Pubdate: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2005 Journal Sentinel Inc. Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: Katharine Goodloe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) TEENS WISE UP BUT STILL TAKE RISKS Survey Finds Less Smoking, Better Use of Seat Belts Wisconsin's high school students are smoking less than they did eight years ago. They're wearing car seat belts and bike helmets more. And of those who have sex, almost eight in 10 use birth control. That's according to the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biennial report whose 2005 results were released last week by the state's Department of Public Instruction. Experts say the findings show teens have absorbed basic lessons from health class and public service announcements - wear seat belts, don't smoke - but they also point to underlying data showing students still experiment, often dangerously. Fewer students reported smoking marijuana in the past 30 days, but overall use of the drug remained steady the past eight years. Fewer students are smoking cigarettes, but alcohol use and binge drinking rates are nearly unchanged. And while nearly three-quarters of students surveyed use a seat belt, up from just more than half of students in 1997, almost a third reported recently riding in a car with a driver who'd been drinking. "The information is out there, and it's being heard and being used on issues like smoking and condom use," said Jeanne Erickson, a childhood brain development specialist at the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. "But we have to get more information out there." Still, not all students think the lessons are getting through. Rita Kreuser, a senior at Bradford High School in Kenosha, said she's seen a spike in drug and alcohol use, including cigarettes, among many teens. "I'm really against pot and the harder drugs," she said. "But drinking is big here." That's particularly troubling to some experts. The survey found that 60% of high school seniors think everyone their age considers it OK to have five drinks in a row, which it defines as binge drinking. But only 4% of those students thought such behavior wouldn't harm them. "Adolescents really think they're invincible," Erickson said. "They have a different understanding of how things might affect them, and that could be part of what those percentages are showing." She said many "classic" teen behaviors, including risk-taking and impulsivity, are rooted in science. Teen brains still are developing in their prefrontal cortex, the area that regulates such behavior. That can lead to a predisposition toward risky decisions, she said. Others point to parents and role models as partial culprits for teen drinking. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's reputation as a "party school" and high-profile parties where parents supplied alcohol for teens, can encourage such behavior, said Shea Halula, executive director of the Ozaukee Council, an anti-drug program for teens. "A lot of times, kids learn from their parents," Halula said. Drug use - particularly the type of drugs used - also varied by grade. Freshman were almost twice as likely as seniors to use inhalants. But seniors were far more likely to have tried club drugs, including Ecstasy, as well as cocaine and marijuana. Kreuser said she sees younger teens experiment with a variety of drugs but believes seniors often tire of experimentation and simply favor alcohol. It's usually cheaper, easier to get, and can be combined with foods such as Jell-O that make it "more fun," she said. Though she's had friends injured in drunken-driving accidents, Kreuser said she doesn't think most teens have a personal connection to the results of their actions. "They need to realize what the consequences are of what they do," she said. "It takes a lot of maturity to stand up and say 'I don't want to do this.' " - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake