The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

Violence among American youth is a significant societal problem. The past decade witnessed juvenile arrests for violence, weapons, drugs, and curfew violations peak in the mid 90's. Analogous to the arrest trends for older juveniles, the arrest rate for young offenders rose 63% from 1987 until 1994 when it declined slightly. Since that time,…