CA HEALTHY KIDS SURVEY
Analyzing Health Information: CA Healthy Kids Survey
From the onset, it would be prudent to note that that 2017/19 data clearly indicates that although cigarette and alcohol use have been on downward trend, marijuana use has increased. Further, available data indicates that fewer weapons are possessed at school. School attendance has also increased. This has, however, not had a reciprocal effect on perceived safety. The fact that overall mental health has worsened indicates that there is need for more effective interventions to be deployed in efforts to improve the mental health of learners across all grades. There is also need to assess whether the worrying trends with regard to marijuana use could be triggered by legalization of the same across the state.
The data could in this case come in handy in efforts to further enhance the safety of schools and promote the wellbeing of kids. For instance, data indicating a decline in cigarette and alcohol use could be an indication that strategies deployed over the last few years on this front have been effective. On the other hand, the negative trend in as far as marijuana use and student mental health are concerned ought to trigger a revision of policies and interventions deployed in the past.
The most surprising data was the one indicating that there has been an increase in hopelessness and sadness among learners, across all grades. This data is especially useful given that it has implications in as far as suicidal ideation among the said learners is concerned. As a matter of fact, available data indicates that little progress has been made in efforts to reduce suicidal ideation among students in high school. I was also surprised by the assertion that one of the factors resulting in poor outcomes on the mental health front is cyberbullying. This is especially worrying given the continued rise of social media use among these ages over the last few years.
