2009 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL
YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
West Virginia Department of Education
June 2010
2009 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
The YRBS is one component of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) developed by the CDC in
collaboration with representatives from state and local departments of education and health, other federal agencies, and national
education and health organizations. The YRBSS was designed to focus the nation on behaviors among youth related to the
leading causes of mortality and morbidity among both youth and adults and to assess how these risk behaviors change over
time. The YRBSS measures behaviors that fall into six categories:
1. Unintentional injuries and violence;
2. Tobacco use;
3. Alcohol and other drug use;
4. Sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies;
5. Dietary behaviors;
6. Physical activity.
The YRBS also measures self-reported height and weight to allow calculation of body mass index as well as health data
associated with asthma.
The West Virginia High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an 89-item self-reporting questionnaire that
has been administered every two years since 1993 by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). During the 2009
High School YRBS administration, a total of 35 public high schools were randomly selected from around the state, with 34
participating. Survey procedures were designed to protect the privacy of students by allowing for anonymous and voluntary
participation. Parental permission procedures were followed at the local level before surveys were administered to students. In
total, 1,670 students in grades 9 through 12 participated in this voluntary and anonymous survey, with a school response rate of
97% and the student response rate of 82%. The overall response rate was 79%. The 97% participation rates from individual
schools along with the high levels of student response rates have been scientifically weighted which allows survey results to be
generalized to all public high school students across West Virginia. West Virginia YRBS data has been weighted every year
the survey has been conducted except 2001. The weighted demographic characteristics of the sample are as follows:
Sex:
Female 48.8%
Male 51.2%
Grade level
9th grade 28.6%
10th grade 25.0%
11th grade 23.4%
12th grade 22.8%
Race:
White* 93.3%
Black* 5.0%.
Hispanic/ Latino 0.8%;
Multiple races 0.5%
All other races 0.4%
*Non-Hispanic
The following is a brief synopsis of major survey results and comparisons of the 2009 YRBS data to previous years.
The full report can be accessed at: http://wvde.state.wv.us/osshp/main/programs.html
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2009 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
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Key Findings
TOBACCO USE
 The percentage of students who ever tried cigarette
smoking decreased 59.3% in 2007 to 55.2% in 2009.
ILLEGAL DRUG USE
 The use of marijuana one or more times during their
life decreased from 40.9% in 2007 to 38.9% in 2009.

Early initiation of cigarette smoking (i.e., before age
13) decreased from 21.5 in 2007 to 17.6% in 2009.

The percentage of students who tried marijuana for the
first time before age 13 decreased from 11.3% in
2007 to 9.0% in 2009.

Cigar smoking decreased from 14.5% in 2007 to
14.3% in 2009.

The use of marijuana in the 30 days before the survey
decreased from 23.5% in 2007 to 20.3% in 2009.
Smokeless tobacco use decreased from 14.8% in
2007 to 14.4% in 2009.

Marijuana use on school property decreased from
5.8% in 2007 to 3.9% in 2009.
The percentage of students who smoked cigarettes on
20 or more of the past 30 days decreased from 14.4%
in 2007 to 11.4% in 2009.

Students who used any form of cocaine one or more
times during their life decreased from 11.1% in 2007
to 8.3% in 2009.

Students who sniffed glue, breathed the contents of
aerosol spray cans, or inhaled any paints or sprays to
get high one or more times during their life decreased
from 19.2% in 2007 to 15.3% in 2009.
Smoking on school property decreased from 8.8% in
2007 to 5.5% in 2009.

Lifetime methamphetamine use decreased from 8.1%
in 2007 to 6.5% in 2009.
Daily cigarette smoking during the past month (one or
more of the past 30 days) decreased 19.5% in 2007 to
17.7% in 2009.

The percentage of students who were offered, sold, or
given an illegal drug by someone on school property
during the past 12 months decreased from 28.6% in
2007 to 28.0% in 2009.






Current cigarette smoking (i.e., smoking 10 or more
cigarettes per day on the days they smoked during the
past 30 days) decreased from 20.3% in 2007 to
12.9% in 2009.
Those who smoked cigarettes or cigars or used
smokeless or chewing tobacco on one or more of the
past 30 days decreased from 34.5% in 2007 to 29.5%
in 2009.
ALCOHOL USE
 Early initiation of alcohol use (i.e., before age 13),
decreased from 27.6% in 2007 to 22.7% in 2009.

Alcohol use on school property increased from 5.5%
in 2007 to 5.7% in 2009.

Students who had at least one drink of alcohol on one
or more of the past 30 days decreased from 43.5% in
2007 to 40.4% in 2009.

Students who had at least one drink of alcohol on one
or more days during their life 75.4% in 2007 to
73.4% in 2009.

Binge drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks in
a row within a couple of hours) in the past month,
decreased from 29.5% in 2007 to 27.2% in 2009.
INJURY AND VIOLENCE
 The percentage of students who drove a car or other
vehicle one or more times in the past month when they
had been drinking alcohol decreased from 10.0% in
2007 to 7.5% in 2009.

Weapon carrying in the past month such as a gun,
knife or club increased from 21.3% in 2007 to 21.4%
in 2009.

Gun carrying during the past 30 days increased
significantly from 4.9% in 2007 to 10.1% in 2009.

Weapon carrying on school property such as a gun,
knife or club decreased from 6.9% in 2007 to 6.5%
in 2009.

The percentage of students who did not go to school
on one or more days in the past month because they
felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school
has increased from 6.8% in 2007 to 7.8% in 2009.
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2009 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS

The percentage of students who were in a physical
fight on school property one or more times during the
past year decreased from 12.9% in 2007 to 11.3% in
2009.


Students who were ever hit, slapped, or physically hurt
on purpose by their boyfriend/girlfriend during the
past year increased from 11.8% in 2007 to 13.8% in
2009.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND DIETARY
BEHAVIORS
 The percentage of students at risk for becoming
overweight decreased from 17.0% in 2007 to 14.4%
in 2009.

The percentage of students who never or rarely wore a
seat belt when riding in a car driven by someone else
decreased from 16.6% in 2007 to 14.0% in 2009.
SUICIDAL THINKING AND BEHAVIOR
 The percentage of students who have seriously
considered suicide in the past year increased from
16.0% in 2007 to 18.0% in 2009.

The percentage of students who actually attempted
suicide one or more times during the past year
increased from 9.1% in 2007 to 10.7% in 2009.

Having made a suicide attempt requiring medical
treatment increased from 3.4% in 2007 to 4.6% in
2009.
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND SEXUALITY
EDUCATION
 The percentage of students who had sexual intercourse
for the first time before age 13 decreased from 6.5%
in 2007 to 6.0% in 2009.

The percentage of students who have ever had sexual
intercourse increased from 53.7% in 2007 to 54.1%
in 2009.

Students who had sexual intercourse with four or more
people during their life decreased from 16.5% in
2007 to 15.5% in 2009.

Of the students who had sexual intercourse during the
past three months, the percentage who drank alcohol
or used drugs prior to remained 22.3% in 2007 to
22.3% in 2009.


Among students who had sexual intercourse during the
past three months, the percentage that used a condom
during last sexual intercourse decreased from 61.0%
in 2007 to 54.4% in 2009.

The percent of students who were overweight
decreased from 14.7% in 2007 to 14.2% in 2009.

The percentage of students who described themselves
as slightly or very overweight decreased from 31.0%
in 2007 to 30.6% in 2009.

The percentage of students who were trying to lose
weight increased from 45.4% in 2007 to 48.4% in
2009.

The percent of youth who ate the recommended five or
more servings of fruits and vegetables per day
decreased from 19.8% in 2007 to 18.2% in 2009.

Students who drank three or more glasses of milk per
day during the past seven days decreased from 16.7%
in 2007 to 13.9% in 2009.

The percentage of students who drank a can, bottle, or
glass of soda one or more times per day during the
past seven days decreased from 45.9% in 2007 to
34.5% in 2009.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
 Students who were physically active for a total of at
least 60 minutes per day on five or more days during
the week prior to the survey decreased from 42.8% in
2007 to 41.8% in 2009.

The percentage of students who watched three or more
hours per day of TV on an average school day
decreased from 32.0% in 2007 to 31.5% in 2009.
(Video games, computers, and text messaging were
not included in this measurement).
The percentage of students who say they have ever
been taught in school about AIDS or HIV decreased
from 87.8% in 2007 to 86.3% in 2009.

Students who attended physical education classes
daily in an average week decreased from 25.5% in
2007 to 24.0% in 2009.
Among the students who had sexual intercourse during
the past three months, the percentage that used birth
control pills decreased from 25.0% in 2007 to 23.1%
in 2009.
SUMMARY OF OTHER KEY FINDINGS
 In 2009,the first year of collecting bullying data,
27.8% of students in grades 9 and 10 reported
being bullied on school property as compared to
18.6% of 11th and 12th grade students.
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2009 WEST VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY RESULTS
CONCLUSION
The results of the 2009 West Virginia YRBS for high schools illustrate that a substantial percentage of high school youth
engage in behaviors that could place them at risk for serious health problems. Although West Virginia schools alone cannot address
the personal, physical, and emotional needs of adolescents, they must work in collaboration with parents and community agencies in
helping students prevent present and future health problems. Successful school programs that help reduce risky behaviors should be
examined and duplicated by schools and communities that demonstrate the greatest needs. Findings from the 2009 YRBS highlight
both improvements and significant concerns regarding adolescent risk behaviors in West Virginia.
Key findings from the 2009 YRBS highlight both improvements and significant concerns regarding adolescent risk behaviors
in West Virginia.
Key findings of improvements include:
 Significantly fewer WV youth are using tobacco, and tobacco users are initiating their tobacco use later and using less.
 WV youth have shown the greatest decrease in the consumption of soft drinks when compared to the national YRBS results.
 Adolescent seat belt use continues to increase.
 Early initiation of alcohol use has decreased significantly.
 All illegal drug use is on the decline.
Key finding of concerns include:
 Students who reported carrying guns increased dramatically.
 Of students reporting having sexual intercourse, there was a significant decrease in condom use.
 Abusive and violent behaviors regarding boyfriend/girlfriend relationships increased significantly.
 The percent of adolescents who report eating fruits and vegetables continues to decrease.
 The trend for suicidal behaviors continues to move in a negative direction.
It is important to maintain the positive momentum in those areas of success, and focus attention on areas of concern. The
efforts of Local School Wellness Councils to coordinate school health programs and continually emphasize the relationship between
health and academic achievement can contribute to the development of successful, healthy youth.
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