Lincoln – Nebraska high school students appear to be engaging in less risky behavior than in previous years, according to results from Nebraska's 2011 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS).
Some of the areas showing greatest improvement since the survey began in 1991 include tobacco and alcohol use and alcohol-impaired driving.
"We're pleased to see declines in tobacco and alcohol use among high school students in Nebraska," said Nebraska's Chief Medical Officer and Director of Public Health for the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Joann Schaefer. "Ongoing prevention efforts are working but there's still more work to do including addressing a lack of nutrition and physical activity."
Alcohol and tobacco use in particular saw large improvements over the past 20 years, especially 2005-2011:
- Cigarette smoking during the past 30 days declined from 29 percent in 1991 to 22 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2011.
- Lifetime smoking declined from 72 percent in 1991 to 53 percent in 2005 to 39 percent in 2011.
- Alcohol use during the past 30 days declined from 53 percent in 1991 to 43 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2011.
- Drinking and driving during the past 30 days declined from 23 percent in 1991 to 17 percent in 2005 to seven percent in 2011.
Unfortunately sedentary behavior and poor eating habits continue to be common practice for many high school students:
- Only about half get the recommended amount of physical activity.
- Less than one in five, 17 percent, consumes fruits and vegetables five or more times per day.
- Two-thirds consume sugar-sweetened beverages one or more times per day.
- Half spend three or more hours on an average school day watching television, playing video games, or using the computer for non-school work.
"Poor health and risky behavior choices can be barriers to learning. Understanding and addressing these barriers systematically will help maximize the academic performance of Nebraska students," said Dr. Roger Breed, Nebraska's Commissioner of Education.
New to the 2011 survey were questions on distracted driving, including texting and talking on a cell phone.
Nearly half of all high school students texted or e-mailed while driving during the past 30 days, and talked on a cell phone while driving. These percentages jumped to 70 percent and 75 percent, respectively, among high school seniors.
The 2011 survey included two questions on bullying:
- One in four students reported being bullied on school property during the past 12 months while one in six was bullied electronically through methods like texting, email or Facebook.
- Bullied students were far more likely than students not bullied to report depression, suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide during the past 12 months.
The 2011 Nebraska YRBS surveyed 3,832 public high school students in grades nine through 12 during the fall of the 2010 to 2011 school year. The survey focused primarily on injury and violence, mental health and suicide, tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, sexual behaviors, weight management, dietary behaviors, and physical activity.
This data is critical for planning and evaluating prevention programs for youth in our state.
To see the full YRBS report, go to http://dhhs.ne.gov/Documents/2011_YRBS.pdf.
