The tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have juxtaposing effects on the lives of 106,800 Colorado teenagers who took the 2021 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey last fall.

Participants indicated that feelings of depression and stress anxiety were lingering, according to results the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released Wednesday.

But a lack of ability to get their hands on marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes, vaping products and drugs, coupled with increases in the perceived risk of harm by daily use of substances, led to decreased use of such substances among adolescents.

These and other findings from the voluntary, confidential survey will be used in determining future programs to help children avoid risky behaviors and maintain well-being physically, emotionally and socially, professionals say.

The Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora administers the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey statewide in the fall of odd-numbered years.

The survey became controversial and took on a political nature when low participation first began occurring in some school districts in 2015.

Some parents said the questions were too invasive to family life and inappropriate for adolescents. They also doubted the confidentiality of the survey, which is filled out online at school.

The survey asks about eating habits, sleeping patterns, substance use, sexual activity, suicidal inclinations, bullying, driving characteristics, gun access and other personal health and lifestyle questions.

New for this cycle were questions about affects of the pandemic, experiences with racism and whether teens could fire a loaded gun without adult permission in less than an hour. As to the latter, 19% of respondents said they could. But the percentage of youth who thought they could easily get a handgun if they wanted to decreased from 20% in 2019 to 17% in 2021.

After record participation in 2019, low turnout happened again during this latest administration.

Results from 2021 have been suppressed in five regions of the state containing 13 counties because “the overall response rate of sampled schools was insufficient to be considered representative of youth who attend public schools,” said state health department spokeswoman Vanessa Bernal.

Those counties are: El Paso, Mesa, Weld, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma, Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln.

Results for 16 regions encompassing 51 counties were made public.

Individual schools in the counties that did not have enough participation for statistical data sets received their student data, Bernal said, but it’s not available to the public.

Significant key findings among high school students include:

? 68.5% of youth experienced poor mental health during the pandemic.

? Depression remains high, with 40% saying they had feelings of depression in the past year, up from 35% in the 2019 survey.

? 51% of youth felt daily stress more often during the COVID-19 pandemic.

? 22% of youth said they had tried electronic vaping products before age 13.

? The percentages of youth who have seriously considered (17%), planned (13%), and attempted suicide (7%) in the past year have not changed since 2015.

? The percentages of youth who currently use substances have decreased: alcohol (24%, down from 30%), marijuana (13%, down from 21%), cigarettes (3%, down from 6%), electronic vapor products (16%, down from 26%), and prescription pain medications without a prescription (6%, down from 7%).

? Youth felt it was harder to access alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, electronic vapor products and other drugs, than in prior survey years.

? Youth reported increases in the perceived risk of harm by the daily use of substances, with perception of risk a key to changing behavior.

? 5% of respondents said they were treated badly or unfairly because of their race or ethnicity in the past year, and 9% of youth said they saw family members treated unfairly.