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Caring Friends

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Percent of Students Reporting That They Feel That Their Friends Care About Them Quite a Bit or Very Much, All Available Years: by Grade, Race, Gender, and Region

201320162019
FemaleMaleTotalFemaleMaleTotalFemaleMaleTotal
Minnesota11thAfrican-American or Black66.1%67.8%67.0%67.8%67.8%67.8%68.4%65.0%66.7%
All Races Combined77.2%75.1%76.2%75.6%75.1%75.4%74.8%74.4%74.6%
Asian American64.5%59.2%61.9%64.1%65.7%64.9%66.2%66.1%66.2%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial70.6%71.2%70.9%70.7%71.1%70.9%69.5%71.0%70.2%
Hispanic/Latino66.8%69.5%68.2%65.3%68.9%67.1%64.8%63.6%64.2%
Native American67.8%68.5%68.2%53.3%63.9%59.2%64.8%61.7%63.3%
Pacific Islander69.4%67.6%68.5%*73.5%73.8%**72.9%
White80.2%77.7%78.9%79.0%77.7%78.3%77.7%77.2%77.5%
5thAfrican-American or Black78.7%70.1%74.3%78.0%72.9%75.4%77.4%75.0%76.2%
All Races Combined82.1%74.5%78.3%83.2%75.9%79.5%80.6%77.2%78.9%
Asian American75.0%65.7%70.3%76.7%68.2%72.6%77.5%72.9%75.2%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial79.8%71.9%75.9%79.3%73.4%76.5%75.1%73.2%74.2%
Hispanic/Latino78.2%69.8%74.1%80.8%72.7%76.8%78.6%72.8%75.9%
Native American73.3%63.2%67.6%74.6%65.5%69.3%73.3%69.3%71.0%
Pacific Islander70.2%67.8%68.9%72.6%73.0%72.8%67.9%62.7%65.0%
White84.1%77.0%80.5%85.5%78.2%81.9%82.8%79.4%81.1%
8thAfrican-American or Black74.1%70.3%72.1%75.6%70.4%72.9%71.6%72.7%72.2%
All Races Combined80.1%74.6%77.4%79.0%75.6%77.3%76.7%76.2%76.5%
Asian American69.4%65.6%67.6%72.1%69.4%70.8%74.7%71.9%73.3%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial75.6%72.2%74.0%71.8%74.7%73.2%69.8%71.4%70.5%
Hispanic/Latino72.8%69.0%71.0%70.3%69.8%70.1%68.2%69.0%68.6%
Native American62.8%67.8%65.8%63.8%65.6%64.8%61.5%71.0%66.9%
Pacific Islander77.4%60.0%66.7%*82.2%79.4%63.4%75.0%70.5%
White82.9%76.6%79.8%82.6%77.9%80.2%79.5%78.4%79.0%
9thAfrican-American or Black71.8%66.9%69.3%67.9%70.8%69.3%71.8%72.9%72.3%
All Races Combined78.3%73.4%75.9%76.5%76.3%76.4%75.6%75.2%75.4%
Asian American65.1%66.3%65.7%68.9%70.0%69.4%71.7%69.9%70.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial72.2%70.0%71.1%68.0%72.1%70.0%68.8%72.9%70.7%
Hispanic/Latino70.0%64.7%67.5%67.1%69.4%68.2%66.3%68.5%67.4%
Native American68.7%61.8%64.9%63.8%73.8%69.7%59.4%64.3%61.8%
Pacific Islander59.5%62.7%61.4%*66.7%66.1%65.6%65.9%65.8%
White81.4%75.8%78.6%80.2%78.7%79.5%78.3%77.0%77.7%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black73.5%69.0%71.2%73.3%70.9%72.1%73.0%72.4%72.7%
All Races Combined79.4%74.4%76.9%78.6%75.7%77.2%77.1%75.9%76.5%
Asian American68.4%64.2%66.4%70.4%68.5%69.5%73.0%70.5%71.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial74.6%71.3%73.0%72.3%73.0%72.6%70.7%72.2%71.4%
Hispanic/Latino72.3%68.2%70.3%71.1%70.3%70.7%69.8%68.8%69.3%
Native American69.1%64.7%66.7%67.0%67.0%67.0%66.3%67.8%67.1%
Pacific Islander68.9%64.5%66.4%71.9%74.2%73.2%66.7%68.8%67.9%
White82.1%76.7%79.4%81.8%78.2%80.0%79.6%78.0%78.8%
Metro11thAfrican-American or Black65.8%68.0%66.9%68.2%67.3%67.8%67.1%65.1%66.1%
All Races Combined76.6%75.8%76.2%76.3%75.3%75.8%75.8%75.1%75.5%
Asian American63.5%58.9%61.2%63.8%65.7%64.7%67.2%66.2%66.7%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial70.6%71.5%71.0%71.0%70.5%70.8%71.3%73.2%72.2%
Hispanic/Latino66.8%71.2%69.0%66.8%68.0%67.4%65.3%64.6%64.9%
Native American73.1%74.3%73.8%74.2%55.3%63.8%77.4%53.8%66.7%
Pacific Islander72.7%72.0%72.3%**73.0%**77.3%
White81.2%80.0%80.6%81.2%79.5%80.4%80.0%79.2%79.6%
5thAfrican-American or Black78.1%70.8%74.4%77.4%71.8%74.6%76.8%74.5%75.6%
All Races Combined83.2%75.4%79.3%83.7%77.4%80.6%81.1%77.7%79.4%
Asian American74.9%65.7%70.4%77.0%69.4%73.3%77.0%73.4%75.2%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial79.9%73.3%76.8%80.3%75.7%78.2%77.4%74.9%76.2%
Hispanic/Latino78.5%70.8%74.8%82.1%74.0%78.1%79.3%71.7%75.7%
Native American82.7%63.8%71.9%79.5%68.0%72.8%73.9%70.8%72.1%
Pacific Islander76.9%65.0%69.7%78.4%75.8%77.1%**60.0%
White86.5%78.8%82.6%87.2%81.4%84.2%84.2%80.8%82.5%
8thAfrican-American or Black73.5%69.0%71.2%74.7%70.6%72.6%71.6%72.0%71.8%
All Races Combined80.2%75.9%78.0%79.7%76.6%78.1%77.4%77.3%77.4%
Asian American69.8%65.8%67.9%72.2%69.3%70.8%74.1%72.0%73.1%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial75.8%73.7%74.8%72.9%74.8%73.8%71.5%72.6%72.0%
Hispanic/Latino73.7%70.7%72.3%70.7%70.8%70.7%70.7%71.3%71.0%
Native American64.4%68.0%66.7%83.8%67.3%73.6%60.0%90.5%79.8%
Pacific Islander70.6%65.2%67.5%**71.0%70.4%80.0%75.8%
White84.1%79.1%81.6%84.5%80.2%82.4%81.0%80.6%80.8%
9thAfrican-American or Black71.1%68.9%70.0%68.6%71.0%69.8%71.3%73.1%72.1%
All Races Combined78.0%75.4%76.7%77.3%78.2%77.7%77.4%76.5%77.0%
Asian American65.3%67.0%66.1%69.2%70.2%69.7%72.5%70.2%71.4%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial70.5%72.0%71.2%68.6%73.6%71.0%71.9%74.4%73.1%
Hispanic/Latino69.8%65.2%67.7%67.6%70.9%69.2%66.9%70.4%68.7%
Native American68.4%61.7%65.0%65.6%74.0%70.3%55.4%65.5%60.4%
Pacific Islander62.5%64.3%63.5%**66.7%**68.3%
White82.9%79.2%81.1%82.5%82.3%82.4%81.4%79.4%80.4%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black72.9%69.4%71.1%73.1%70.5%71.8%72.5%72.1%72.3%
All Races Combined79.5%75.6%77.6%79.2%76.9%78.1%78.1%76.8%77.4%
Asian American68.3%64.3%66.4%70.5%68.8%69.7%73.1%70.7%71.9%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial74.2%72.7%73.5%73.0%73.9%73.4%73.0%73.8%73.3%
Hispanic/Latino72.5%69.5%71.1%72.1%71.1%71.6%70.9%69.9%70.4%
Native American75.1%65.5%69.6%77.1%67.7%71.6%68.3%72.9%70.9%
Pacific Islander70.8%66.4%68.3%75.9%70.8%73.2%67.1%71.2%69.4%
White83.6%79.3%81.4%83.7%80.9%82.3%81.7%80.0%80.9%
Non-Metro11thAfrican-American or Black67.5%66.9%67.2%65.9%69.6%67.8%71.8%64.8%68.3%
All Races Combined77.8%74.4%76.1%74.9%74.9%74.9%73.8%73.7%73.8%
Asian American73.1%61.9%67.5%65.8%65.5%65.7%61.3%65.7%63.6%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial70.6%70.7%70.7%70.0%71.8%71.0%66.7%68.0%67.3%
Hispanic/Latino66.8%66.8%66.8%62.9%70.3%66.5%64.2%62.1%63.2%
Native American66.3%66.7%66.5%47.1%66.4%57.9%61.7%63.3%62.5%
Pacific Islander64.3%58.3%61.5%*****69.2%
White79.2%75.5%77.4%77.1%76.0%76.5%75.6%75.6%75.6%
5thAfrican-American or Black81.4%67.2%74.1%80.2%76.0%78.0%79.2%76.5%77.8%
All Races Combined80.8%73.4%77.1%82.7%74.4%78.5%80.1%76.6%78.3%
Asian American75.5%65.5%70.2%75.3%62.2%68.8%79.8%70.2%75.1%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial79.6%69.9%74.7%78.1%70.8%74.4%71.9%70.9%71.4%
Hispanic/Latino77.8%68.2%73.2%78.7%70.8%74.7%77.6%74.7%76.2%
Native American68.8%62.8%65.5%72.5%64.4%67.8%73.1%68.6%70.5%
Pacific Islander61.9%73.7%67.5%*70.7%68.2%68.8%69.7%69.2%
White81.8%75.2%78.5%84.3%75.9%80.1%81.5%78.2%79.8%
8thAfrican-American or Black77.2%74.9%75.9%79.6%70.0%74.1%71.6%74.6%73.2%
All Races Combined80.1%73.1%76.6%78.3%74.5%76.4%75.9%75.0%75.5%
Asian American67.1%64.4%65.9%71.7%69.9%70.7%77.6%71.5%74.5%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial75.2%70.0%72.7%70.2%74.6%72.4%67.4%69.9%68.5%
Hispanic/Latino71.5%66.5%69.1%69.8%68.4%69.2%64.4%65.3%64.9%
Native American62.3%67.8%65.4%56.8%64.8%61.3%61.8%64.8%63.4%
Pacific Islander85.7%55.6%65.9%**86.5%**62.8%
White81.9%74.3%78.2%80.9%75.8%78.3%78.1%76.6%77.4%
9thAfrican-American or Black74.6%59.3%66.4%65.5%70.1%67.8%73.5%72.5%73.0%
All Races Combined78.7%71.3%75.0%75.7%74.2%74.9%73.5%73.7%73.6%
Asian American63.0%60.8%61.8%66.9%68.8%67.8%68.2%67.5%67.9%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial74.7%67.1%71.1%67.3%70.1%68.6%64.5%70.8%67.3%
Hispanic/Latino70.2%64.1%67.2%66.4%67.6%67.0%65.3%65.3%65.3%
Native American68.8%61.8%64.9%63.0%73.8%69.5%60.4%64.0%62.2%
Pacific Islander53.8%60.9%58.3%*****62.9%
White80.2%72.9%76.6%78.2%75.6%76.9%75.5%75.0%75.3%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black76.3%67.3%71.4%74.1%72.0%73.0%74.6%73.2%73.8%
All Races Combined79.4%73.0%76.2%78.0%74.5%76.2%75.9%74.9%75.4%
Asian American69.5%63.1%66.3%70.0%66.8%68.5%72.7%69.1%71.0%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial75.2%69.3%72.3%71.3%71.9%71.6%67.5%70.0%68.7%
Hispanic/Latino72.0%66.3%69.2%69.7%69.1%69.4%68.1%67.0%67.6%
Native American66.8%64.4%65.5%63.2%66.8%65.2%65.6%66.1%65.9%
Pacific Islander66.1%61.7%63.6%66.1%77.3%73.2%66.2%66.3%66.3%
White80.8%74.4%77.6%80.1%75.8%78.0%77.7%76.3%77.0%

About the Indicator:

Feeling cared about by people in their lives is a factor associated with protection against both substance use and mental health disorders. According to 2019 MSS data, students who think their friends care about them “quite a bit” or “very much” are 1.5 times less likely to report past month alcohol use, 1.5 times less likely to report past month tobacco use, 1.7 times less likely to report past month marijuana use, and 2.3 times less likely to report any past month prescription drug misuse as compared to those who think their friends only care “some,” “a little,” or “not at all.” N/A indicates that the data are unavailable or were not collected.

Data Source: Minnesota Student Survey (MSS)

Description: The MSS is a confidential and anonymous self-administered survey given to students attending Minnesota public, charter and tribal schools. From 1995 to 2010, the survey was administered to students in 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. New in 2013, the survey was administered to students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades. Trend data are now only available for 9th graders, and only for survey questions that did not change. Most schools elect to participate in the survey; in 2013, this included 84% of public schools in Minnesota.

Although the data are not presented here, the survey is also administered to area learning centers, juvenile correction facilities and private schools electing to participate.

Sponsored by: Minnesota Department of Education

Geographic Level: State, Region, and County

Aggregated data at the state and county level do not reveal disparities that may exist within a given geographic area.

Frequency: Data collected and reported every three years

Characteristics: The results of the MSS are also available at a county level. Data Privacy requirements mandate that data is presented in a manner such that no individual student can be identified through the presentation of the results. As part of the Data Privacy practices, the results are also presented in a manner that no individual school district could be identified through the results. Therefore, for counties that have only one school district, the results are not presented. Results are also withheld for counties in which the minimum number for student participation was not met.

The MSS is a “census” of schools, not a sample. The school districts get their own data. Fifth-graders were not asked all substance use questions. Some school districts do not participate, and student participation within the school district can vary widely. These data are self-reported.