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.