Kids are dealing with a lot these days, and the challenges they face are evolving. That fact has not gone unnoticed by their parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors, which is evident in the 2022 Protect Our Youth Community Survey conducted earlier this year by the Fountain Hills Coalition.

The Coalition (fhcoalition.org) is a non-profit group of community sector leaders dedicated to “sustainable reductions in substance abuse among youth in Fountain Hills and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.”

To help drive its efforts and back decisions with data, the Coalition occasionally conducts a survey to gauge concerns for local youth, knowledge about available resources, etc. The 2022 survey garnered 192 participants and, during a Dec. 8 Coalition meeting, evaluator Shana Malone broke down the results.

Before getting started, Malone noted that, with about 200 participants, the survey should be seen as a snapshot of the community, not representative of all members. She also noted that, for questions that did not apply to a participant, their responses were not included for the results.

Top concerns

Malone said the 2022 survey was somewhat historic because, for the first time, something other than alcohol/substance abuse took the top spot concerning issues participants thought most impacted the community.

This year, anxiety/stress was the top concern for issues impacting the community, followed by alcohol/substance abuse. Next up was depression, followed by grief/loss. Malone said this is not an isolated trend for Fountain Hills, as mental and emotional health seem to have risen to the top of the concern pile in communities where similar surveys have been conducted.

Concerning illicit substances, 84.32 percent of survey participants said they are most concerned about fentanyl within the community. That was followed by counterfeit pills in a close second, then meth. Alcohol was sixth on the list of nine concerns, with marijuana causing concern for just 38.8 percent of participants.

Malone said concern in all areas has gone up across the board since the last survey a couple of years ago, but highlighted marijuana’s position at the bottom of the list.

“The concern is that kids move on from marijuana to ‘worse’ things,” Malone said. “A thing we hear a lot is ‘at least it’s just pot.’ That’s a dangerous message for kids to hear.”

While the previous question pertained to the prevalence of various substances within the community as a whole, percentages were much higher when participants were asked about those same substances specifically being used by youth. The order was similar, but all areas saw a “concern” of at least 75.5 percent. Once again, marijuana was the lowest concern, with alcohol moving to the second lowest.

Substance abuse

Continuing to dig into the results, Malone said one in four adults in the community believe there is no risk in youth trying marijuana. One in seven adults believe there is no risk in youth trying alcohol or nicotine vape products.

Twenty-five percent of participants said it is okay for youth to try alcohol once or twice. That figure plummets to 6.39 percent thinking it’s okay for youth to try drugs once or twice, 3.5 percent thinking it is okay to drink so long as they are being safe, and 1.17 percent thinking it is okay for youth to use drugs so long as they are being safe.

“I’ve seen survey’s where [those last two items] are as high as 50 percent, so I’m happy to not see that here,” Malone added. “That’s a good thing and you should celebrate that.”

In the home

The majority of participants keep alcohol (51.88) and prescription medication (53.13) in the home, while marijuana (23.13), vaping products (18.24) and other drugs (20.38) were less prevalent. Malone said the real issue, however, is that no matter what substance is being discussed, 59.5 percent of households do not monitor or secure those substances to prevent youth access.

It was reiterated that, for questions like this, households where youth are not present were not included in the results. Broken down a bit further, 75 percent of those surveyed with “other drugs” in the home say they do not monitor or secure them to keep them out of the hands of kids.

When it comes to speaking with kids about these issues, 55 percent said they have frequent conversations with their youth about alcohol. That number is between 40 to 48 percent for everything from prescription drug abuse to meth and marijuana, but falls to 38 percent when it comes to discussing the dangers of counterfeit pills.

“We know that conversations early and frequently can cut the risk of future abuse by half,” Malone said. “Talking is important, but what is even more important is that the kiddo feels connected to you and safe to share those details.”

Mental health

As noted earlier, a big concern at the moment is the mental and emotional health of youth. Factors ranging from the pandemic to always having a cellphone in hand are potential reasons these concerns have grown.

When asked about concerns they have for their children, 75.48 percent of participants said they are worried about how their kid manages stress. Figures remained in the 70s for mental health and use of social media, dropping into the 60s for “their outlook on the future” and “their friends/peer groups.”

Schools/academics was a concern for 54.90 percent of participants, with substance abuse coming in last at 50.94.

Since mental/emotional health has become the top concerns for parents in the past couple of years, Malone suggested the Coalition, as well as local families in general, may want to put an enhanced focus on those areas moving forward.