Effective human services through collaboration, integration and support

• Overview and Key Findings - Download document file of slides from presentation by Jean Chang, Ph.D., Epidemiologist, Public Health of Muskegon County. Slides include information on YRBS methodology and key findings for specific data sets. Download: YRBS Methodology & Key Findings

• Survey Procedure - The YRBS is a census survey; that is, information was collected from a given population rather than just a sample of the population. Survey procedures were designed to protect the privacy of students by allowing anonymous and voluntary participation.

• Data Analyses - All questionnaires were self-administered. Students recorded their responses on a computer-scannable answer sheet. Skip patterns were not allowed in the questionnaires to help ensure that similar amounts of time were required to complete the survey, regardless of the status of risk behaviors among students.

Data were cleaned and edited in accordance with CDC criteria which required checking responses for range, height/weight plausibility, and logical consistency. For example, the edit criteria compared two questions at a time. If responses from the two questions conflicted logically, both variables were set for a missing value. Calculation for “at risk for overweight” and “overweight” was based on self-reported weight and height, which were calculated for body mass index (BMI) by age and sex in accordance with CDC, National Center for Health Statistics standards.    

 

Analyses of the survey data were conducted to (1) examine differences in risk behaviors by demographic variables such as grade, gender, race/ethnicity, and (2) determine trend or changes in risk behaviors that have occurred in Muskegon County over time.