Nation's Teens: Some Still Riskier Than Others

WebMD Guest Blogger
Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH is the director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). DASH promotes the health and well-being of children and adolescents to enable them to become healthy and productive adults. Wechsler earned his doctorate in health education from Teachers College at Columbia University, a master's in public health from Columbia, and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

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The Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The teen years are a time of risk-taking, and a new study done by the CDC shows that for some it's worse than others.

The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) measures critical health risk behaviors among high school students across the nation. The 2007 YRBS data show that the percentage of students engaging in risk behaviors has decreased since the early 1990s. Unfortunately, Hispanic students have not matched the progress made by African-American and white students in reducing certain risk behaviors:

• The percentage of Hispanic students who have had sexual intercourse and have had sex with four or more persons during their life has not changed since the early 1990s, but it has decreased among African-American and white students.

• The percentage of Hispanic students who were taught in school about HIV/AIDS has not changed since the 1990s, but it has increased among white and African-American students.

There is good news. The percentage of Hispanic students who smoke cigarettes, use drugs, drink alcohol, and have ridden with a driver who has been drinking alcohol has decreased since the 1990s. African-American and white students also made progress over time in most of these behaviors.

These trends show that we are making some progress, but more work needs to be done to reduce health risk behaviors for all students.

Parents especially can serve as positive role models for children and teens by talking to them about the importance of making healthy choices.

But all of the responsibility for change does not simply lie in the hands of the teens and their parents. Schools, school boards, and administrators must also work together to implement policies and programs that promote the health and safety for students. For information on this study or other resources, visit www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth.

Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH
Director, Division of Adolescent and School Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion