HP_092018

8 | September 20, 2018 | The highland park landmark news
hplandmark.com
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Township High School District 113
Study shows increased marijuana
use among Highland Park teens
Stephanie Kim
Freelance Reporter
Teens in Deerfield and
Highland Park are increasingly
using marijuana
— and at higher
rates than the Lake County
average, according to a
recent biennial state survey.
About 61 percent of
Deerfield High School seniors
reported using marijuana
at least once in the
past 30 days, when asked
in the spring for the 2018
Illinois Youth Survey,
compared to 58 percent
of Highland Park High
School seniors.
The Lake County average
was 26 percent, raising
questions at the Board
of Education meeting on
Tuesday, Sept. 11, as to
why numbers at Township
High School District 113
were higher.
The figure at Deerfield
High School, in particular,
spiked from 41 to 61 percent
from 2016 to 2018.
The survey is typically
given to eighth-, 10thand
12th-graders across
Illinois, with a choice to
opt out.
“Based on 20 years of
research in a lot of different
communities, the
more affluent the community
is I think there
are more opportunities,”
said Greg Barker, director
of testing services and
academic affairs research
support at Northern Illinois
University. “There
is more parent acceptance
and even expectations to
experiment.”
Such attitudes are apparent
when looking at
the percentage of students
who think their parents
would disapprove of them
drinking alcohol or using
marijuana regularly,
Barker noted. Over the
years, perceived parent
disapproval of alcohol
and marijuana use has
steadily declined, dipping
below the Lake County
average.
Deerfield High School
saw a more dramatic drop
than Highland Park High
School from 2016 to 2018,
falling from 96 to 88 percent
among 10th-graders
and from 73 to 61 percent
among 12-graders.
This trend can also
be seen in the slight decrease
in perceived peer
disapproval at both high
schools.
Yet, the peer norm — or
the percentage of students
who think they would be
seen as cool if they drank
alcohol or used marijuana
— either stayed the same
or slightly increased within
the same time frame.
Often, the perception
of disapproval is a greater
motivator in behavior
than their perception of
other people’s actual behavior,
Barker said.
“And that’s why I’m
concerned about their perception
of peer disapproval
and parent disapproval,
because they’re not going
in the right direction in
order to have an impact,”
Barker said.
Barker was joined by
Rachel Mintle, a community
health specialist at
the Lake County Health
Department.
As a member of the
Community – The Anti-
Drug (CTAD) coalition,
the department works to
reduce the use of alcohol,
marijuana and other drugs
among youth in Bannockburn,
Deerfield, Highland
Park, Highwood and Riverwoods.
Although more than half
of Deerfield and Highland
Park’s 10th- and 12thgraders
perceived a moderate
to great risk associated
with vaping products,
e-cigarette use more than
tripled among Highland
Park High School 10thgraders
and nearly tripled
among 12th-graders from
2016 to 2018.
Since data on vaping
and e-cigarette use was
just added in 2016, Mintle
said further analysis
is needed to conclude
whether the data is specific
to the certain class
or will apply to other students
moving forward.
“Each school has its
own culture,” Mintle said.
“So we have to dig into
that culture and look a
little deeper into the data
and see if we can find
these specific things.”
Both Mintle and Barker
noted the participation
rate for both schools were
high in 2018 and consistent
with previous years.
Deerfield High School had
a 82 percent participation
rate while Highland Park
High School had a 69 percent
participation rate.
A participation rate of
50 percent or higher is
considered representative
of the entire student
population, according the
Center for Prevention Research
and Development,
which developed and administered
the survey.