This document discusses issues related to teen partying and substance use. It provides insights into adolescent beliefs and needs, and reviews statistics on drug and alcohol use among teens. Some key findings are that alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco remain the most commonly used substances, though use of these has declined in recent years. The document also covers topics like sexual activity among teens, risks of oral sex and sexting, and advice for parents on discussing sensitive topics openly with children.

1. Demystifying the Teen Partying
Scene
A Community of Care Presentation from The York School

2. 1. Everything is negotiable.
2. Nothing should be difficult,
Adolescent Beliefs boring, uninteresting, or
unpleasant.
3. Adults are just the same as
kids, only not as smart.
4. If I don’t get what I want, it is
unfair and the end of the
world is in sight.
5. I have a short attention span
and a low tolerance for pain -
it is your job to make
everything quick and painless.

3. Insights into
1. Embarrassment
Adolescence that
2. Choices
can make your life
easier….
3. It’s all new.
4. They have to do
things they don’t like

4. What Do They Need from Us?
1. Adult Behavior
2. Daily Acknowledgement
3. Boundaries and Limits
4. Value and Responsibility
5. Social Coaching
6. Empathy and Respect
7. An Ethical Compass

5. Substance Use Review

6. It’s a Fact!

7. DOOM
GLOOM
…And HOPE

8. Facts:
Between „94-‟00:
• Drug use up 33%
• Use of hallucinogens up 54%
• Use of cocaine up166%
• Use of marijuana up 37%

13. Facts:
• Hospital emergency room visits up
• Main drugs = alcohol, marijuana, „ecstasy‟,
cocaine.
• Marijuana today is far more potent than
marijuana 25 years ago.

14. Parent Attitudes
65% of parents believe
&
40% of parents think

15. Parent Attitudes
National Center On Addiction and Substance Abuse
94% of parents say…
64% of teens say …..

16. Past Year Drug Use
90
80
70
60
% who use
Alcohol
50
Cannabis
40
Binge Drinking
30
20
10
0
G7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12
Grade
Drug Use Among Ontario
Students 1977–2005 CAMH

17. Teen Attitudes and Perceptions
Perceptions of Risk, Harm and Disapproval
• regular marijuana use (53%)
• daily drinking (32%)
• daily smoking (28%)
Drug Availability
(“easy” or “very easy” to get the drug) was highest for
• Cigarettes(57%)
• alcohol (57%)
• cannabis (46%)

18. SUMMARY
Some Encouraging Findings
There are many findings in this report that should be
viewed as encouraging..
Cigarettes: The majority of students do not smoke
Alcohol: The drinking prevalence among all students has
declined
Binge drinking is also lower

19. • More students in 2005 report being drug-free
• Alcohol and cannabis use declined among 7thgraders
• Use of LSD also continued on the downward trend
• The use of other illicit drugs also declined in 2005
• Drinking and Driving among licensed students

20. Ten Tips to Detect Alcohol/Drug Use in Your Adolescent
1. Changes in personality.
2. Decline in grades and interests.
3. Changing friends.
4. Breaking the normal household rules.
5. The disappearance of valuable possessions.
6. Vague physical complaints.
7. Disappearance of your liquor supply
8. Obvious signs of drug use
9. Physical signs.
10. Legal problems

21. Demystifying the Teen Partying
Scene
Part II
A Community of Care Presentation from The York School

22. Media Reports
Vs.
Research

23. Self-Esteem
Assertiveness
Peer Pressure

24. By Grade 7:
• 33% of males
• 23% of females
Report touching below the waist

25. Experienced sexual intercourse
at least once
• Boys in Grade 9 23%
• Boys in Grade 11 40%
• Girls in Grade 9 19%
• Girls in Grade 11 46%
First act of sexual intercourse at 16.5 yr old

26. Reasons for having sexual
intercourse the first time.
Love
Curiosity/Experimentation
Carried away
To lose virginity

27. The Issues
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI‟s)
Condom use
Serial monogamy

28. The Issues
• Oral Sex
SES and race strongly associated
Timing in relationship
Risk of STI
Oral sex is not “sex”
Reciprocity
Female empowerment vs. exploitation

29. Experience of oral sex at least
once.
• Boys in Grade 9 32%
• Boys in Grade 11 53%
• Girls in Grade 9 28%
• Girls in Grade 11 52%

30. The Issues
• Technology
Sexting

31. The Issues
• Sexual Abuse
Gr 11 females:
17% pressured to have sex

32. The Issues
• Age of Consent Law in Canada
Changed May 1, 2008

33. The Issues
• Emergency Contraception

34. Talking about sex with teens:
• Make discussion IMpersonal
• Avoid advising
• Accept that silence is ok
• Find a surrogate
• Talk before it‟s an emergency
• When the child‟s health & safety is on the line,
force the talk.

35. Q and A

36. Questions from parents that we will
answer:
• Is there anything parents do once the child is off to university & no longer
lives at home?
• Friends with older kids have insisted weekly calls from their university kids,
basically to check-in, with limited success. How useful is that & some have
threatened loss of allowance with non-compliance.
• How is the teen scene supervised within the school?
• How accessible and what are the avenues of access of drugs and alcohol?
• What are the precursor signs of teens getting involved in sex, drugs and
alcohol?
• What is the best strategy to best position my teen such that he will not get
involved in sex, drugs and alcohol?

37. Questions for The Community of Care to Answer:
• What is a good curfew time for 15 or 16 year olds?
• Address the balance between tolerance and serious risk.
• Teens seem to drink large quantities of alcohol (e.g. 6 or more beer, many shots)
and think it‟s okay. How should it be discussed to let them know that it‟s not okay
and that the concerns are more than just „parent worries‟?
• We want our kids to remain open and feel they can discuss anything with us. Once
they know we disapprove of their actions they will be less likely to approach us about
a specific situation.
• Your teen hosts a party and you suspect substance abuse of one of the kids present,
but do not have proof. What actions should be taken?
• What do you do when your child comes home and tells you that he/she was at a
party or out with friends drinking? I am worried about punishing/grounding as I feel it
will close down talking. Also, it seems wrong to just let it go with warnings on the
dangers of abusing alcohol.