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2021 OCPS Middle School - Youth Risk Behavior Survey Summary

The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was completed by 1,379 students in 47 public middle schools in Orange County during the fall of 2021. The school response rate was 98%, the student response rate was 79%, and the overall response rate was 78%. The results are representative of all students in grades 6-8.

The weighted demographic characteristics of the sample are as follows:
Gender %
Female 48.3%
Male 51.7%
Grade Level %
6th 32.0%
7th 33.2%
8th 34.5%
Other 0.2%
Race %
Asian (Non-Hispanic) 3.2%
Black (Non-Hispanic) 24.3%
Hispanic/Latino 44.7%
White (Non-Hispanic) 23.9%
All other races 1.4%
Multiple races 2.5%

Students completed a self-administered, anonymous, 49-item questionnaire. Survey procedures were designed to protect the privacy of students by allowing for anonymous and voluntary participation. Local parental permission procedures were followed before survey administration.

The YRBS is one component of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with representatives from state and local departments of education and health, other federal agencies, and the national education and health organizations.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System was designed to focus the nation on behaviors among youth related to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among both youth and adults and to assess how these risk behaviors change over time. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System measures behaviors that fall into six categories:

  1. Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence;

  2. Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection;

  3. Alcohol and other drug use;

  4. Tobacco use;

  5. Unhealthy dietary behaviors; and

  6. Inadequate physical activity.

The YRBS also measures asthma and self-reported height and weight to allow calculation of body mass index for assessment of overweight and obesity. More information about the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System can be obtained from http://www.cdc.gov/yrbss.