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The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is conducted in public schools nationwide every two years. It is a critical measure of health-risk behaviors in young people. The national effort is coordinated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is conducted in public schools nationwide every two years. It is a critical measure of health-risk behaviors in young people. The national effort is coordinated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Milwaukee, the survey is a joint effort of Milwaukee Public Schools and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 2009 MPS Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The survey is conducted in MPS schools. Children take the survey voluntarily and anonymously. 2,645 middle grade students (6-8) participated in the 2009 YRBS 1,841 high school age students participated in the 2009 YRBS 2009 MPS Youth Risk Behavior Survey
2009 MPS Youth Risk Behavior Survey • The information is divided along eight topics: • protective assets (support systems) • traffic safety • weapons and violence • Suicide • tobacco • alcohol and other drugs • sexual behavior • nutrition and exercise.
Traffic Safety • There has been a significant decrease in drinking and driving among MPS high school students between 2003 and 2009. • During the last 30 days, one out of ten 18 year-old MPS students drove after drinking alcohol. • During the last 30 days, one out of five 16- and 17-year-old MPS students drove after drinking alcohol. • The percentage of MPS middle grade students who ever rode in a car driven by someone who has been drinking alcohol has declined significantly between 2001 and 2009.
Weapons and Violence • MPS high school students were much less likely to experience violence on school grounds when compared to other places. • 33% of MPS high school students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that harassment and bullying by other students is a problem at their school. This represents a significant decrease in perceptions of bullying from 2007 (47%). • 1 in 7 students (14%) high school students reported being hit, slapped, or kicked by their boyfriend or girlfriend during the past 12 months. • More than 1 in 3 (32%) of MPS middle grade students have been bullied on school property at least one time in their life. • More than 1 in 10 (13%) MPS middle grade students have been electronically bullied.
Suicide • Three out of ten (30%) of MPS high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in the last 12 months. • There has been a significant increase in suicidal thinking among MPS middle age students between 2007 and 2009. • Female middle grade students are significantly more likely than male students to have considered suicide; made a plan to commit suicide; and actually attempted suicide at some point in their life.
Tobacco Use • Cigarette smoking has remained low among MPS Middle grade students. Daily use of cigarettes has declined significantly from 2001 - 2009. • Use of cigarettes has decreased among MPS high school students. • The prevalence of high school students who smoked a cigarette before the age of 13 decreased to 14% in 2009, compared to 17% in 2003. • Most notably, the percentage of high school students who reported smoking cigarettes daily (at least one cigarette every day for the past 30 days) dropped to 8% in 2009, compared to 13% in 2003, a statistically significant decrease. • Reports of high school students smoking cigarettes on school property decreased to 4% in 2009, compared to 7% in 2003.
Alcohol and other Drugs • Approximately three in ten MPS high school students reported binge drinking (5 or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours) during the last thirty days and nearly three in ten reported using marijuana at least once during the last 30 days. • The use of inhalants to get high has increased significantly by high school students between 2003 (6%) and 2009 (9%). • The incidence of reported drug transactions on school grounds has decreased steadily and significantly. 23% of MPS high school students reported being offered, sold, or given illegal drugs on school property in 2009, compared with 33% in 2003.
Sexual Behavior • High School males are more likely to start having sex at an earlier age than females and more likely to report having had sex at least once during their lifetime. • MPS high school male students reported having had four or more sex partners during their lifetimes (33%) at a much higher rate than female students (16%). • A sizable minority of MPS high school students (44%) reported having intercourse with at least one partner in the past three months.
Nutrition and Exercise • Middle grade males are significantly more likely to be physically active than females. • One in five middle grade students ate junk food every day during the past week. • Overall, MPS high school students report inadequate levels of physical activity and consumption of fruits and fruit juices. • 17% of High School students are overweight, while an additional 17% are obese. Females are more likely than males to be overweight, while males are more likely than females to fall into the obese category.
Full report http://wellnessandpreventionoffice.org/