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YRBS - Indiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The Indiana State Department of Health recently released information from the Indiana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Through the direction of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), teens across the country were given the opportunity to respond to questions that related to their health risk behaviors. These six categories of behaviors are linked to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality (sickness and death) among both youth and adults: physical activity; nutrition; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; violence and injuries; and sexual behavior.

NATIONAL DAY TO PREVENT TEEN PREGNANCY

INDIANA R.E.S.P.E.C.T PROMOTES PREVENTION OF TEEN PREGNANCY

 INDIANAPOLIS---State health officials say that although teen pregnancy rates have declined in Indiana since 1997, the pregnancy rate for Hoosier teens was 25.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 17 in 2003. The Indiana R.E.S.P.E.C.T (Reduces Early Sex and Pregnancy by Educating Children and Teens) program at the Indiana State Department of Health is dedicated to preventing teen pregnancies through education and community outreach.   

“Sex has consequences,” said Judith Ganser, M.D., medical director, Maternal and Children’s Special Health Care Services at the Indiana State Department of Health.  “The goal of Indiana R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is to empower teens to make healthy choices in their lives, which includes avoiding too-early pregnancy.” 

As part of its efforts to prevent teen pregnancy, Indiana R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is promoting the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on Wednesday, May 3, 2006.  On that day, teens in Indiana and across the nation will be asked to go to www.teenpregnancy.org to take a short, scenario-based quiz that asks young people what they would do in a number of sexual situations.  The quiz is available in both English and Spanish, and teens can take it online throughout May, starting on May 3. “The quiz presents teens with real-life scenarios related to sex, and asks them how they would deal with the situation,” said Dr. Ganser.  “The quiz makes teens think about the risk of pregnancy and provides them with information to make healthy decisions in the future.”   

Nearly 630,000 individuals took the National Day Quiz in 2005.  A follow-up survey of participating teens showed that 84 percent said the quiz made them think about what they might do in such situations, 66 percent said the quiz made the risks of sex and teen pregnancy seem more real to them, and 63 percent said they would encourage others to take the quiz. 

Indiana R.E.S.P.E.C.T. oversees a community grant program, which currently provides more than $1.2 million in state and federal funding to 54 grantees in Indiana.  The program also offers technical assistance workshops to assist local youth-serving agencies in their efforts to fight teen pregnancy within their communities. 

The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is sponsored by the nonprofit, nonpartisan, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and National Day founding partners, TEEN PEOPLE magazine and TeenPeople.com.