Survey Shows Substance Abuse Down for Wilton Youth

Substance abuse is down among young people in Wilton.

A report on a survey conducted by the Wilton Youth Council and Positive Directions of Westport found that the overall use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana has decreased since surveying began in 1998 and continued to decline in 2014-15.

The largest decreases have been among younger students with current alcohol use (30 days prior to the survey) in grades seven and eight is down to 2 percent in 2014-15 from 17 percent in 1998. For grades nine and 10, use is down to 15 percent in 2014-15 from 49 percent in 1998.

Areas of concern include a subset of 11th and 12th grade students—5 percent—who report using cocaine, hallucinogens or ketamine. Also a small number of students report using heroin within the last 30 days.

The survey was administered to seventh through 12th grade students by the Wilton Public Schools and Positive Directions. Parents were invited to take their own online version of the survey.

Surveys were previously taken in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2011.

Full results of the survey can be seen at www.positivedirections.org.

Photo credit: Screenshot from Positive Directions website.