BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell has been conducting community interviews with teens to gather data on the extent of their alcohol use and their attitudes about underage drinking in Iredell County. Project Coordinator Kristin Blumenstein presented some of the initial data gathered to the coalition members during their June meeting.
When asked about sources of obtaining alcohol, 80 percent of responding teens cited their own home or from their parents, with 40 percent specifying older friends, siblings, or cousins as sources.
Sixty-seven percent of youth respondents said that teens drink at home, while 40 percent reported drinking in remote areas of the county.
Teens’ areas of most concern about underage drinking in the county were a lack of parental concern (43 percent) and physical harm (43 percent) such as alcohol poisoning or drunk driving accident.
Identified risk factors for substance use are characteristics that cause an individual to be more likely to develop a substance use disorder, such as individual characteristics (age, health issues), genetic disposition or family attitudes, social influences, and environmental factors (stressors like poverty, trauma, etc.).
When looking at Iredell teens’ identified risk factors, Blumenstein was shocked to see that 93 percent of respondents had a low perception of harm from drinking alcohol, despite the prevalence of information about potential consequences readily available in media, online, and in health education to which teens are exposed.
Other identified risk factors teens mentioned were social availability (71 percent), youth favorable attitudes (50 percent), and parental favorable attitudes (29 percent). No teens mentioned retail access and availability or inadequate laws or consequences as risk factors.
The last available data for Iredell teens is the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey since Iredell-Statesville Schools no longer administer the survey. At that time, 31 percent of county high school students reported they drank alcohol at least one day within the last month.
Blumenstein said the next step in gathering youth alcohol use data and, more importantly, finding solutions to reduce underage drinking, is to conduct key informant interviews with those who interact with youth, including parents, businesses, media, schools, youth-serving organizations, law enforcement (especially school resource officers), civic and volunteer organizations, religious fraternal organizations, healthcare professionals, state/local government officials, and substance abuse organizations.
“Local problems require local solutions,” added Blumenstein.
After completing the underage drinking research, Blumenstein plans to collect data on youth tobacco use and vaping as well as prescription and street drug use in Iredell County.
ONEbox Available
DACI is taking orders for ONEbox, a mountable or portable box for storing naloxone (a medication that reverses opioid overdose) that also contains three pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE), a one-minute bilingual instruction video, a five-minute training video, and a charging cord.
If your organization or business is interested, please contact Blumenstein at kristin@daciredell.com. A limited number are available.
OTHER RESOURCES
DACI has free resources available to help reduce substance or alcohol misuse.
♦ Community members can order medication lockboxes or pouches to keep opioids or other dangerous prescriptions out of others’ hands. Medication disposal kits also render the drugs harmless for safe disposal.
♦ DACI also offers Narcan to reverse opioid overdose and fentanyl test strips to test street drugs for fentanyl as part of DACI’s harm reduction effort.
♦ Alcohol bottle locks and cabinet locks are also available to keep it out of underage drinkers’ hands.
♦ DACI also has a county resource guide (digital copy available HERE) to help community members find crisis services, inpatient and outpatient treatment, medication assisted treatment, sober living, support groups, tobacco and vaping cessation programs, and hotline information.
All of these resources can be ordered online HERE.
NEXT MEETING
DACI will not meet in July. The next meeting will be Monday, August 18, from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Agricultural Extension Center (444 Bristol Drive). Lunch is provided.