Page 134 - 2015 Compass Now

Issues in the Community

Respondents were asked to indicate their level of concern for their community for 18 different issues.
Results from the current survey are shown in Figure 21 ranked from highest to lowest rating, including
the mean scores from the 2011 survey, when a comparable question was asked. Items with an asterisk (*)
indicate a significant difference from 2011 to 2014.

The top five concerns identified by respondents were: illegal drug use, alcohol use, identity theft, bullying,
and prescription drug misuse. In 2011, the top five concerns were: illegal drug use, financial problems
experienced by local governments, alcohol use, obesity, and domestic, child, and elder abuse. Compared to
the 2011, survey six issues were statistically rated as more of a concern, six were rated as less of a concern,
and four were not statistically different. See Table 3.

Table 3: Change in Rating of Concern on Issues

Statistically Statistically No Statistical difference New to the survey
Higher Concern Lower Concern

• Illegal drug use • Tobacco use • Alcohol use • Bullying
• Identity theft • Financial problems (slightly lower) • Funding for schools
• Prescription drug
experienced by • Domestic abuse,
misuse local governments child abuse, elder
• Over-the-counter • Gambling abuse (slightly
• Excessive personal higher)
drug misuse debt
• Hunger • Risk of losing your • Obesity (slightly
• Suicide job lower)
• Risk of foreclosure
and bankruptcy • Sexual abuse and
sexual violence
(slightly higher)

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