Petrzalka Drug and Alcohol Use Survey

What We Do › Healthy Communities › Other Resources › AIHA Brochure: Safer Streets, Longer Lives: Creating A Healthy Community › Petrzalka Drug and Alcohol Use Survey

In February 1997, Petrzalka's Aid to Children at Risk Foundation completed a groundbreaking study of drug and alcohol use and related risk factors among the community's teenagers. The study, titled "Children at Risk in Petrzalka," surveyed 816 school children aged 12 to 18. Its findings included the following:

* Smoking: Sixty-one percent of respondents admitted to having smoked cigarettes. Forty-two percent of 12-year-olds and 96 percent of 18-year-olds had some experience with smoking.

* Alcohol: Eighty-seven percent admitted to some experience with alcohol use. Occasional consumption was practiced by 71 percent of respondents, and 16 percent said they were frequent users. More than 25 percent of the teens said their first experience with alcohol use occurred at age 9 or 10.

* Drugs: Though actual drug use was reported by 8 to 12 percent of those surveyed, almost one-half of the respondents said they know someone who is using illegal drugs, with the highest rate in older children. Boys ages 17 to 18 were twice as likely to use drugs as girls in that age bracket.

* Physical Risks: Fifty-nine percent of boys said they had engaged in physical confrontation at school in the last year. Although most teens said they felt safe on school grounds, 29 percent said they had personal belongings stolen or damaged at school in 1995.

* Lifestyle Patterns: Twelve percent said they had "serious problems in life," and 20 percent said they had considered suicide in the past year (26 percent of girls and 14 percent of boys).

Based on the study's outcomes, partners in Petrzalka have recommended implementing primary drug abuse prevention programs starting in preschool, and providing leadership in developing healthy lifestyles through sports and the arts. Partners also are considering introducing mentoring programs to prevent teen pregnancy.

« Go Back