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 (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Four previous versions of the YRBS have been archived at Sociometrics.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.