FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 29, 2010

CONTACT: Mary Stadick Smith, (605) 773-7228, mary.stadicksmith@state.sd.us 

2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results released

PIERRE, S.D. – The 2009 South Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey Report was released today. Students in grades 9-12 at randomly selected public, private and Bureau of Indian Education schools participated in the survey.

Key indicators included in the report:

• 22 percent of respondents had ridden in the past month with drivers who’d been drinking
• 26 percent reported binge drinking in the past month
• 49 percent of the students tried smoking cigarettes
• 47 percent said they’d had sexual intercourse at least once
• 78 percent reported receiving HIV/AIDS prevention education in school
• 15 percent had eaten five or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day within the past week
• 29 percent attended physical education classes at least one day a week
• 23 percent reported watching TV at least three hours daily

"We hope schools and other organizations can use the data to devise prevention programming measures," said Amy Beshara of the Department of Education’s Coordinated School Health program. "While we’ve made progress in some of these areas, the results indicate that unified, concerted efforts are still required to change risky behaviors."

Administered every other year, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a questionnaire that assesses the six priority health-risk behaviors that result in most morbidity, mortality and social problems among youth. The six priority health-risk behaviors include those that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity.

The South Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Coordinated School Health, which is a collaboration between the state Department of Education and Department of Health.

To view a complete copy of the report, go to http://healthyschools.sd.gov

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*Beshara (beh-SHER’-uh)