Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019

Purpose: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among high school aged students in the United States. Significant risk factors for suicidal behaviors among youth include diagnoses of depression or other mental illnesses. The association between self-reported sad feelings and suicidal behaviors has been understudied in the literature among United States high school students.Methods: The 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) school-based questionnaire, coordinated by the CDC, captured a nationally-representative sample (N = 13,677) of students' responses to health-related behaviors. National sex-stratified prevalences of sad feelings and suicidal behaviors were calculated. Adjusted weighted logistic regression was used to examine the association between self-reported sad feelings and suicidal behaviors.Results: Out of 13,677 high-school students, 35.8% of students self-reported sad feelings. Suicidal behaviors in the overall sample included 18.2% had seriously considered suicide, 15.2% made a plan on how they would attempt suicide, and 7.3% attempted suicide within the past 12 months. There was an 8–11-fold increased odds of all suicidal behaviors among those who reported sad feelings among both females and males.Conclusions: This study reveals a remarkably high prevalence of sad feelings among US youth, and underscores a significant association between self-reported sad feelings and suicidal behaviors among this population. The YRBS survey, routinely administered across US high school students, should be better leveraged to target interventions toward these high-risk youth in order to decrease the significant burden of suicidal behaviors among adolescents.

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Interpersonal Violence Victimization Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019

MMWR Supplements ◽

10.15585/mmwr.su6901a4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 28-37

Author(s):

Kathleen C. Basile ◽

Heather B. Clayton ◽

Sarah DeGue ◽

John W. Gilford ◽

Kevin J. Vagi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Risk Behavior ◽

Interpersonal Violence ◽

Youth Risk Behavior Survey ◽

School Students ◽

Violence Victimization ◽

Youth Risk Behavior

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Transportation Risk Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019

MMWR Supplements ◽

10.15585/mmwr.su6901a9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 77-83

Author(s):

Merissa A. Yellman ◽

Leah Bryan ◽

Erin K. Sauber-Schatz ◽

Nancy Brener

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Risk Behavior ◽

Risk Behaviors ◽

Youth Risk Behavior Survey ◽

School Students ◽

Transportation Risk ◽

Youth Risk Behavior

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Electronic cigarette and cannabis use: results from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Journal of Cannabis Research ◽

10.1186/s42238-021-00080-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Luken ◽

Johannes Thrul ◽

Renee M. Johnson

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Risk Behavior ◽

Emotional Distress ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Youth Risk Behavior Survey ◽

School Students ◽

Youth Risk Behavior

Abstract Objective To determine the relationship between lifetime e-cigarette use and current cannabis use among youth. Our analyses accounted for county variability, in addition to student-level covariates. Methods This study examined responses from high school students on a state-level population survey, the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey, a cross-sectional, complex survey sample. Of participating students, final analyses included an unweighted sample of 41,091 9th to 12th grade students who provided complete reports for measured variables. Analyses with survey weights were conducted between August 2019 and May 2020. A multivariable logistic regression was conducted to investigate the association between lifetime e-cigarette use and current (past 30-day) cannabis use, after controlling for county, lifetime cigarette use, current (past 30-day) alcohol use, emotional distress, and demographics. Results Lifetime e-cigarette use significantly increased the odds of current cannabis use among Maryland high school students (aOR = 6.04; 95% CI 5.27, 6.93). Other significant risk factors for current cannabis use included lifetime cigarette use (aOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.86, 2.68) and current alcohol use (aOR 5.21, 95% CI 4.42, 6.14). Significantly higher odds of current cannabis use were also found among older high school students, males, non-Hispanic Blacks and students identifying as other race, and those reporting emotional distress. Conclusions Lifetime e-cigarette use among Maryland high school students is strongly associated with current cannabis use when including counties as a covariate. Non-significant county differences, however, suggest smaller geographical units may be required to control for variability. Efforts should focus on reducing youth e-cigarette use to decrease cannabis use. Maryland’s recent implementation of Tobacco 21 and a ban on flavored e-cigarettes will be of interest for future evaluations.

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