Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Health Program Administrator Stephanie Bunge discussed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at the Commissioner’s School Counselor Advisory Council (SCAC) meeting on Sept. 26.
Bunge provided survey results from 2021 and 2023 on topics like bullying, unfair treatment based on race or ethnicity, vaping and mental health.
“Some of the data is discouraging and a bit sobering, but this is the real information that all stakeholders should be watching carefully, ” said KDE Deputy Commissioner Thomas Woods Tucker.
“This is so important and what we should focus on,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which funded the collection of risk behavior data, has been collecting data in Kentucky since 1997. Bunge said the change in the testing period in 2021 due to COVID-19 plays a part in some of the differences in the YRBS data collected from 2021 to 2023.
Highlights of the report include:
- Data from the middle schools showed there was a “significant increase” in students who were bullied on school property, from 34% in 2021 to 41% in 2023. Bunge said the question specifically mentions bullying that occurred in the last 12 months, and the students were not in the building as much in 2021.
- Among high school students, bullying increased from 16% in 2021 to 22% in 2023.
- There also was an increase from 25% to 30% of high school students who missed school one day or more due to mental health. The percentage of middle school students who reported that their mental health most of the time or always as not good was 21.9% in 2021 and 25.4% in 2023.
- High school students who felt they were treated unfairly or differently based on their race or ethnicity was 30.8%. The numbers were about the same for males and females, with 30.8% and 31% respectively. The percentage for Black students was 67%, Asians, 62%, Hispanics, 49%, and white students, 20.5%.
- High school students who have experienced sexual dating violence was 14%. The percentage was higher for females at 22.3% compared to males at 5.7%.
Bunge also presented data related to vaping, which she said is on the rise, and eating disorders.
According to the 2023 survey, 41% of high school students said they used electronic vapor products daily for 30 days. Bunge said there was a significant difference in 12th-graders who reported use as compared to other grade levels.
A new question for 2023 showed that of those surveyed, 11% used vaping devices for marijuana and THC. This type of usage is “becoming a little more common,” Bunge said.
Questions related to eating disorders also were added to the survey, and 42% of the high school students responded they used aids such as diet pills or laxatives, vomiting or smoking to help them lose weight or not gain weight. The percentage was higher for females at 56%, compared to 28% of their male counterparts.
Binge eating is the most common eating disorder, with 55% of the high school students surveyed in 2023 responding they binge eat.
“Eating disorders are very much tied to mental health as well,” said Bunge.
These questions were added because there is no data on eating disorders in Kentucky, she said.
The YRBS monitors six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults including:
- Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence (including suicide);
- Tobacco use;
- Alcohol and drug use;
- Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection;
- Unhealthy dietary behaviors; and
- Physical activity.
The 2023 YRBS was completed by 1,925 students in 48 public high schools and by 1,481 students in 37 public middle schools in Kentucky during the spring of 2023. The results are representative of all students in grades 9-12.
Complete Kentucky survey results can be accessed at the KDE Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) website. The national data can be found at the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) website.
Chronic Absenteeism
Data presented by Leslie McKinney, a strategic data analyst in the KDE Division of Strategic Planning and Research, shows that while school districts have been dealing with chronic absenteeism for years, the problem spiked following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, 5% of schools were considered to have high or extreme levels of chronic absenteeism; in 2023, that percentage was 77%.
KDE defines a student as chronically absent if they have missed more than 10% of the enrolled time in school. This includes both excused and unexcused absences.
“Chronic absenteeism is affecting all students, gifted students, students of different races and ethnicities,” said McKinney, adding that for students who come from groups that historically have less academic or educational opportunities, it just deepens those vulnerabilities.
Chloe Wilcher, a Lincoln County High School counselor, said her school has launched Healthy Kids. A group of school personnel – like the assistant principal, counselor, nurse, director of public personnel, 21st Century Community Learning Center Program coordinator and attendance clerk – meet monthly to discuss students who need support. She said they each take an identified student to offer extra support, which may include going to the student’s home to talk to the guardians or getting them additional tutoring or counseling.
“We look at the whole child,” Wilcher said. “Do we get everybody? Probably not, but we really do pour into these kids and we try to make sure they have everything they need to be successful.”
In other business:
- Alexis Jackson, the tobacco free school specialist with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, discussed House Bill (HB) 142, which relates to vaping. HB 142 requires local boards of education to adopt policies that penalize students for possessing alternative nicotine products, tobacco products or vapor products and lists penalties.
The next SCAC meeting will be Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. ET.
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