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Growing up Anchorage 2015: Anchorage Youth and Young Adult Behavioral Health and Wellness Assessment
Heath, Karen Garcia, Gabriel M. Hanson, Bridget Rivera, Marny Hedwig, Travis Moras, Rebekah Reed, Danielle Smith, Curtis Craig, Sylvia
Heath, Karen
Garcia, Gabriel M.
Hanson, Bridget
Rivera, Marny
Hedwig, Travis
Moras, Rebekah
Reed, Danielle
Smith, Curtis
Craig, Sylvia
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Abstract
This report presents results of a community assessment to evaluate behavioral health indicators and related demographic, social, economic, and environmental factors pertaining to youth and young adults aged 9–24 in Anchorage, Alaska, focusing on three major areas: substance use, mental health, and suicide.
The Anchorage Collaborative Coalitions (ACC),
made up of four organizations (Healthy Voices,
Healthy Choices; Anchorage Youth Development
Coalition; Spirit of Youth; and Alaska Injury
Prevention Center), contracted with the
University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human
Development (CHD) to do a community assessment
on substance use, mental health and suicide. The
population for this assessment was youth and
young adults in the Municipality of Anchorage. The
assessment was completed in two phases. Phase
I was a review of existing data from national, state,
and local sources (referred to as “secondary data”
in the complete report). Phase II focused on the
collection and analysis of new data from surveys
and focus groups (referred to as “primary data” in
the complete report). One goal of the assessment
was to engage coalition and community members
in the process. Coalition and community partners
assisted throughout the process by helping define
the gaps in existing data, helping define the areas
of interest, and helping identify the focus of new
data collection. They attended trainings on data
collection and analysis, participated in community
discussions about the findings, and participated in
focus group data collection and analysis.
Alaska’s youth and young adults are impacted
by substance use, mental health, and suicide
in significant ways. These behavioral health
concerns are often interconnected and can have
severe consequences. Substance use can lead to
problems with school, the law and to youth taking
risks that can lead to serious injury or death.
Substance use in adolescence can put youth at
higher risk for major life impairments and chronic
conditions, including severe mental illness. Poor
mental health in youth and young adults can lead
to poorer physical health in adulthood, higher rates
of chronic illnesses, and earlier death. Mental
health and substance use disorders are likely the
third leading cause of suicide deaths.
In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control ranked
Alaska as the second highest state in the nation
for per capita suicide deaths. Family members and
friends of people who die by suicide experience
feelings of guilt, anger, abandonment, and shock.
Also, these friends and family members are often
at a higher risk for committing suicide in the future.
Description
Date
2015-01-01
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University of Alaska Anchorage Center For Human Development
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Keywords
Anchorage, Alaska, minors, behavioral health