At a glance
Documentation and guidance
- Methodology of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
MMWR Recomm Rep. 2013;62(RR-1):1–20. - Combining YRBS Data Across Years and Sites
Guidance and best practices for combining data from multiple Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS). - Conducting Trend Analyses of YRBS Data
Guidance and methods for conducting trend analyses of YRBS data. - Interpretation of YRBS Trend Data
Guidance on interpreting YRBS trend data analyses. - How to Analyze YRBS Sexual Minority Data
Guidance and best practices for analyzing data from the sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts questions. - A Guide to Conducting Your Own Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Information useful to communities and groups that plan to conduct a YRBS. - Software for Analysis of YRBS Data
A review of software packages suitable for analyzing YRBS data and guidance on how to use them.
YRBSS methodology
Learn more abut YRBSS methodology
See Methodology of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System—2013 for details about how YRBSs are conducted.
For the national, state, territory, tribal government, and local YRBSS samples, schools are randomly selected to participate with probability proportional to:
- The size of student enrollment in grades 9–12.
- The required classes of students (for instance, English classes), or a specific period of the school day (for instance, second period).
Within selected classes, all students are eligible to participate. See the Methodology of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System for more details about the sampling procedures.
National YRBSS data are representative of all public and private school students in grades 9–12 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. National YRBSS datasets are not the aggregate of the state YRBSS datasets. The National YRBSS uses a separate scientific sample of schools and students.
Most state, territory, tribal government, and local YRBSS data that are weighted are representative of all public school students in grades 9–12 in the respective jurisdiction. State, territory, tribal government, and local YRBSS data that are not weighted are representative only of the students who completed the survey in the respective jurisdiction.
Weighting is a mathematical procedure that makes data representative of the population from which it was drawn. In the YRBSS, only surveys with a scientifically drawn sample, appropriate documentation, and no evidence of significant nonresponse bias are weighted.
YRBSS data are weighted to:
- Adjust for school and student nonresponse.
- Make the data representative of the population of students from which the sample was drawn.
Generally, these adjustments are made by applying a weight based on student sex, grade, and race/ethnicity.