Survey measures student risk factors

Depression among high school students in Flathead County is at a 10-year high. Cigarette smoking is down, while vaping is up.

These are just a couple of the results on par with the state, according to the Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The survey was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention in 1990 “to monitor health behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death, disability and social problems among youth and adults in the United States.” The areas of focus are behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injury, tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual behaviors that result in sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, physical inactivity and dietary behaviors.

According to the state Office of Public Instruction, the self-reported results are meant to assist educators and health professionals in determining the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among youth and are used to develop comprehensive health education while working to reduce risky behaviors.

The Office of Public Instruction administers the survey every other year to Montana high school students. The 2019 survey was completed by 3,819 students from 47 high schools. Among the 2019 high school respondents, 788 were from Flathead County. Not all respondents answered every question.

The error rate is a plus-or-minus 3 percent, and it’s important to note that “respondents in self-reported surveys may have a tendency to under-report behaviors that are socially undesirable, unhealthy or illegal, and over-report behaviors that are socially desirable,” according to the state.

Montana students are increasingly reporting mental-health concerns such as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts as opposed to a decade ago, and Flathead County mirrors this, with some behaviors reaching decade highs.

“I am encouraged that in many areas of life, more Montana students are making healthy and safe decisions, however, this report confirms a strong need to promote mental health,” Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Elsie Arntzen said in a press release after reviewing state results. “These supports must begin early, especially in middle school.

“I urge schools, communities, and parents to use this information to serve the health, well-being, and success of all of our students. Under my Montana Hope initiative, the OPI will continue to partner in this important work,” Arntzen said.

Thirty-four percent of Flathead County students who responded to the 2019 survey felt sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row that prompted them to stop doing some usual activities, setting a decade high. That compares to the lowest percentage for the same question, 23.6% in 2011.

In the 2019 survey, 20.5% of students said they had seriously considered attempting suicide over the past year, reaching another decade high. The decade low was 13.4%, responding they had considered attempting suicide in 2009.

The percentage of Flathead County students who said they attempted suicide in the past year was 12.2%, a decrease from the 2017 survey of 14%, but still higher than the decade low in 2009 at 10.7%.

Local schools are paying more attention to mental-health awareness through various grants and programs aimed to help educators help youth in crisis, such as Youth Mental Health First Aid. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, Kalispell Public Schools wrapped up a five-year grant called Montana Support, Outreach and Access for the Resiliency of Students that worked to establish a trauma-informed community and helped launch a referral system among health providers, public assistance agencies and schools.

People in crisis may call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

The percentage of students reporting being bullied on school property over the past year is also at a 10-year high, at 26.9%, with the decade low at 22.1% in 2017. Students who reported being electronically bullied over the past year stood at 17.5%, an improvement from the 2017 survey percentage of 19.8%. The decade lows were around 16.1 to 16.4% over the 2009, 2011 and 2013 surveys.

On the topic of smoking, fewer students in Flathead County are trying cigarettes, while more are trying electronic vapor products (e-cigarettes and vape pens, for example). A relatively new trend, the state began tracking the use of vapor products in 2015.

Increasing rates of use are seen for all behaviors regarding electronic vapor products, and schools are noticing. During the last school year, Flathead and Whitefish high schools invited students and families to attend Kalispell Regional Medical Center Pulmonologist Bethany Weiler-Lisowski’s presentation on “Vapor Devices, Juuls, and E-Cigarettes: A Nationwide Adolescent Epidemic,” in April.

In the 2019 survey, 51.4% of respondents tried electronic vapor products. This compares to 28.4% who reported trying cigarettes. The prevalence of those who smoked or “vaped” was one to two days over the past 30 days.

In the 2019 survey, 29.4% of students reported drinking alcohol during the past 30 days, a decade low. Fewer students are also drinking alcohol and driving and riding in a vehicle when the driver has been drinking.

Prescription misuse has gone down since it started being tracked among Flathead County students in 2011. In the 2019 survey, 12% of respondents “used a prescription pain medicine without a doctor’s prescription or differently than they were told to use it.” In 2011, that percentage stood at around 18.3%.

Illicit drug use such as marijuana and methamphetamine have seen negligible changes in recent years.

The percentage of students who reported having sexual intercourse in their lifetime was 38.8%, which is down from 2017’s 42.2%, but it has remained relatively stable throughout the decade. Among sexually active students, using condoms is the preferred method of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. About 56.8% of respondents said they used condoms the last time they had sex.

To view the full Montana report and trend analyses dating to 1993 visit https://opi.mt.gov/Leadership/Data-Reporting/Youth-Risk-Behavior-Survey.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.