Short Definition: % of students who drank alcohol on 10 or more days in past 30 days (SurveyWorks: Elementary, Middle, and High)

Long Definition:

Of the students who had ever drank alcohol, the percent of students within a given school who drank alcohol on 10 or more days in the past 30 days.

This question was answered as part of the SurveyWorks questionnaire and was included in the surveys for elementary, middle and high school students. SurveyWorks is the Rhode Island Department of Education's new opinions-and-perceptions survey and is administered annually to all students in grades 4-12. SurveyWorks is age appropriate for each level — elementary, middle and high school — but it covers roughly the same areas of questioning for all three levels.

Agency Source: RIDE

Time Period(s):

School Year

2003-04,  2004-05,  2005-06,  2006-07,  2007-08,  2009-10,  2010-11,  2011-12,  2012-13,  2013-14

Geographies: School

Data Type: Numeric

Purpose:

This indicator is a predictor of several negative health outcomes including alcohol dependence, and is associated with other personal risk taking.

Limitations:

Versions of this question vary slightly by grade level. Elementary school students were asked how many times they drank in past 30 days and middle and high school students were asked on how many days they drank in the past 30 days. This question was not asked for middle school students in 2009-2010. This variable unable to be calculated for elementary and middle school students in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. The information is self-reported.

The last SALT survey was administered in 2007-08. The new SurveyWorks! replaced the SALT survey in 2009-10.

Universe: All students enrolled in grades 4-12 in a RI public school who participated in the SurveyWorks survey and had ever tried alcohol.

Tags: Alcohol, Well-being, Drugs

Related Reports:

• High School Student Substance Use
• Middle School Student Substance Use

Related Datastories:

• Student Reports of Substance Use
• Introduction to the High School YRBS