Select YRBS Indicators
The data contained in these maps, tables, and graphs represent the most complete and recent information available to the Vermont Department of Health about health status indicators of the Vermont population. However, as with any data, there are some limitations to keep in mind when interpreting the results.
Data Quality: Several precautions were taken to ensure the reliability and validity of the data for each objective. Survey questionnaires were carefully designed and thoroughly tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Survey results are statistically adjusted or “weighted” so that the sample accurately represents Vermonters. Non-survey data rely on completeness and methodology checks as well. Finally, all analyses were performed in duplicate. These precautions can reduce some sources of error, but not all.
Comparisons: It is natural to want to compare Vermont to the U.S. as a whole, as well as to other states. Unless data sources and methodology are equivalent, we do not recommend this. Within Vermont we have used consistent data sources and methodology but we urge caution in making comparisons between counties, Health Department district offices areas (Districts), and hospital service areas (HSAs). Often there are many underlying differences in a region that are important context for understanding the story told by the data. Additionally, small differences may not be statistically different and may simply be a function of normal sampling error. Given this, we have chosen to display the statistical comparison, based on 95% confidence intervals, between the statewide statistic and the local region. Comparisons across regions are not displayed.
What, not Why: The health status indicators reveal what behaviors Vermonters are doing. However, the indicators alone cannot answer why they are doing those behaviors.
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Youth Assets |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who feel valued by community |
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Substance Abuse |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who ever took a prescription drug not prescribed to them |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who took a prescription drug not prescribed to them, in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 binge drinking, in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who drank any alcohol in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who perceive great risk of harm if people their age binge drink once or twice a weekend |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who drank alcohol before age 13 |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who think their parents would think it is wrong for them to drink alcohol |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who think it is wrong for people their age to drink alcohol |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who think a party where people their age are drinking will be broken up by police |
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Personal Safety |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 bullied in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who drove under the influence of alcohol in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 hit, slapped, or physically hurt by boy/girlfriend in past year |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who rode in a car with a driver who was under the influence of alcohol, in past 30 days |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who felt sad or hopeless for at least two weeks in a row in the past year |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who did not go to school because felt unsafe, in past 30 days |
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Risk Behaviors |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who used a tanning booth in the past 12 months |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who always wear a seat belt when riding in a car driven by someone else |
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Nutrition and Weight Status |
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Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who are overweight |
Prevalence and percentages were calculated by using descriptive statistical procedures using software such as SPSS, SAS, and/or SUDAAN. These statistics describe the proportion of individuals with a given trait in the population during a specified period of time.
Confidence Intervals were used for statistical comparisons between the state and the various sub-geographies statistics. A confidence interval represents the range in which a parameter estimate would fall which is calculated based on the observed data. For this analysis, we used a 95% confidence interval, meaning that we are 95% confident that the true value of the parameter being examined falls within the specified confidence interval. Statistical significance is assessed by comparing the confidence intervals of different groups. If the confidence intervals from two groups, such as that for the state and a specific county, do not overlap we consider the estimates to be significantly different from one another.
Additional Methods:
Note that prior to 2013, statewide estimates were generated by weighting responses from a representative sample of schools. In 2013, the methodology was changed and all student responses were used in creating statewide estimates, allowing for more accurate reporting. As of the 02/04/2015 update, 2011 data were recalculated in the same way as 2013 data in order to improve comparisons. As a result, 2011 YRBS estimates that were published online after 02/04/2015 are slightly different compared to those published previously.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a paper survey administered in Vermont middle and high schools every two years since 1993. The survey is sponsored by the Department of Health's Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, and the Department of Education's Coordinated School Health Programs. The YRBS measures the prevalence of behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disease, and injury among youth. Vermont surveys over 30,000 students at each administration. Weighted data is compiled to generate a representative state sample, and local data is used by schools, supervisory unions, health programs and other local organizations. The YRBS is completed in over 40 other states and there is a national weighted sample for comparison.
For information about the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, please contact:
Kristen Murray, Ph.D.
802-863-7276
The Vermont Department of Health routinely uses three substate geographies: counties, Department of Health district office area, and hospital services areas. For most population health measures, there are too few respondents by town to allow appropriate statistical analysis. For this reason, data collected from residents of individual towns are aggregated to county, district, and hospital service areas.
Citing a specific data point:
Model: Vermont Department of Health. INDICATOR WORDING (GEOGRAPHY, DATA SOURCE, YEAR(S) OF DATA) in Healthy Vermonters 2020: “TOPIC” Maps & Trends Vermont Health Indicators. Accessed DATE (E.G. TODAY). WEBLINK
Example: Vermont Department of Health. Percent of adolescents in grades 9-12 who used marijuana in the past 30 days (Bennington County, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2009) in Healthy Vermonters 2020: “Substance Abuse” Maps & Trends Vermont Health Indicators. Accessed 7/1/15. https://apps.health.vermont.gov/gis/ias/querytool/?topic=HealthyVermonters2020&theme1=SubstanceAbuse
Citing the webpage more generally:
Model: Vermont Department of Health. Healthy Vermonters 2020: “TOPIC” Maps & Trends Vermont Health Indicators, by GEOGRAPHY. Accessed DATE (E.G.TODAY). WEBLINK
Example: Vermont Department of Health. Healthy Vermonters 2020: “Substance Abuse” Maps & Trends Vermont Health Indicators, by County. Accessed 7/1/15. https://apps.health.vermont.gov/gis/ias/querytool/?topic=HealthyVermonters2020&theme1=SubstanceAbuse
Parenthetical citation within text:
Model: (Vermont Department of Health, DATA SOURCE, YEAR(S) OF DATA).
Example: (Vermont Department of Health, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2009).