Somerville High School students recently participated in the Youth Risk Based survey, administered by Somerville Cares About Prevention.

By Jackson Ellison

The organization Somerville Cares about Prevention (SCAP) revealed the 2018 Health Survey Results from Somerville High School in a world café- style discussion at the Somerville High School Culinary Arts Bistro on January 31.

SCAP gave Somerville High School students the Youth Risk Based survey, a national survey that focuses on six areas of health behavior: behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, sexual behaviors, alcohol and other drug use, tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and inadequate physical activity.

SCAP worked with the Somerville Positive Youth program SPF100 to help put on the event. SPF 100 is a program made up of high school students that want to help their community.

Lovelee Heller-Bottari, the director for SCAP, wants to help make the members of the Somerville community aware of the issues facing high school students today. “Our coalition works to engage the stakeholders in the community,” said Hellar-Bottari.

SCAP surveyed 755 Somerville High School students about health issues such as drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. The survey also focused on other topics like mental and physical health.

When it came to the issue of substance abuse, the results were positive for the high school students. 99 percent of the students reported not using illegal drugs other than marijuana in the last 30 days.

Another positive sign for the Somerville student body was that 97 percent of the students reported not smoking a cigarette in the last 30 days. Also, 87% of students reported not using e-cigarettes, which have become a popular form of smoking for young people all over the country.

However, an area of concern is that 17 percent reported that they have had suicidal thoughts, and five percent reported actually attempting suicide. This number is roughly comparable to the national average, because according to the 2017 National Health Report by the CDC 7.4 percent of high schoolers surveyed attempted suicide.

Having this data helps SCAP decide how to proceed and what problems need to be addressed.

“We are trying to think about the big issues for young people,” said Hellar-Bottari, “We’re trying to impact these results.”

While this event was mainly about revealing the survey results, the event also included a discussion section, where members of the community went around the room and spoke with each other about the issues concerning high schoolers in Somerville.

Hellar-Bottari says that SCAP will be going over the results in the next few days to decide what issues to focus on and what the best course of action will be.