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Weathersfield survey: 8.6% of students considered suicide; schools and town plan targeted prevention
Summary
Presenters told the Town Council that the 2025 Youth Voices Count survey (grades 7–12, ~87% response) found 8.6% of respondents had seriously considered suicide in the past year, 7.5% reported acting on self‑harm, widespread social‑media access beginning at ages 11–13, and substance‑use trends showing declines in some areas and persistent concerns about vaping and underage alcohol.
Bonnie Smith, the presentation lead, told the Weathersfield Town Council on March 2 that the 2025 Youth Voices Count surveyed students in grades 7–12 and produced an 87% response rate, enabling meaningful local trend analysis. "Any outcomes of the survey are not considered a school issue — they're a town issue," Smith said, framing the results as a basis for town‑wide prevention work.
The presentation, supported by lead analyst Luke Smith, reported that 8.6% of surveyed students said they had seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months (117 students); 49 of that group said they made a plan and 10 reported an attempt. Overall, 7.5% of respondents reported acting on self‑harm. Presenters said middle‑school students showed higher rates on several indicators, including thoughts of self‑harm and acting on those thoughts.
The survey also documented how quickly students obtain phones and social media: the most common ages for first phone ownership were 11 and 12, and for first social‑media account 12–13. On social media impacts, presenters said 58% of students reported feeling more connected because of social media while about 23% reported feeling worse about themselves as a consequence; roughly 32% of high‑school students reported difficulty stopping social‑media use.
On substance use and risk perceptions, speakers reported declines in age of first use for several substances where earlier intervention has been emphasized, and improvements in past‑30‑day use for most substances since 2021, with the exception of prescription‑drug misuse (still under 1%) and relatively stable vaping rates (about 7% lifetime use). Alcohol remained the most commonly reported lifetime substance (about 9.7%). Presenters noted a gap between parents and youth on perceived risk: parents consistently perceive higher risk from youth substance use than youth do.
Councilors asked about methodology and follow‑up. Councilor Forest asked whether district reference group (DRG) comparisons change substantially across DRG letters; presenters said there are systematic differences by DRG and that the local sample size supports reliable comparison. In response to Councilor Carbone’s question about how anonymous responses could lead to direct help for at‑risk individuals, prevention coordinator Cararissa Perroll explained that the survey is intentionally anonymous but can be used to identify risk groups and inform targeted interventions; she described school wellness centers, QPR (question‑persuade‑refer) training for peers, and a youth coalition as existing pathways to engage at‑risk students.
Presenters said they can disaggregate results by race, ethnicity, gender identity and other demographics to support targeted prevention and grant applications. They also said about 47% of youth indicated they would like to see the data, and staff plan to make results available to young people.
The council thanked the presenters and requested follow‑up data on co‑occurring substance use and other disaggregated analyses to guide prevention programming.
