WETHERSFIELD - Teen and preadolescent substance abuse is down, but Wethersfield middle and high school students are reporting exacerbated mental/emotional health challenges two years after the pandemic’s onset.

       That was the update provided to the Board of Education (BOE) by the Wethersfield Helping Others Through Prevention and Education (WEHOPE) Coalition, a grant-funded consultant group that worked with Town Youth and Senior Services to conduct a three-month, anonymous survey of Wethersfield Public School (WPS) students in grades 7-12 �" on drug use, alcohol consumption, and other risky behaviors, as well struggles with anxiety and depression.

       The Drug Free Communities grant funding the data collection �" as well as professional development resources provided by the Community Antidrug Coalitions of America �" lasts until 2025.

       "This helps us determine not only what prevention programs we need to provide youth, but what education programs we need to provide parents and guardians,” said WEHOPE Prevention Coordinator Allison Nadeau. "This helps us determine not only what prevention programs we need to provide youth, but what education programs we need to provide parents and guardians."

       Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed reported “always or almost always” experiencing anxiety �" up from the 20 percent that said the same in a 2019 study.

       Ten percent of Silas Deane Middle School respondents reported considering suicide before �" up from 7.8 percent two years ago.

       Among Wethersfield High School (WHS) survey participants, the number was 9.3 percent �" versus 8.4 percent in 2019.

       While stress related to the pandemic is one of several factors driving the increases, it hasn’t translated to an uptick in alcohol, marijuana, or prescription drug use �" which was stable or, in some cases, lower than in 2019.

       "Most report no change, but 14.9-15.4 percent say a lot less use, which may account for the reductions since 2019,” said WEHOPE consultant Alicia Gilbert.

       Access, or lack thereof, may be another factor �" most students that reported using, say, prescriptions, do so at home, without permission, with friends. Gilbert thinks that families being homebound may be limiting opportunities for those that might be more inclined.

       "Substance abuse going down is great, but mental health and suicide ideation is not - but we're certainly not alone,” Nadeau added.

       A few weeks ago, Wethersfield State House Rep Amy Morrin Bello hosted a youth mental health forum featuring Connecticut Children’s Hospital Child Psychology Division Director Dr. Melissa Santos, who reported sharp rises in emotional health service needs across the board �" Connecticut Children’s told news outlets in October that they’ve seen caseloads double since the pandemic.

       But in Wethersfield, it was academic and post-high school planning that emerged as the largest contributing factors, according to survey responses.

       Social media and financial security concerns were the least frequently cited causes, consultants said.

       But WEHOPE researchers reported a prevalence of “toxic stress” �" violence. Thirty percent of the survey respondents have been victims or witnesses to violence in their community or school over, the study says.

       “Wethersfield falls right where you'd expect for comparable communities,” said Bonnie Smith of the WEHOPE Coalition. "I wouldn't say I was surprised, but I was saddened to have the confirmation of students' mental health indicators increasing around anxiety and depression."