The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is an epidemiologic
surveillance system that was established by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor the prevalence of youth
behaviors that most influence health. The 1998 National Alternative
High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Alt-YRBS) is one component of
the YRBSS.
The YRBS focuses on health-risk behaviors established during youth that
result in the most significant mortality, morbidity, disability, and
social problems during both youth and adulthood. These include:
behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries; tobacco
use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that result in HIV
infection, other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), and unintended
pregnancies; dietary behaviors; and physical activity.
Results from the Alternative High School YRBS are used by CDC to: (1)
identify the prevalence and age of initiation of priority health-risk
behaviors among students attending alternative high schools; and 2)
identify the need for school health programs and policies for students
attending alternative high schools.
Four previous versions of the YRBS have been archived at Sociometrics.
The 1992 survey (DAAPPP data set K9), the 1993 (data set M1), 1995 (data
set N4), the 1997 (data set P5), and the 1999 (data set P7). Each of
these data sets is cross-sectional. For more information on the Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), visit the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention web site at http://www.cdc.gov.
*All dataset orders include Raw Data, SPSS Program Statements, SAS Program Statements, an SPSS portable file and User's Guide. Codebooks, Instruments, and additional User's Guides can also be purchased separately. This data set does not include Search and Retrieval Software