Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

Methodology

National YRBSS surveys employ three-stage cluster sampling, while local and state surveys use twostage cluster sampling. In the first stage of sampling in national surveys, primary sampling units (PSUs) are selected. PSUs are usually large-sized counties or groups of adjacent, smaller counties. During the second sampling stage, public and private schools are selected from the PSUs. Black and Hispanic students are oversampled at this stage to gain enough data to conduct analyses of these subgroups separately. Finally, classes are sampled in each grade of each selected high school. All students in selected classes are eligible for the survey. Local and state surveys use two stages of sampling: first, to select schools, and second, to sample classes within the selected schools.

The data are collected in a similar manner in the national, state, and local surveys. Parental permission is obtained in accordance with local standards for all YRBSS surveys. Students’ participation in the selfadministered surveys is anonymous and voluntary. Between 1991 and 2003, student response rates ranged from 83% to 90%.

Limitations

There are several limitations of the YRBSS. Key limitations are all data are self-reported; the surveillance includes only in-school youth, who are less likely to engage in risky health behaviors; parental consent procedures are inconsistent; state-level data are not available for all 50 states; and the system is not able to evaluate specific interventions or programs.