42.4 23.6 37.5 40.2 21.4 33.3 39.0 18.5 30.0 35.8 15.1 24.7 31.0 12.9 20.2 27.1 11.3 21.4 29.4
Differ. -5.8 -0.6 +0.8 -2.3 -0.5 -0.6 +0.1 +1.0 +3.2 -0.8 +1.4 +3.9 +0.1 +2.1 +2.8 -0.6 -0.9 +2.0 -1.7 +0.9 +4.6
A third survey, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHS) has historically shown significantly lower drug use in the age 12-17 cohort than either the PRIDE Survey or the Monitoring the Future Survey. The following table compares the last year’s PRIDE Survey with NHS, which was released Aug. 6, 1997 by the Department of Health and Human Services. The latest NHS has not been released.
Any Illicit Drug Monthly Use: 1996-97 PRIDE vs. National Household Survey (NHS)
Age 12-17 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-20
PRIDE 18.3 8.6 19.7 27.0 27.8
NHS 9.0 2.2 8.8 15.6 20.0
Difference -9.3 -6.4 -10.9 -11.4 -7.8
The PRIDE Survey is a target data source for the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Performance Measures of Effectiveness. Information from the survey is found in the President’s National Drug Control Strategy and the Bureau of Justice Statistics Sourcebook. Congress uses it as an indicator of student drug use.

A copy of the survey methodology is available upon request.

The 1997-98 PRIDE Survey was released in a press conference June 18 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Participating in the announcement were Gleaton, General Barry R. McCaffrey, director, National Drug Control Strategy, and U.S. Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Paul Coverdell (R-Georgia) and Joe Biden (D-Deleware).

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