Less risky behavior, more sadness

The survey, which uses anonymous student responses, reached 1,418 students at 29 BPS high schools.

Some activities requiring in-person socializing, such as sexual activity, rebounded compared to the 2021 survey, conducted at the height of the pandemic, but the long-term trend was a continued decline. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they had never had sex, compared to 39.4 percent in 1993; 19 percent had gotten into a physical fight in the past year, up from 43 percent in 1993; and 16.4 percent drank alcohol, up from 40.1 percent in 1993. Marijuana use was stable compared to 1993, at about 17 percent, but harder drugs became less popular.

District data also showed that 38.7 percent of BPS students surveyed said they constantly felt sad or hopeless, the second highest figure since the question was first asked in 1999. when 32.2 percent answered yes. Statewide and nationally, this number has been increasing for a decade. More than a quarter of Boston students said their mental health was not good most of the time.

However, the increase in mental health problems has not translated into increased rates of suicide attempts; 6.7 percent reported having ever attempted suicide, up from 13.5 percent in 1993.

District staff cited health education and policies to ensure healthier behavior as potential causes of long-term progress. Jill Carter, who heads the district’s health and wellness office, cited smoking as a particularly stark example: More than 20 percent of Boston teens reported smoking 30 years ago, compared with less than 3 percent in last year’s survey.

“A focus on anti-tobacco policies that made it harder for children to access tobacco (and) a lot of money was spent on tobacco education across the state” contributed to this decline , Carter said.

But Robert Bardwell, director of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, said both positive and negative trends may have the same root: technology.

“Thanks to cell phones, our society has changed forever, and not necessarily in a good way,” Bardwell said. “I can do almost any social activity and be alone, so why do I need to go out and party with people?”

This trend toward socializing remotely from home, Bardwell said, could be behind a reduction in risky behaviors — which are often driven by peer pressure or are other social activities — but also increase in mental health problems among young people.

“There are many reasons why mental health problems have increased, but this is certainly one of them,” he said. “Part of the problem is that people don’t hang out together. »

Bardwell said the pandemic has also traumatized many students, among other causes of increasing mental health issues.

Some questions go against the grain. While drug use was down — heroin and cocaine use are at an all-time low — marijuana use was essentially at the same level as the first survey. In 2023, 17.4 percent of respondents reported using marijuana, up from 17.8 percent in 1993, but down significantly from the 2011 peak of 27 percent. And vaping nicotine was significantly more common than smoking cigarettes; one in ten students reported vaping.

When students are sexually active, survey showed fewer students have protected sex – 54.8 percent reported using a condom the last time they had sex, 15 percent used birth control pills and only 8.2 percent had ever been tested for HIV. But pregnancy rates were still very low: 1.6 percent reported having been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant, down from 11.1 percent in 1993. Last fall, the state approved new guidelines in health and sex education for the first time in more than two decades, Carter. note.

The survey also showed only slight progress in reducing rates of sexual assault and physical violence. Just over 7 percent of students reported being victims of sexual violence. And even though reported rates of fighting, violence and gun carrying are down, the percentage of students reporting staying home from school for safety reasons was near a record high: 12, 2%.

There are differences by race, gender, and sexual orientation in many regions studied. LGBTQ+ students were significantly more likely to report mental health concerns. Black and Latino students were more likely than white students to report getting into fights or feeling unsafe going to school. White students were most likely to drink alcohol, while Latino students were most likely to use marijuana.

Christopher Huffaker can be contacted at christopher.huffaker@globe.com. follow him @huffakingit.