CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Mecklenburg County Health Department released the results of the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey at a media briefing Wednesday.

The survey, conducted across the nation by the Centers for Disease Control, tracks trends in risky behaviors among young people. In all, 1,632 middle school students at 23 schools were surveyed and 1,484 high school students at 27 schools.

The results were mixed, with some positive trends -- a decline in binge drinking, a decline in tobacco use and increased physical activity -- reported among high school students. Negative trends included an increase in students reporting depression, an increase in drinking on school property and an increase in students who say bullying and harassment is a problem at school.

The number of high school students who say they’ve been bullied or harassed on school property remained almost the same between 2005 and 2007 -- 20 percent in 2007, 21 percent in 2005. The number of students who said bullying and harassment were a problem rose sharply however, from 28 percent in 2005 to 40 percent in 2007.

“That’s pretty strong evidence that bullying and harassment are a problem in our schools,” said Barbara J. Pellin, assistant superintendent for pre-K-12 support programs at CMS, who presided over the briefing.

In middle school, 26 percent of students said they had been harassed or bullied, 35 percent said they had been teased or called names because of weight, size or physical appearance and 53 percent said bullying and harassment were a problem in school.

“Our students are concerned about bullying and harassment,” Pellin said. “And that concern shows up as early as the sixth grade.”

Pellin said that preventing bullying and harassment is something that the district is working on, but many of the other findings of the report, she said, are community problems that will require a communitywide solution. Those issues include children getting access to weapons at home, not wearing seat belts in cars and being neglected at home.

“We need help,” she said. “We need help from parents, from community members, from houses of worship, from social agencies and groups.”

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One concern indicated through the study was the suicide rate among middle and high school students.

"Greater than one half of high school students and almost one half of our middle school students feel that they don't matter to people in our community,” said Kristen Rager with the Teen Health Connection. “It's almost hard for me to speak when I think about how horrible that must feel to them."

According to officials, 13 percent of high school students report trying to attempt suicide last year, something they say is the third largest cause of death among adolescents.

A suicide-prevention video, “Through My Eyes,” has been developed, along with flyers, to be part of the school curriculum. Leaders hope it will educate students about the warning signs of suicide; signs that include:

•Talking about dying
•Low self esteem
•Recent loss
•Change in personality, behavior
•No hope for the future.