Data Trends & Indicators

Indicator 1: Percentage of High School Students Who Felt Sad or Hopeless Almost Every Day for Two or More Weeks in a Row so that They Stopped Doing Some Usual Activities During the 12 Months Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of being sad or hopeless are not available before 1999.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 1999-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 2: Percentage of High School Students Who Actually Attempted Suicide One or More Times During the 12 Months Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of attempted suicide are not available before 1991.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 1991-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 3: Percentage of High School Students Who Drank at Least One Drink of Alcohol on at Least One Day During the 30 Days Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of current alcohol use are not available before 1991.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 1991-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023

Indicator 4: Percentage of High School Students Who Currently Used Marijuana (Also Called Pot or Weed) One or More Times During the 30 Days Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of current marijuana use are not available before 1991.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 1991-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 5: Percentage of High School Students Who Ever Took Prescription Pain Medicine Without a Doctor's Prescription or Differently Than How a Doctor Told Them to Use It One or More Times During Their Life

Data for this indicator of lifetime prescription pain medicine misuse are not available before 2017. NOTE: Counting drugs such as Codeine, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, and Percocet.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 2017-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 6: Percentage of High School Students Who Were Offered, Sold, or Given an Illegal Drug on School Property During the 12 Months Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of illegal drugs at school are not available before 1993. NOTE: "On school property" was not defined for respondents.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 1993-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 7: Percentage of Students Ages 12-18 Who Reported Being Targets of Hate-Related Words at School (2001-2019)

NOTE: “Hate-related” refers to derogatory terms used by others in reference to students’ personal characteristics. “At school” includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and, from 2001 onward, going to and from school. For both 2007 and 2009, the reference period was the school year, whereas in prior survey years the reference period was the previous 6 months. Cognitive testing showed that estimates from 2007 and 2011 are comparable to previous years.

Citation: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 8: Percentage of Students Ages 12-18 Who Reported Being Bullied at School (2007-2019)

NOTE: "At school" includes the school building, on school property, on a school bus, or going to and from school. Bullying types do not sum to total because students could have experienced more than one type of bullying. In 2006-2007, the unit response rate for this survey did not meet NCES statistical standards; therefore, interpret the data with caution.

Citation: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 9: Rate of Violent Victimizations Per 1,000 Students at School (2008-2019)

NOTE: "Violent victimization" includes serious violent crimes and simple assault. Serious violent crimes include rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. "At school" includes inside the school building, on school property, or on the way to or from school.

Citation: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2023. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 10: Percentage of High School Students Who Experienced Being Forced to Do Sexual Things One or More Times During the 12 Months Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of sexual dating violence are not available before 2013. NOTE: Counting such things as kissing, touching, or being physically forced to have sexual intercourse they did not want to do by someone they were dating or going out with, among students who dated or went out with someone during the 12 months before the survey.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 2013-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 11: Percentage of High School Students Who Experienced Being Physically Hurt on Purpose One or More Times During the 12 Months Before the Survey

Data for this indicator of physical dating violence are not available before 2013. NOTE: Counting such things as being hit, slammed into something, or injured with an object or weapon by someone they were dating or going out with, among students who dated or went out with someone during the 12 months before the survey.

Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), various years, 2013-2021. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 12: College Students Reporting Alcohol Use in the Last 30 Days

NOTE: Missing values have been excluded from analysis. Students responding "not applicable" were excluded from several analyses.

Citation: American College Health Association, National College Health Assessment, various years, Fall 2009-2018. Accessed July 20, 2023.

Indicator 13: College Students Reported Experiencing Verbal Threats Within the Last 12 Months

NOTE: Missing values have been excluded from analysis. Students responding "not applicable" were excluded from several analyses.

Citation: American College Health Association, National College Health Assessment, various years, Fall 2009-2018. Accessed July 20, 2023.