Youth risk behavior survey: the Alaskan perspective.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a national school-based survey used to monitor health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of mortality, morbidity, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. Both high school and middle school surveys were administered to a representative group of Alaska high school and middle school students for the first time in 1995. Surveys were administered in a confidential and anonymous manner, taking care to assure student privacy. A total of 1,634 high school students and 1,265 middle school students completed surveys. The survey revealed that, for the most part, Alaska students are similar to U.S. students. Among high school students, 23.2% of boys and 15.4% of girls seldom or never used seat belts; 36.4% of boys and 36.5% of girls had smoked cigarettes in the previous 30 days; 23.5% of boys and 6.7% of girls had used smokeless tobacco in the previous 30 days; 48.7% of boys and 48.0% of girls reported having had sexual intercourse at least once; 23.7% of boys and 59.5% of girls were trying to lose weight; and 77.9% of boys and 65.6% of girls had exercised vigorously on three of the previous seven days. The middle school survey was somewhat different than the high school survey, so that results are not directly comparable. Nonetheless, the data indicate that high-risk behaviors, such as tobacco use, drug use, and early sexual intercourse, do occur at the middle school level. The survey also showed that Alaska teens have desirable health behaviors as well, such as frequent exercise and eating fruits and vegetables. The 1995 Alaska YRBS was the first time that representative data on Alaska students were collected on a statewide basis. The YRBS provides Alaska with baseline data that can be compared to national data.

Developing and conducting a health risk behavior survey among school-aged students.

PURPOSE: To conduct a survey in the school setting which inquires about health risk behaviors among students in grades 7-12. METHOD: The survey was designed by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with many federal and state agencies, to monitor behaviors in the following six areas: unintentional and intentional injuries, tobacco use, alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors, and physical activity. Surveys are administered at the national and state levels and can be optionally administered by local school districts. The standard survey instrument allows for comparisons of national, state, and, where appropriate, local data. Computer software allows for the selection of a random sample and when a sufficient response rate is achieved, survey results can be generalized to the entire sampling frame. Standard software packages can be used for analysis of the data. RESULTS: The Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed by the CDC provides a useful and practical tool to monitor health risk behaviors in adolescent populations. This type of instrument may prove useful to public health professionals in other countries.

Tobacco use among Alaska youth.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a national school-based survey used to monitor health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of mortality, morbidity and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. Tobacco use is one of the behaviors monitored. Both high school and middle school surveys were administered to a representative group of Alaska high school and middle school students for the first time in 1995. Surveys were administered in a confidential and anonymous manner, taking care to assure student privacy. A total of 1,634 high school students and 1,265 middle school students completed surveys. The survey found that Alaska high school students have smoking rates higher than the national rate and that Alaska Native youth have even higher smoking rates. Furthermore, smoking is not uncommon among Alaska middle school students. Among high school students, 36.5% were current smokers (had smoked in the past 30 days) and 21.1% had smoked on 20 or more of the previous 30 days. Boys were more likely than girls to report having used chewing tobacco or snuff in the 30 days prior to the survey (23.5% of boys and 6.7% of girls). Smokeless tobacco use increased with grade level so that 29.1% of high school senior boys had used smokeless tobacco products within the previous 30 days. Over 60% of Alaska Native students reported smoking in the previous 30 days, 43.7% reported smoking 20 or more of the previous 30 days and 22.5% reported using chewing tobacco or snuff in the previous 30 days. Over half of middle school students reported having tried smoking at least once; about one-fourth smoked at least one day in the past 30 days and 5.6% smoked on 20 or more of the past 30 days.