2001 AAS State Report - Mental Health

2001 Alabama Adolescent Survey State Report
MENTAL HEALTH
How hard is it for you to deal with stressful situations at home and at school?


Gender	Responses	2001	1998	1993	1990	1988
Female	Very Hard	16.4%	18.6%	22.6%	14.0%	15.7%

	Hard	33.2%	33.1%	33.0%	30.3%	28.9%

	Not Sure	23.7%	23.5%	22.5%	29.2%	35.3%

	Easy	20.8%	19.9%	20.0%	23.4%	18.0%

	Very Easy	6.0%	5.0%	2.0%	3.1%	2.1%

Male	Very Hard	8.5%	10.3%	13.2%	7.0%	7.1%

	Hard	22.0%	21.5%	23.0%	17.2%	17.9%

	Not Sure	26.8%	27.4%	25.8%	32.8%	36.6%

	Easy	32.5%	31.1%	29.7%	34.4%	31.9%

	Very Easy	10.2%	9.7%	8.2%	8.3%	6.3%


The percentages of students perceiving stressful situations showed a relatively stable profile over the study period. Almost one in three males seemed to be experiencing considerable stress, while almost one in two females tended to feel similarly. Coping with stress is an important lifetime skill. A major concern should be students who tend to cope with stress through aggressive and violent behaviors. Given the availability of weapons, these high stress students represent a group that is at high risk for violence. Strong consideration should be given to providing students with learning opportunities that give them additional coping skills.

2001 Alabama Adolescent Survey State Report
MENTAL HEALTH
During the past month, how often have you felt sad and hopeless?


Gender	Responses	2001	1998	1993	1990	1988
Female	Never	10.4%	8.8%	8.2%	7.7%	8.7%

	Rarely	27.5%	27.6%	21.3%	23.0%	28.0%

	Sometimes	34.4%	37.8%	38.6%	39.5%	41.4%

	Often	27.7%	25.7%	31.8%	29.8%	21.9%

Male	Never	25.9%	26.0%	22.5%	24.0%	29.0%

	Rarely	35.9%	32.0%	27.7%	32.8%	37.0%

	Sometimes	23.6%	28.2%	32.0%	28.9%	24.0%

	Often	14.5%	13.6%	17.0%	14.2%	10.0%


A review of the percentages of students who felt sad or hopeless during the past month provided a relatively stable profile over the study period. This item is an indicator of emotional well-being. Students who are often sad and hopeless are not well motivated and are unlikely to have high academic aspirations. In addition, these students are more likely to be disruptive and impact on the classroom atmosphere.

2001 Alabama Adolescent Survey State Report
MENTAL HEALTH
During the past month, how often have you felt that you have nothing to look forward to?


Gender	Responses	2001	1998	1993	1990	1988
Female	Never	36.3%	37.3%	31.2%	34.8%	35.4%

	Rarely	27.4%	25.0%	23.2%	25.0%	24.9%

	Sometimes	23.5%	24.1%	26.8%	23.9%	25.2%

	Often	12.8%	13.5%	18.5%	16.3%	14.5%

Male	Never	43.3%	44.2%	45.1%	48.7%	54.3%

	Rarely	23.8%	25.5%	20.3%	23.4%	23.2%

	Sometimes	20.6%	19.4%	21.0%	17.2%	13.5%

	Often	12.3%	10.6%	12.6%	10.2%	8.8%


Future aspirations are an important motivational factor in school performance and career pursuits. Student response across the five time periods showed relatively stable profiles. Approximately one in ten adolescents feel that they have little to look forward to. This outlook was slightly more common in females than in males.

Overview of Emotional Indicators

A review of the emotional indicators showed a relatively stable profile over the study period. Students tended to respond to these items with about one-third showing an at-risk profile. Not all students displaying a poorer emotional profile are a risk to other children. Risk to others is largely determined by individual factors. However, some students are likely to display aggressive coping styles as a consequence of their current unhappiness.

It is beyond the scope of school programs to address all the mental health concerns of students. Administrators and teachers should be on the alert for unhappy students who have aggressive tendencies. In addition, schools should review their curricula and policies to identify opportunities to provide needy students with positive coping strategies and referrals when necessary. These are important safety issues since students seem to have access to weapons and can express their aggressive tendencies in a life threatening manner.

2001 Alabama Adolescent Survey State Report
MENTAL HEALTH
Other than your parents, do you have an adult that you can turn to when you need to talk about things like drug use, violence, or sex?