For the past several years, Hawai'i has been among the states in which more students plan suicide, with 13.7 percent planning it in 2003 and 15.6 percent in 2001, the last two survey years.

Hawai'i is also among the worst five states for students feeling sad and hopeless (31.8 percent); attempting suicide (12.9 percent); and being treated following a suicide attempt (3.7 percent).

Hawai'i also has the lowest percentage of students in the nation who use birth control — 12.7 percent — among those currently sexually active.

The survey, done jointly by the Department of Health and Department of Education, is conducted every two years and is considered the best and most reliable information on what teenagers in our public schools are thinking, doing and experiencing.

This year's survey was released yesterday to a Board of Education committee.

"Hawai'i has to think about how to address the sadness and depression youth feel," said Department of Health school health coordinator Cathy Tanaka, who released the data along with Dave Randall, an educational specialist with the DOE. "It's significant enough that it's an area we need to improve on."

Much of the progress Hawai'i has seen in some areas may be due to a "top to bottom" approach of grassroots awareness, changes in public policies, increases in taxation on cigarettes, workplace wellness initiatives, and more and better education by teachers who have the data, according to officials.

"In the tobacco arena there's been a lot of grassroots support for prevention," said Tanaka. "And with the tobacco settlement funds, there's been a lot of additional money for prevention."

But the state now needs to focus the same kind of energy on attacking the overweight epidemic among Hawai'i teens, said Tanaka. "We have to have that same kind of effort around physical activity."

Kay Bicoy, a health educator and physical education teacher at Pearl City High, agreed.

Bicoy said the real "flag" for educators in looking at this new data is trying to understand the reasons teens are still pushing the envelope of risky behavior.

"We need to know why," said Bicoy. "Is it insufficient discipline at home? No structure in the family? Is it wanting to be numb to what's hurting them?"

Bicoy sees that sometimes overweight and suicidal ideation can be the result of "good kids" who have rejected drug use or sexual activity, but turn to self-destructive options instead.

"They don't want to do the drugs and sex because they know it's wrong," she said, "so they hurt themselves with eating. I see good kids, and suicide becomes the thing that eats at them."

The survey asked questions in 67 categories, everything from sexual habits to drug abuse to involvement with violence. Some of the other highlights of the survey include:

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.