SPF-SIG Building Capacity Implementation HSS-11-076

SPF-SIG Building Capacity Implementation HSS-11-076 Statistics Question September 29, 2011

Q Are there any statistics for teens that relate to socio economic status and SA i.e. low income teens?

A There is no Delaware data that we know of that specifically addresses the question. Asking kids about SES, even 11th graders, is very imprecise. We have tried before using parents' education, whether they get free/reduced lunch, even number of bathrooms in home. The only thing we have found with some regularity in Delaware is that white high school students report more alcohol use than other race/ethnicities. That difference though is much smaller for marijuana use. See the attached 3 slides. Race is not by any means a measure of SES though.

There are some articles using national data that address this. One is

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010 January 1; 106(1): 38. Geographic Clustering of Underage Drinking and the Influence of Community Characteristics Beth A. Reboussin, John S. Preisser, Eun-Young Song, and Mark Wolfson

Using a large national sample, they found clustering of drunkenness and experiencing non- violent consequences as a result of drinking was greatest in the least economically disadvantaged and least disordered communities with the greatest percentage of married couple families.

Past Month Alcohol Use by Race 11th Grade

45 42 40 35 35 33 30 29 25 Black Hispanic 20 White 15 Other 10 5 0 Use Alcohol

Source: 2010 Delaware School Survey SPF-SIG Building Capacity Implementation HSS-11-076 Statistics Question September 29, 2011

Binge Drinking by Race 11th Grade

30 26 25

20 19 17 Black 15 14 Hispanic White 10 Other

0 Binge

Source: 2010 Delaware School Survey

Past Month Marijuana Use by Race 11th Grade

30 26 25 22 22 20 20 Black 15 Hispanic White 10 Other

0 Marijuana

Source: 2010 Delaware School Survey