The YRBSS was developed in 1990 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
- Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence.
- Sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV infection.
- Alcohol and other drug use.
- Tobacco use.
- Unhealthy dietary behaviors.
- Inadequate physical activity.
From 1991 through 2015, the YRBSS has collected data from more than 3.8 million high school students in more than 1,700 separate surveys.
The YRBSS was designed to — Determine the prevalence of health behaviors; Assess whether health behaviors increase, decrease, or stay the same over time; Examine the co-occurrence of health behaviors; Provide comparable national, state, territorial, tribal, and local data; Provide comparable data among subpopulations of youth; Monitor progress toward achieving the Healthy People objectives and other program indicators.
