The Kids Are Alright: A study on youth risk behavior
By Braden Olsen
Every two year, the federal government conducts a study where they ask thousand of teenagers questions about their habits, behaviors and social tendencies. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey is sent to more than 10,000 high school age students every other year and asks questions about bad behavior like drug use, unprotected sex and drinking.
In the last decade, there has been a significant decline in risky behavior on the part of today’s teens. There is far less drug use, sex and smoking than the previous generation.
Looking at long-term trends on issues that have been tracked by The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey for decades, viewers will notice that things like illicit substances and sexual behaviors in todays teens paint a surprisingly positive portrait of modern day youths.
In 1997, the average percentage of high schoolers who had tried marijuana topped off at 47.1% nation wide.
In 2019, the average percentage of high schoolers who had tried marijuana dropped to 36.8%, proving that teens today partake in casual marijuana use less that they did in the previous generation.
In terms of legality, teenagers in states where marijuana is legalized tend to partake in casual smoking less than those teens who live in states where marijuana is not legalized. California, New Jersey and Oregon teens live in a state where marijuana is more readily accessible due to the fact there are legal dispensaries, even if they are not 21. In Ohio, New Mexico and Tennessee, marijuana remains illegal and can be much more dangerous due to the fact teens often have to go through a drug dealer of some sort to get it which cannot guarantee the quality or purity of the drug.
All in all, teens are better behaved and less likely to depend on illegal substances and have casual sex than the generation before them. While the media may portray it differently, the data from the CDC tells the real story.
All data courtesy of CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey
