Additional highlights from the 2014 24th annual Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents:
Mental health
• Indiana students reported being less depressed and thinking of suicide less than in national surveys.
• 23.5 percent of 11th-grade students in Indiana reported being depressed, compared with the 31.7 percent national average.
Parental incarceration
• The survey found the number of students who had parents who served jail or prison time was significant.
• 23.9 percent of eighth-grade students in Indiana reported having a parent serve jail or prison time, the highest rate of the students surveyed.
Marijuana use
• Use of marijuana increased for high school seniors, but decreased for ninth-grade students. The survey also found students who use marijuana are more likely to use plant-sourced marijuana before synthetic.
• 37.4 percent of 12th-grade students in Indiana reported marijuana use, compared with the 45.5 percent national average.
Methamphetamine use
• Overall, methamphetamine use is decreasing since the question was first asked in 2005. Use for students in grades 8 and 10 are lower than the national rates, yet the Indiana rate for 12th-grade students is higher than the national rate.
• 2.1 percent of 12th-grade students have used methamphetamine, compared with the 1.5 percent national average.
Prescription drug abuse
• Rates of prescription drug abuse have decreased for students in grades 6, 8, 9 and 10, and monthly use has decreased for students in grades 11 and 12.
• 13.5 percent of 12th-grade students have abused prescription drugs, compared with the 21.5 percent national average.
Youth gambling
• Gambling decreased for high school seniors, but increased for freshmen compared with 2013.
• 32.7 percent of ninth-grade students in Indiana reported gambling, compared with 31.6 percent of Indiana ninth-grade students last year.
SOURCE: Indiana Prevention Resource Center at the Indiana University School of Public Health