This study purpose was to investigate sex differences in multilevel factors associated with smoking experimentation and age of initiation among Korean adolescents. Based on the ecological model, this cross-sectional study used data from the 2016 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (N = 65,528). Among 33,803 males (51.6%) and 31,725 females…

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…

Purpose: Peer crowds are macro-level subcultures that share similarities across geographic areas. Over the past decade, dozens of studies have explored the association between adolescent peer crowds and risk behaviors, and how they can inform public health efforts. However, despite the interest, researchers have not yet reported on crowd size and…

Trends in sources of cigarettes among adolescents were assessed using data from a teen cohort (2000-2006). Five sources--bought from store, got from other teen, stole from others, bought from others, and got from an adult--were measured over time by age. The most common source among all ages was other teens. Fewer teens bought cigarettes from…

Of the handful of national studies tracking trends in adolescent substance use in the United States, only the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study collects data from 6th through 10th graders. The purpose of this study was to examine trends from 1998 to 2010 (four time points) in the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use…

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…

About 35% of healthy weight adolescent females describe themselves as overweight, and 66% report planning to lose weight. Body weight dissatisfaction is associated with unhealthy weight loss practices including diet pill/powder/liquid (PPL) use. Few studies have examined diet PPL use in healthy weight adolescent females; therefore, Youth Risk…

This study examined relationships between emotional self-efficacy (ESE) and alcohol and tobacco use in a statewide sample of public high school adolescents (n?=?2,566). The Center for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey and an adolescent ESE scale were utilized. Logistic regression analyses indicated the presence of any significant race by…

Problem: Priority health-risk behaviors contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults. Population-based data on these behaviors at the national, state, and local levels can help monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to protect and promote the health of youth nationwide. Reporting…

Background: Data are limited regarding the prevalence of substance use among adolescents in rural and ethnically diverse communities. This study examined rates and sociodemographic correlates of lifetime substance use among adolescents in Mississippi, a rural state that is the poorest in the country (21.3% poverty rate) and has the largest…

The authors investigated the relationship between ageism and risk-taking in young adults. They hypothesized that young adults may attempt to distance themselves from their future older selves and from an awareness of their mortality by seeking out experiences that make them feel strong, energetic, and invulnerable (i.e., experiences involving…

The 2013 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (NCYRBS) was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and adapted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to monitor health-risk behaviors and to measure progress toward achieving Healthy North Carolina 2020 objectives. The survey, administered in…

Background: This study examined the prevalence of oral sexual activity in rural Midwestern adolescents. We also examined the correlates of a series of risk behaviors with oral sexual activity. Methods: A questionnaire based on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System was distributed to 2121 rural middle and high school students in grades 6-12…

Examined demographic characteristics of high school tobacco-users across gender and ethnicity using data from the 1991-1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Current smoking increased, with one-third of 9th and 12th graders currently smoking in 1995 and 11% of all students using smokeless tobacco. Many students used tobacco before high school. Tobacco…

Using 1993 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, this study assessed Texas high school (N=6,015) and college students' (N=1048) alcohol use, tobacco use, and sexual behavior. Results indicated that the high school students initiated risk behaviors at much earlier ages than the college students, but college students reported a higher incidence of the…