2009 YRBSS Results and Implications

Gabriel Garcia, PhD, MA, MPHDepartment of Health SciencesUniversity of Alaska Anchorage

What is YRBSS?

Nationwide survey developed and conducted by CDC.

It monitors the following health risk behaviors: unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and STD, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and physical inactivity.

First implemented in 1990 nationally; but AK implemented YRBSS in 1995.

AK is one of only three states that has a law for active parental consent.

YRBSS Sampling

Sampling: School level and class level School level: Probability Proportional to Size

(Grades 9-12) Class level: Equal Probability Sampling (Classes

in a required subject)

Overall response rate for the 2009 YRBSS was 62%

In order for the sample to reflect the high school student population, CDC developed an algorithm for weighting.

Purpose

To provide and discuss the results of my analysis of the 2009 YRBSS of Anchorage Traditional Schools. Risk Behaviors Analyzed: Current drinking

(having at least 1 drink in the past 30 days), binge drinking (having 5+ drinks in one sitting), current smoking (smoked 1 cigarette in the past 30 days), current marijuana use, and involvement in physical fights (in the past year).

Risk Behaviors

Current Drinking

35% drank

alcohol

65% did

NOT drink

alcohol

Percent Reporting Having at Least One Drink of Alcohol in

the Past 30 Days

23% of students reported binge drinking in the past 30 days.

68% of those who drank at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days reported binge drinking.

25% of students reported riding a vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking in the past 30 days.

Current Drinking among Groups

11th & 12th graders have higher current drinking (~40%) & binge drinking (~30%) rates than their counterparts.

More than a third of Latinos reported binge drinking in the past 30 days, this is higher than other ethnic groups.

Current drinking (~35%) binge (~20%) among teenage boys and girls are similar.

Cigarette & Marijuana

Yes, 11%

No, 89%

Percent Reporting Smok-ing at Least One Ciga-

rette in the Past 30 Days

19% smoked

mari-juana

81% did NOT smoke mari-juana

Percent Reporting Smoking Marijuana in the Past 30

Days

66% of those who currently smoke cigarettes currently smoke marijuana.

3% of students have ever used heroin and 4% have ever used methamphetamines in their lifetime.

Physical Fights & Bullying

28% in-volved in

physical fights

72% was NOT in-volved in physical

fights

Percent Reporting being involved in One or More Physical Fights in

the Past Year

35% of those involved in physical fights in the past year reported bringing a weapon in the past 30 days.

13% of students have been physically hurt by their boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 30 days.

•20% report being bullied in school within the past 12 months.

•There is a significant correlation between being bullied and attempted suicide.

Being Bullied in School

Those with mixed race/ethnicity have the highest reported rate of being bullied in school (26%) compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

Teen girls are more likely to report being bullied as compared to teen boys.

Risk Behaviors & Grades

Grades & Current Alcohol Use

Grades & Current Binge Drink

Risk Behaviors & Grades

Grades & Current Smoking

Grades & Marijuana Use

Risk Behaviors & Grades

Grades & Physical Fights

Grades & Bullied in School

Students’ grades in school decreased with increasing frequency of alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use.

Protective Factors

Grades & Teacher Encouragement

Grades & Adult Support

Grades & Volunteer Activities

Students’ grades in school increased with increased teacher positive encouragement, regular communication with parents, and increased number of adults to go to for help.

Supportive Parents & Current Drinking

Supportive Parents & Smoking

Students’ were less likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and smoke marijuana when they constantly receive positive encouragement from their teachers, regular communication with parents, and increased number of adults to go to for help.

AUY Strategies

Supportive adult relationships

Meaningful opportunities

Family services

Environmental strategies

Understanding Behavior Development

Conceptual Model

Behavior

Predisposingknowledge, attitudes,

beliefs(Health educ.

programs)

Reinforcing parents, teachers,

other adults, grades(SAR, FS)

Enablingvolunteer

opportunities, skills development, etc…

(MO, FS)

Environment(Environmental Strategies)

Biological/Genetics

Based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model by Green & Kreuter

Heath Programs

Literature on Risk & Protective Factors

Having a higher GPA and family connectedness are key protective factors; as the # of protective factors increase, the probability of initiating smoking decreased by 19.2% to 54.1% (Scal et al., 2003).

Need to implement prevention strategies that focus on risk reduction and protection enhancement (Scal et al., 2003; Scheier et al,1996; Hawkins et al., 1992).

When developing programs, we should be cognizant that health risk behaviors may be associated with negative life experiences (Simantov et al., 2000).

Practice Implications

Develop programs that help improve grades and keep students in school.

Enhance family support (and other adults) and teacher support (if possible).

Continue advocating for policies that will make it difficult for teens to engage in risk behaviors.

Social marketing and health education strategies to educate teens about the dangers of risk behaviors.

Continue providing meaningful opportunities.

Conclusion

We have made some progress.

Most of our teens are not “bad”. But, we need to be mindful of emerging problems.

We need to continue to promote and build “protective factors” through the programs that you currently have, and increase the “reach”—especially to disadvantaged population.

Evaluation is important.

Be mindful of the limitations of YRBSS. The findings are only generalizable to high school students in Anchorage traditional schools. Results may be different for alternative schools and McLaughlin Youth Center. We need to also look at available statistics in our city and state.