PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Substance use among Rhode Island high schoolers is down across the board, but the same can't be said for middle schoolers, according to the latest Rhode Island Student Survey.
The survey, which is conducted every other year by the R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH), asks middle and high schoolers about a range of topics, including substance use, bullying, mental health and cell phone use.
More than 23,000 students statewide participated in the latest survey, which was administered between February and June of this year. The goal of the survey is to identify where students need the most assistance, as well as to build upon successful prevention efforts.
"We know, from a big-picture perspective, what the challenges facing our youth are, but the survey helps us to focus our efforts as we work with our regional prevention coalitions and others to address any needs they see on the front line," BHDDH Director of Behavioral Health Thomas Martin said. "The results also help us to align our message of prevention with current trends and respond in a way that will help."
Most notably this year, the survey revealed that marijuana use among middle schoolers jumped from 5% to 8%. Middle schoolers' use of cigarettes, inhalants and prescription drugs also increased.
The survey noted that, although middle school vape and alcohol use was down, it was only by half a percent each.
Meanwhile, high schoolers saw significant decreases in substance use by every metric, according to the survey.
Marijuana use among high schoolers dropped from nearly 15% to 11%, and vape use declined from 13% to 7%.
The survey said that, as a result of those decreases, fewer high schoolers reported driving or having been a passenger in a car being driven by someone under the influence of marijuana.
More high schoolers also believed that their peers would disapprove of them using substances such as marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol, according to the survey.
"We cannot overstate the importance of reaching young people with a message of prevention, and these numbers show that our prevention efforts are working," BHDDH Director Richard Leclerc said. "At the same time, we know that improvement with any of these numbers does not mean victory, and we must work to maintain the positive trends while we also address numbers that are not going in the right direction."
The survey also reported increases in students bullying and cyberbullying. Nearly 16% of middle schoolers admitted to spreading mean rumors, which is a 3% increase from the previous survey. In addition, 40% of middle school students confessed to making fun of others, which is a 4% increase from 2022.
For high schoolers, the percentage of students perpetrating bullying and cyberbullying remained virtually unchanged. The survey stated that 12% of high schoolers claimed to have spread mean rumors, up 1% from 2022, while 36% made fun of others.
The number of middle and high schoolers who experienced bullying or cyberbullying increased across the board, however, according to the survey.
The survey said 36% of middle schoolers had mean rumors or lies spread about them and 52% admitted to being made fun of. In high school, 27% of students claimed mean rumors or lies were spread about them and 40% have been made fun of.
Though bullying appears to have increased, the number of middle and high school students who reported feeling very sad or hopeless has decreased, the survey added. The survey also noted declines in students who have considered attempting suicide.
Notably, the number of high school students who have ever attempted suicide dropped from 41% to 35%, according to the survey.