The Missouri 2002 Student Survey was conducted by the Missouri Institute of Mental Health for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ADA). The survey was administered in February 2002 to over 12,000 Missouri public school students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12. Results from the survey will be useful in prevention planning in schools. Descriptions of methodology and procedures, and changes therein, can guide subsequent bi-annual administration of the survey.

The report presents the statewide findings on data obtained from participating students about the prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, and identifying risk and protective factors. These results may be useful in planning and implementing prevention programs and services.

Key findings from this year’s Missouri 2002 Student Survey are as follows:

• Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana were the most commonly used substances among students in 6, 8, 10 and 12 grades. The majority of students (54.5%) reported using alcohol in their lifetime, and 29.3% reported using it in the 30 days prior (current use) to survey administration. There was little variation among race/ethnicity and gender.
• Students’ current use of tobacco and marijuana was somewhat lower than alcohol (17.4% and 10.2%, respectively).

• The rate of binge drinking (5 or more drinks of alcohol in a row) is almost 16% for 30 day prior use, and highest among 12 graders (30.2%), and among males (18.5%).

• Nearly 14% of students reported use of marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, or hallucinogens in the past 30 days, and 28.2% reported lifetime use.

• A small percentage of students reported current (almost 2%) and lifetime use of speed, amphetamines, and methamphetamines (almost 5%).

• A little over a quarter of Missouri students reported engaging in at least one antisocial behavior (delinquent and/or violent) in the past 12 months, and a little more than one in five reported engaging in these behaviors in the past year.

• The most common delinquent behaviors were: being drunk or high at school (11%); being suspended from school (7%); selling illegal drugs (5%), and belonging to a gang (4.5%).

• One tenth of the students reported the violent behavior, attacking someone with intent to harm.

• In general, as students became older, their risk increased on risk factors and their resiliency on protective factors decreased in all domains. Exceptions to this generality primarily occur in the School and Peer-Individual Domains.
• Females were less likely than males to be at risk for "academic failure" and "little commitment to school", but were similar on protective factors.
• Rural and urban students reported similar risk/protection profiles, except within the Community domain where rural students reported greater risk for "low neighborhood attachment," "community disorganization," and "laws" and "norms favorable toward drug use."
• Results show a relationship between rural/urban classification and lifetime speed, amphetamines, and methamphetamine use indicating significantly higher usage in rural areas.
• Students in higher grades were at increased risk for "poor family management," "poor discipline," "family conflict," "history of antisocial behavior," and "parental attitudes favorable toward drug use."
• The strongest family risk was "parental attitudes favorable toward drug use."
• Students who reported using speed, amphetamine and methamphetamine had increased risk factors and decreased protective factors in all categories.
• The risk factors most strongly associated with use of speed, amphetamines and methamphetamines relate to permissive attitudes (the student’s own, parents’, friends’, and community norms) across all domains.
• Males were more likely than females to be at risk on all peer-individual factors except "peer rewards for antisocial involvement." Females were more likely to be resilient on the protective factors: "belief in the moral order" and "social skills."

The Missouri 2002 Student Survey provides valuable information on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use; violent and delinquent behaviors; and risk and protective factors. This enables ADA to:

• Monitor trends in substance use of students across the State

• Compare students statewide with those in each region

• Plan and improve community substance use prevention efforts that target health risk behaviors

The study, however, has several limitations. First, the study concentrates on adolescents in public schools and does not include students absent on the day that data were collected, school dropouts, homeless, students who are institutionalized, and private school students. Second, the survey is self-report; therefore, respondents may underreport or exaggerate surveyed behaviors or have difficulty remembering information such as age of first use of substances. Third, participation in the survey was voluntary, which could create a self-selection bias. Finally, the change from passive to active parental consent procedures probably reduced the number of student participants and may have biased the sample because of the nature of those students who had permission to respond.