The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), designed and validated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been conducted nationally and in several states and localities since 1990. During the 2018-2019 school year, the Monroe County Department of Public Health (MCDPH)conducted the YRBS in public high schools for the 13th time since 1992. Two suburban school districts opted out of the survey this year, so MCDPH over-sampled in the remaining suburban districts. A random sample of public high school students was developed with a projected 5% margin of error and an 80% response rate. A total of 1,828 surveys were selected for the sample. All surveys were administered through an online platform.
Among the many findings, the proportion of students who reported feeling sad/hopeless every day for at least two weeks in a row, showed an overall increase from 21% in 2007 to 32% in 2019. There was also an increase in the proportion who reported they considered suicide in the past year, from 12% to 14%.
On a more positive note, the proportions of youth who reported various alcohol use behaviors declined overall between 2007 and 2019.
Many other results, including an increase in time spent in front of a screen, doing non-school related activities, and an increase in proportion of students reporting one hour of daily physical activity, can be found in the MCDPH full detailed report.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.