Survey says: Lynnfield delivering a healthy message

LYNNFIELD — A Healthy Lynnfield (AHL) is taking another positive step in making sure that parents have the tools they need to keep their kids healthy.

On Monday, the results of a survey of parents and caregivers addressing perceived norms, attitudes and preventive behaviors were the subject of a presentation by Scott Formica of Social Science Evaluation Inc. to the AHL coalition.

“This survey is hugely valuable to our work at A Healthy Lynnfield,” said AHL Substance Use Prevention Coordinator Peg Sallade. “This will allow us to keep pulling everything together, as there are multiple aspects to this. The data was really valid to help deliver a normative message to support and uplift the positive behavior of parents. This data allows us to celebrate the good things in the community.”

The survey was conducted this spring. Parents with at least one child in grades 5-12 in Lynnfield schools were eligible to participate, with 349 parents and caregivers responding to 82 questions.

The questions focused on six key areas: home and community life, health and wellness, communication, attitude and beliefs, parenting behaviors and preventive support.

The results showed that parents’ opinions varied widely when it came to gender. Parents whose oldest child is female said they are more likely to feel concerned about limited activities for youth and feel concerned about academics. Parents whose oldest child is male didn’t say anything about academics or activities; they focused instead on alcohol consumption, saying they were more likely to think it’s okay to allow youth alcohol consumption at home and at another family’s home if done responsibly and not excessively. 

“That’s more of a message that says that parents are talking to their daughters about substance use, but not their sons,” Sallade said. “They need to be talking to both.”

The survey ranked several major concerns parents have about their children, the top one being technology (cell phones, screen time, social media), followed by emotional and mental health (anxiety, depression) and youth social culture (friendships, cliques, exclusion, teasing). Other areas of concern were academics, community culture (adults modeling unhealthy behaviors) and social justice.

Results showed that the community is strong when it comes to parents knowing where their children are, who they are with and where they will be when out with their friends. 

Ninety-four percent of parents said they have discussed family guidelines regarding alcohol use, while 96 percent said they had discussed safety strategies when children find themselves in alcohol and/or drug settings and 53 percent had conversations with other parents about their own alcohol and drug policies. 

The survey identified several areas as opportunities for improvement, the top one being parents’ belief that Lynnfield adults do not listen to what children say. Parents feel they are pressured to drink socially, have limited awareness of community- or school-based support regarding mental health or substance use, believe that parents are less likely to respect values held by different races and cultures, believe that too many parents turn a blind eye to underage alcohol and drug use and say that adult alcohol consumption at school-sponsored athletic events is a problem in Lynnfield.

In terms of grade level, parents whose oldest child is in middle school are more likely to feel it’s wrong for youth to drink. They were also more likely to spend time together as a family and felt more comfortable calling other parents.

High school parents are more likely to visually assess their children when they come home and be concerned about youth substance abuse, yet many knowingly allow their children to attend parties. Many said they talked with their children during the school year about the risks of alcohol.

“There really weren’t any real surprises, much of the data met my expectations,” said Vasundhra Ganju. “Most of it I could relate to.”

“There’s a lot to celebrate here, which is not always the case,” said Formica. “There were a lot of positives here.”

“I think that all parents should hear what Scott said,” said Police Capt. Nick Secatore. “It’s an eye opener. These are things that people have to hear.”

Sallade said the survey is just the beginning. AHL will host a coffee hour this fall for the community to share the results and will also be establishing a parent advisory committee.

“Parents hear messages and programming better when they are involved in the solutions,” Sallade said. “Our invitation will be to be part of the solution and to work with us in using the data to guide the strategies.”