The 1999 ARKANSAS YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY (YRBS) results are available from the Arkansas Department of Education, Office of Comprehensive School Health, or can be accessed on the Internet at http://arkedu.state.ar.us/federal_programs.htm. The 1999 YRBS was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 87-item, multiple-choice YRBS questionnaire was tested and revised several times prior to implementation to assure that results would be both accurate and useful.
During the spring of 1999, usable questionnaires were completed by 1,454 ninth through twelfth grade students who attended selected classes at scientifically sampled Arkansas public schools. The information, voluntarily and anonymously provided by the students, yielded representative results for Arkansas' public high school students as a group.
Specific questions about health behaviors were professionally written and were included only if they were related to the leading causes of death or illness of youth in the nation and the state. The survey addresses students' risk-taking behavior in six critical areas: 1) behaviors that result in intentional and unintentional injuries; 2) tobacco use; 3) alcohol and other drug use; 4) sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancies; 5) dietary behaviors, and 6) physical activity.
To receive further information regarding the survey, or an expanded report of the 1999 YRBS results, please contact Kathleen Courtney at 501-324-9740.