2007 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2007 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
West Virginia Department of Education
April 2008
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2007 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The West Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an 87-item self-reporting questionnaire that is administered every two years by the West Virginia Department of Education. The survey is made possible with funding from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey monitors adolescent risk behaviors related to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults.
The YRBS is one component of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with representatives from state and local departments of education and health, other federal agencies, and national education and health organizations. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System was designed to focus the nation on behaviors among youth related to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among both youth and adults and to assess how these risk behaviors change over time.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System measures behaviors that fall into six categories:
1. Behaviors that result in unintentional injuries and
violence;
2. Tobacco use;
3. Alcohol and other drug use;
4. Sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies;
5. Dietary behaviors;
6. Physical activity.
The YRBS also measures self-reported height and weight to allow calculation of body mass index. The survey also measures self-reported health data associated with asthma.
The 2007 YRBS was conducted in the spring of 2007. A total of 35 public high schools were randomly selected from around the state, with 34 choosing to participate. Survey procedures were designed to protect the privacy of students by allowing for anonymous and voluntary participation. Parental permission procedures were followed at the local level before surveys were administered to students. In total, 1,393 students in grades 9 through 12 participated in this voluntary and anonymous survey, indicative of a 77% student response rate. The overall response rate was 75%. The 97% participation rates from individual schools along with the high levels of student response rates allow survey results to be generalized to all public high school students across West Virginia.
The weighted demographic characteristics of the sample are as follows:
Sex:
Female 48.9%
Male 51.1%
Grade level
9th grade 28.6%
10th grade 25.6%
11th grade 23.4%
12th grade 22.0%
Race:
White* 93.8%
Black* 4.5%.
Hispanic/ Latino 0.7%;
Multiple races 0.5%
All other races 0.5%
Other races 0.3%
*Non-Hispanic
The following is a brief synopsis of major survey results, and comparisons shown is the 2007 YRBS data compared to the 2005 and 2003 YRBS statistics.
RESULTS
TOBACCO USE
- The percentage of students who ever tried cigarette smoking decreased from 62.8% in 2003, and 60.7% in 2005, to 59.3% in 2007.
- Early initiation of cigarette smoking (i.e., before age 13) decreased from 27.7% in 2003, and 24.2% in 2005, to 21.5% in 2007.
- Cigar smoking was at 15.6% in 2003, and then decreased from 15.6% in 2005 to 14.5% in 2007.
- Smokeless tobacco use was at 13.6% in 2003 then increased to14.9% and 14.8% respectably in 2005 and 2007.
- The percentage of students who smoked cigarettes on 20 or more of the past 30 days decreased from 17.7% in 2003 to13.6% in 2005, and then increased to 14.4% in 2007.
- Current cigarette smoking (i.e., smoking 10 or more cigarettes per day on the days they smoked during the past 30 days) decreased from 20.2% in 2003 to 18.0% in 2005, and then increased to 20.3% in 2007.
- Smoking on school property decreased from 9.8% in 2003 to 8.3% in 2005, and then increased to 8.8% in 2007.
- Daily cigarette smoking during the past month (one or more of the past 30 days) decreased from 20.2% in 2003 to 13.6% in 2005, and then increased to 14.4% in 2007.
- Those who smoked cigarettes or cigars used smokeless or chewing tobacco on one or more of the past 30 days decreased from 35.0% in 2003 to 32.7% in 2005, and then increased to 34.5% in 2007.
ALCOHOL USE
- Early initiation of alcohol use (i.e., before age 13), increased from 27.4% in 2003 to 30.9% in 2005, and then decreased to 27.6% in 2007.
- Alcohol use on school property increased from 4.1% in 2003 to 6.4% in 2005, and then decreased to 5.5% in 2007.
- Students who had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more of the past 30 days decreased from 44.4% in
- 2003 to 41.5% in 2005, and then increased to 43.5% in 2007.
- Students who had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more days during their life decreased from 76.1% in 2003 to 74.1%, and then increased to 75.4% in 2007.
- Binge drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks in a row within a couple of hours) in the past month, decreased from 33.5% in 2003 to 28.8% in 2005, and then increased to 29.5% in 2007.
ILLEGAL DRUG USE
- The use of marijuana one or more times during their life decreased from 43.7% in 2003 to 38.7% in 2005, and then increased to 40.9% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who tried marijuana for the first time before age 13 decreased from 12.3% in 2003 to 9.9% in 2005, and then increased to 11.3% in 2007.
- The use of marijuana in the 30 days before the survey decreased from 23.1% in 2003 to 19.6% in 2005, and then increased to 23.5% in 2007.
- Marijuana use on school property increased from 4.5% in 2003 to 4.9% in 2005, and then to 5.8% in 2007...
- Students who used any form of cocaine one or more times during their life increased from 10.9% in 2003 to 11.3% in 2005, and then decreased slightly to 11.1% in 2007.
- Students who sniffed glue, breathed the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaled any paints or sprays to get high one or more time during their life increased significantly from 15.1% in 2003, 16.0% in 2005, to 19.2% in 2007.
- Lifetime methamphetamine use decreased from 11.3% in 2003 to 8.4% in 2005, and then to 8.1% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who were offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property during the past 12 months decreased from 26,5% in 2003 to 24.8% in 2005, and then increased to 28.6% in 2007..
INJURY AND VIOLENCE
- The percentage of students who drove a car or other vehicle one or more times in the past month when they had been drinking alcohol decreased from 12.0% in 2003 to 10.6% in 2005, and then to 10.0% in 2007.
- Weapon carrying in the past month such as a gun, knife or club increased from 20.7% in 2003 to 22.3% in 2005, and then decreased to 21.3% in 2007.
- Gun carrying during the past 30 days decreased from 10.5% in 2003 to 7.6% in 2005, and then dropped to 4.9% in 2007.
- Weapon carrying on school property such as a gun, knife or club increased from 6.6% in 2003 to 8.5% in 2005, and then decreased to 6.9% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who did not go to school on one or more days in the past month because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school has increased from 5.9% in 2003 to 6.4% in 2005, and then to 6.8% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who were in a physical fight on school property one or more times during the past year increased from 10.3% in 2003 to 12.1% in 2005, and then to 12.9% in 2007.
- Students who were every hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend/girlfriend during the past year decreased from 11.4% in 2003 to 9.2% in 2005, and then increased to 11.8% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who never or rarely wore a seat belt when riding in a car driven by someone else increased from 15.2% in 2003 and 2005 to 16.6% in 2007.
SUICIDAL THINKING AND BEHAVIOR
- The percentage of students who have seriously considered suicide in the past year decreased from 17.8% in 2003 to16.9% in 2005, and then to 16.0% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who actually attempted suicide one or more times during the past year decreased from 9.3% in 2003 to 8.8% in 2005, and then increased to 9.1% in 2007.
- Having made a suicide attempt requiring medical treatment increased from 2.5% in 2003 and 2005 to 3.4% in 2007.
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND SEXUALITY EDUCATION
- The percentage of students who had sexual intercourse for the first time before age 13 decreased from 7.3% in 2003 and 2005 to 6.5% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who have ever had sexual intercourse increased from 52.0% in 2003 to 52.5%, and then to 53.7% in 2007.
- Students who had sexual intercourse with four or more people during their life decreased from 16.5% in 2003 to 14.8% in 2005, and then increased back to 16.5% in 2007.
- Of the students who had sexual intercourse during the past three months, the percentage who drank alcohol or used drugs prior to decreased from 24.6% in 2003 to 20.7% in 2005, and then increased to 22.3% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who say they have ever been taught in school about AIDS or HIV increased from 88.9% in 2003 to 89.6%, and then decreased to 87.8% in 2007.
- Among the students who had sexual intercourse during the past three months, the percentage who used birth control pills decreased from 24.6% in 2003 to 24.0 in 2005, and then increased to 25.0% in 2007.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND DIETARY BEHAVIORS
- In 2007, 17.0% of all students were at risk for becoming overweight, an increase from16.0% in 2005 and 15.1% in 2003.
- The percent of students who were overweight increased from 13.7% in 2003 to 14.5% in 2005 and 14.7% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who described themselves as slightly or very overweight decreased from 34.9% in 2003 to 33.7% in 2005 and 31.0% in 2007.
- The percentage of students who were trying to lose weight decreased from 51.0% in 2003 to 49.4% in 2005, and then increased to 45.4% in 2007.
- The percent of youth who ate the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day increased from 20.6% in 2003 to 22.1% in 2005, then decreased to 19.8% in 2007.
- Students who drank three or more glasses of milk per day during the past seven days decreased from 18.6% in 2003 to 17.3% in 2005 and 16.7% in 2007.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
- Students who were physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on five or more days last week increased from 37.3% to 42.8%. There were not results from 2003.
- The percentage of students who watched three or more hours per day of TV on an average school day
increased from 33.9% in 2003 to 38.5% in 2005, and then decreased to 32.0% in 2007. (Video games,
computers, and text messaging were not included in this measurement).
- Students who attended physical education classes daily in an average week increased from 28.6% in 2003 to 31.7%, and then decreased to 25.5% in 2007.
SUMMARY OF OTHER KEY FINDINGS
- The percentage of students who had ever been told by a doctor or nurse that they had asthma increased from 23.7% in 2005 to 24.6 in 2007.
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2007 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CONCLUSION
The 2007 YRBS results highlight concerns and significant disappointments in reducing adolescent risk behaviors in the state. Many measures of substance use, violence, and suicide have increased slightly over the past two years.
A few areas, notably those related to nutrition and physical activity, have not improved in recent years. In fact, more West Virginia youth are overweight or at risk of overweight than ever before. This is of special concern because of the current national epidemic of obesity.
It is important that we continue to maintain the positive momentum in those areas of success, and that efforts to improve dietary behaviors and physical activity among youth be strengthened. Comprehensive and coordinated school health programs and continued emphasis on the relationship between health and academic achievement can contribute toward these goals.
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2007 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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