SWAMPSCOTT — The town has developed an in-depth survey regarding factors that contribute to youth substance abuse and ways to possibly prevent it.
The town’s Health Department created the survey to collect more input and data from adult residents about their beliefs and perceptions regarding youth substance abuse. The Health Department is part of a regional grant with Lynn, Salem and Marblehead, according to the town’s website.
A number of main factors are set to be covered by the survey. The survey will cover perceived risk factors at play for the youth, as well as adult perceptions of substance use among high school and middle school students.
Also covered will be the perception of adults regarding substance use “as a right of passage among youth,” which will touch on the growing concern that peer pressure plays in worsening the issue of youth substance use. Participants will also get to learn about perceptions of risk as well as the needs of the community and the level of concern among parents.
While the town website states the survey is regional, the questions within the survey have been tailored strictly to residents throughout town. Participation in the survey is both voluntary and anonymous. Individual responses by participants remain confidential, and will not be singled out, but rather compiled for the whole community.
For any resident interested in partaking in the survey, community members can find more information and the survey at forms.gle/5ivPtwFLSf4Zd8if9, or contact Michelle Simons, the Health Department’s opioid settlement funds program contractor and program support specialist, at [email protected].
