2007 PENNSYLVANIA YOUTH SURVEY RESULTS AVAILABLE
Study shows Data for Middle and High School Students in Lancaster County
Lancaster, PA. Since 1989, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has conducted a survey of secondary school students on their behavior, attitudes and knowledge concerning alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) and violence. For the past six years, the survey that PA has used is the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS).
The survey was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). The data gathered in the PAYS serve two primary needs. First, the survey results provide an important benchmark for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use and delinquent behavior among young Pennsylvanians, and help indicate whether prevention and treatment programs are achieving their intended results. Second, the survey assesses risk factors that are related to these behaviors and the protective factors that guard against them. This information allows community leaders and school administrators to direct prevention resources to areas where they are likely to have the greatest impact. The Communities That Care Youth Survey (CTCYS) was adopted as the basis for the PAYS.
In 2005 and 2007, the Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse conducted the PAYS for Lancaster County school students. In 2007, nearly 9,100 sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth graders from 13 public school districts and two private/parochial schools participated, answering questions about their alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use, depression, gambling, antisocial behaviors and feelings about their families and communities. The Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse is scheduling presentations on the PAYS data for schools, faith-based organizations, communities and other agencies.
For more than 40 years, the Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse has assumed a leadership role in all aspects of education, prevention, intervention and treatment of chemical dependency. The Council is supported by private donations, United Way funds, private and public grants, and fees for some services. It is the Council’s goal to work with Lancaster County to dramatically reduce substance abuse and to improve the lives of our youth.
If you would like more about this topic or would like to schedule an interview, please call Carol Kuntz, Director of Customer Solutions at the Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse at 717.299.2831 x 232.
