Youth Risk Behavior Survey

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a national survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) every two years among representative samples of 9th through 12th grade students.

The YRBS monitors six types of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults, including:

  • Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence
  • Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection
  • Alcohol and other drug use
  • Tobacco use
  • Unhealthy dietary behaviors
  • Inadequate physical activity

New Hampshire YRBS Presentation

YRBSS also measures the prevalence of obesity and asthma and other health-related behaviors plus sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts among youth and young adults in high school.

YRBSS is a system of surveys. It includes 1) a national school-based survey conducted by CDC and state, territorial, tribal, and 2) local surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.

In New Hampshire, YRBS is jointly administered by the Departments of Health & Human Services and Education. High schools are given the opportunity to participate in either the random state survey, a comprehensive school level census survey, or both. The survey is usually administered in New Hampshire schools during the early winter. The results are now available towards below. The data from the YRBS are used extensively by health departments, schools, and local area agencies to define areas of high health risk and to secure the resources necessary to address any identified health issues.

2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) School Materials

School Coordinator – Online Format
School Coordinator – Paper Format
School Administrator – Online Format
School Administrator – Paper Format

2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

Please note: 2021 YRBS Data for Greater Nashua, Seacoast, and South Central regions are not available due to low participation rate.

2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

Data Systems

Program Services

Related Resources

Student Privacy

  • Student privacy must remain a number one priority.
  • The questionnaire is designed to protect the anonymity of students.
  • No names or other types of personally identifying information are ever requested.
  • The survey environment should be set up so that students sit as far apart as possible throughout the classroom and have a piece of paper to cover their responses.
  • Neither survey administrators nor classroom teachers wander around the classroom while students are taking the survey.

Guidance for Special Needs Students

  • The YRBS survey should be offered to all students within selected classrooms. Accommodations for special needs students may follow the protocol currently in place for that school and that student, the criteria being that:
    1. privacy of the student is maintained; no student should have to respond to another person to complete the survey or have another person see their responses; and,
    2. the student must respond using the standard YRBS survey booklet.

Both school administrators and students must feel confident that every reasonable effort has been made to protect their privacy. It is strongly recommended that all survey coordinators (and survey administrators, as deemed necessary by the coordinator) sign a confidentiality agreement that can be shown to school administrators. This provides the message that the commitment to confidentiality is a serious one and reinforces the survey administrators' obligation to protect student privacy.

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