New Hanover County Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
What is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)?
The YRBSS was developed in 1990 by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to monitor priority health risk behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. These behaviors, often established during childhood and early adolescence, include:
- Tobacco use
- Unhealthy dietary behaviors
- Inadequate physical activity
- Alcohol and other drug use
- Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection
- Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence
This national survey is administered at the state and local level to measure trends in youth risk behaviors.
In April 2005, the Safe Schools, Healthy Students Grant Initiative in partnership with New Hanover County Schools and the University of North Carolina Wilmington administered the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YBRSS) to middle schools and high schools in New Hanover County. A total of 619 middle school students and 375 high school students participated in these surveys. For more information contact the project director, Lisa Brewster at: lbrewste@nhcs.k12.nc.us
Local Data:
For full report please click on PDF below
Middle School Results
Mental Health
- 15% reported seriously thought of killing themselves in last year
Violence
- 32.5% carried a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club in their life
- 56.7% reported being in a physical fight
Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs
- 26.3% who tried smoking (one or two puffs)
- 7.2% smoked daily
- 35.4% Ever had a drink of alcohol
- 26.5% had ridden in a car with someone who’d been drinking
- 13.9% had tried marijuana
Sexual Behaviors
- 20.2% had sex
- 10.8% had sex with more than one person
- 14.4% had used a condom
High School Results
Weight
- BMI = 22 Caucasian
- BMI= 25 African Americans
Mental Health
- 29% felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activity
- 16% had attempted suicide in last year
- 37.8% of attempted suicides resulted in injury, poisoning, overdose, etc.
Violence
- 34% had been in a physical fight
- 17.9% carried a weapon in past 30 days
- 10.1% were threatened or injured by a weapon in last 12 months
- 8.8% did not go to school one day in last 30 days because they felt unsafe
- 26.5% said property had been stolen or damaged in 12 months
- 34% had been in a physical fight during last 12 months
- 13.1% were in a physical fight on school property
- 11.6% were hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend
Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs
- 46.5% used smokeless tobacco (chewing, snuff, dip)
- 53.5% have tried smoking cigarettes (even 1 or 2 puffs)
- 43% consumed at least one drink in last 30 days
- 25.7% consumed 5 or more beverages in a couple of hours (binge drinking)
- 52.8% rode in a car with someone else who’d been drinking
- 44.4% tried marijuana
- 26.3% used marijuana one or more times in last 30 days
- 6.1% have used ecstasy during their life
- 2.7% have used heroin
- 13.9% used inhalants
- 3.2% used methamphetamines during life
- 31% who have been offered, sold or given an illegal drug on school property in last 12 months
Sexual behaviors
- 50% had had sexual intercourse
- 62% used a condom
- 16.1% had sexual intercourse with 4 or more people in life
- 34.6% had one or more partners in the last 3 months
- 25.4% drank alcohol or used drugs before having sexual intercourse during the past 3 months
- 10.4% were physically forced to have sex when they did not want to
PDF Download : New Hanover County Youth Risk Behavior Survey High School 2005
PDF Download : New Hanover County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Middle School Results
