Risk profiles of adolescent girls who were victims of dating violence

Adolescence, Spring, 2003 by Donna E. Howard, Min Qi Wang

METHOD

Sample

The 1999 national school-based Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data were used for this study. The YRBS is one component of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) that was established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor the prevalence of youth behaviors that most influence health. Comprehensive design and sampling procedures are available from the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series, and are presented here in condensed form (CDO, 2000). The YRBS used a three-stage cluster sample design to produce a nationally representative sample of high school students in grades 9-12. The first stage contained 1,270 primary sampling units (PSUs), which consisted of large counties or groups of smaller, adjacent counties. From these, 52 were selected from 16 strata, formed on the basis of the degree of urbanization and the relative percentage of African-American and Hispanic students in the PSU. Each PSU was selected with probability proportional to the size of the s chool enrollment. The second sampling stage selected 187 schools, also with probability proportional to school enrollment size. The third stage randomly selected one or two intact classes of a required subject (e.g., English or social studies) from the 9th-l2th grades at the chosen school. All students in the selected classes were eligible to participate. A total of 15,349 students in 144 schools completed survey questionnaires. The school response rate was 77% and the student response rate was 86%, resulting in an overall response rate of 66%. For the purpose of this study, only female participants (N = 7,824) were selected for the analysis.

A weighting factor was applied to each participant to adjust for non-response and for the varying probabilities of selection, including those resulting from the oversampling of African-American and Hispanic students. The weights were scaled so that (a) the weighted count of students was equal to the total sample size and (b) the weighted proportions of students in each grade matched national population proportions. The data were representative of students in grades 9-12 in public and private schools in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Survey Procedures and Measures

Surveys were administered anonymously in order to protect the participants' privacy. Participation was voluntary, and students completed the self-administered questionnaire in their classrooms during a regular class period. They recorded their responses on a scannable answer sheet. Parental permission was obtained before survey administration.

The survey focused on health risk behaviors established during adolescence that result in the most significant mortality, morbidity, disability, and social problems for youths and, later, adults. Monitoring progress in these areas was relevant in assessing the degree to which national health objectives for the year 2000 were achieved. Results were also to be used to help focus programs and policies for comprehensive school health education on those behaviors that contribute most to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity.