By RUSS OLIVO

PAWTUCKET — A new survey of risky behaviors among the state’s high school students showed a modest improvement in many areas, but the data also reveal “disturbing worsening trends” in the frequency of dating violence and what it called “forced sexual intercourse.”

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) reports that 14 percent of respondents said they had been “hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose” by a boyfriend or a girlfriend, an increase of 5 percent since 2001. Another 10 percent said they had been “forced to have sexual intercourse when not wanting to,” up 2 percent during the same period, the survey said.
Overall, the survey charted improvement in 22 of 39 risk areas, but it said that despite the improvement, the rates for some of them, including drinking, painkiller abuse and sexual activity, remain “much too high.”  In 2007, the survey said, 43 percent of the high school students had used alcohol, 15 percent said they had taken painkilling drugs without a prescription and half of all respondents said they had already had sex at least once in the last three months.
The state Department of Health (DOH) and the state Department of Education (DOE) released the new data in a joint press conference at Jenks Junior High School Tuesday. In addition to the YRBS data for high schoolers, which the state has been tracking since 1997, officials released results of the first-ever YRBS of the state’s middle school population.
While the latter data is too new to show trends, state Health Director David Gifford said the middle school YRBS shows some students begin engaging in risky behaviors at an early age and that the frequency of certain activities increases markedly by grade. For example, from grade 6 to 8, alcohol use jumped from 13 to 41 percent, marijuana use from 4 to 16 percent, and painkiller abuse from 7 to 15 percent.
“A lot of these behaviors are starting at an earlier age than we thought,” said Gifford. “You need to talk to your children at an earlier age. Sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring it will not help our children from avoiding these problems or help our children achieve the potential that they have.”
The results of the survey are based on questionnaires filled out by a sample of 2,942 students from 22 high schools and 2,819 students from 24 middle schools, selected randomly to represent a cross-section of the public school population. The surveys were filled out anonymously between mid-March and May 2007.
Because of the survey’s methodology, it is impossible to pin down trends in specific schools or regions, said Andrea Bagnall Degos, a spokeswoman for DOH.
Although fewer risk factors were measured for middle school students, the survey tracked high school behaviors in 39 areas, including everything from the use of bicycle helmets and fighting to diet and experiencing “hopeless feelings.”
Among other things, the high school YRBS said:
n The use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs appeared to be leveling off. Between 2005 and 2007, the use of cigarettes, cigars and “smokeless” tobacco products remained stable at around 22 percent, a figure the survey said still shows “significant improvements” since 1997. Similarly, the rate of alcohol consumption, at 43 percent, was unchanged since 2005, but still better than the 52 percent logged in 1997. Marijuana use declined from 29 to 23 percent since the survey began, but about 20 percent of high school students still smoke pot.
n Among sexually active students, the use of condoms remained unchanged from 2005 to 2007 at 66 percent, compared to 52 percent in 1997. Overall, 6 percent of students reported having sex for the first time before age 13. About half of all students reported having had sex at least once in the last three months, a figure that has remained unchanged from previous years.
n On diet and exercise, the survey said the number of students who described themselves as “overweight”  has steadily increased since 2001, topping out at 16 percent in 2007. The number of “obese” students was 11 percent, a 2 percent decline since 2005. There was a notable worsening trend, however, among students who said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, from 27 percent in 2001 to 19 percent in 2007. Fewer students also drink at least three glass of milk a day — about 17 percent, a decline of 7 percent since 2001.
“All educators are well aware that children who are healthy and who make wise decisions about their health-risk behavior are better prepared to learn in school and are more likely to graduate,” Education Commissioner Peter McWalters said in a statement. “However, while we have seen improvements, there is still much work to do and the state, schools, communities and families all have a role to play in reducing youth risk behaviors.”
Among other things, the survey said 22 risk areas improved or remained unchanged, including riding in a car with an impaired driver; fighting; carrying weapons; using drugs or alcohol in school; cocaine use; sexual intercourse; overweight; and attempted suicide. Those that worsened included dating violence, forced sexual intercourse, eating sufficient fruits and vegetables, asthma, and exposure to AIDS-prevention education.
On the issue of dating violence, health officials said state law now requires public school to cover the subject of prevention. DOE issued a policy guide for preventing bullying, teen dating and sexual violence earlier this year and school districts are expected to have policies and strategies in place by December.
Beatriz Perez of DOH’s Injury Prevention Unit said the health department is also working with educators and advocacy groups for prevention of domestic violence in developing programs to reduce the incidence of sexual violence among youth.
“In this case we need to work with the boys as much as the girls to teach them what respect and abuse is,” she said.
But Gifford said pediatricians, teachers and other community groups are only part of the solution to reducing problem behaviors in children. He said he could not underestimate the need for a parent or some other committed family member to set high expectations for children. No other factor than the involvement of an adult relative is apt to have more influence on a child, he said.
“The message is we need to be talking to kids about this,” he said. “It’s not just the schools or the doctors. The parents are seeing this every day and that’s where this needs to be addressed. The kids may roll their eyes up at you, but it works.”