Community Coalition for Teens
Teen Health Survey
A graph from the latest survey report.
Project Overview
A graph from the latest survey report.
Since 2003, CCT has worked with school districts in Franklin County and the North Quabbin to conduct the annual Teen Health Survey of students in grades 8, 10 and 12. The survey examines substance abuse rates, and assesses "risk factors" that increase the likelihood of problem behaviors and "protective factors" that help keep our youth safe. Topics covered in recent surveys include mental health, violence in the community, attitudes about peer risk taking, dating and sexuality, exercise and nutrition, and decision-making. Using the results of the survey, we are better able to design programs, secure funding, and educate parents, students and the community.
The annual Teen Health Survey was inaugurated in 2003 in five Franklin County school districts: Frontier, Gill-Montague, Greenfield, Mohawk Trail, and Pioneer Valley. The Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District joined the process in 2006, and the Athol-Royalston Regional School District joined in 2007. The Franklin County Technical School has signed on to administer the survey to students beginning in 2008.
Current Activities
In 2007, CCT and participating school distrcits selected the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) as the survey instrument for the Teen Health Survey. The YRBS has been used since 1991 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track youth health behaviors nationally, and by the Massachusetts Department of Education to track behaviors at the state level. Administering the YRBS locally allows us to assess how our youth are faring when compared to their peers across the state and the nation.
Future Plans
The 2007 survey results for individual school districts have been made available to the districts. CCT works closely with the schools as to how the information is used and disseminated, as well as helps to design and implement programming in keeping with the survey results, as requested.
You can download a printable pdf file of the 2007 Regional Teen Health Survey and of the 2007 YRBS Questionnaire. For questions regarding the survey data, please contact Jeanette Voas, Evaluation Coordinator, at 413-774-1194 x 119.
This page was last updated on 2/11/08.