Distribution of SRHS by demographic subgroup
Overall, 15.5% of students rated their health as excellent (). Most students (69.4%) reported very good or good SRHS, while 15.0% reported fair or poor SRHS. SRHS varied by sex and race/ethnicity. The prevalence of excellent SRHS was higher among male students, and the prevalence of fair or poor SRHS was higher among female students. Black students had a higher prevalence of excellent SRHS than white and Hispanic students; additionally, white students had a higher prevalence of excellent SRHS than Hispanic students. The prevalence of fair or poor SRHS was higher among black and Hispanic students than among white students. Comparisons by grade showed the prevalence of excellent SRHS was higher among ninth-grade students than among 10th- and 12th-grade students, and the prevalence of fair or poor SRHS was higher among 12th-grade students than among ninth-grade students.
| Table 1.Prevalence of self-rated health status overall and by sex, race/ethnicity,a and grade: U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007 |
Associations between risk behaviors and SRHS by race/ethnicity
A wide range of risk behaviors was associated with SRHS, though patterns of association differed by race/ethnicity and among behavior categories (). Among white students, associations were found with SRHS for all 29 risk behaviors; 15 were associated with both excellent and fair or poor SRHS, four were associated with only excellent SRHS, and 10 were associated with only fair or poor SRHS. Among black students, 20 of 29 behaviors were associated with SRHS; seven were associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS, four were associated with only excellent SRHS, and nine were associated with only fair or poor SRHS. Among Hispanic students, 26 of 29 behaviors were associated with SRHS; nine were associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS, two were associated with only excellent SRHS, and 15 were associated with only fair or poor SRHS. For every significant association, students who engaged in the risk behavior had lower odds of excellent SRHS and higher odds of fair or poor SRHS as compared with those who did not engage in the risk behavior; the only exception was Hispanic students who had ever been forced to have sexual intercourse—they had higher odds of excellent SRHS than those who had not been forced to have sexual intercourse.
| Table 2.Adjusted odds ratios and 95% CIs for excellent and fair or poor self-rated health status by race/ethnicity:a U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007 |
Looking at the results by behavior category, the pattern of association between behaviors that contribute to unintentional injury and violence and SRHS was similar across racial/ethnic groups. Among all groups, these behaviors were predominantly associated with only fair or poor SRHS.
The relationship between SRHS and the four tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use behaviors differed across racial/ethnic groups. Among white students, three behaviors (cigarette use, alcohol use, and other illicit drug use) were associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS; marijuana use was associated with only fair or poor SRHS. Among black students, cigarette use was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS and alcohol and marijuana use were associated with only excellent SRHS. Among Hispanic students, alcohol and marijuana use were associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS, and cigarette and other illicit drug use were associated with only fair or poor SRHS.
Among all racial/ethnic groups, sexual risk behaviors were associated with only fair or poor SRHS. The only exception was among black students: sexual intercourse was not associated with SRHS.
Associations between dietary behaviors and SRHS differed across racial/ethnic groups. Among white students, eating fruit and vegetables fewer than five times per day and drinking fewer than three glasses of milk per day were associated with only excellent SRHS, while daily soda consumption was associated with only fair or poor SRHS. Among black students, eating fruit and vegetables fewer than five times per day was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS; drinking fewer than three glasses of milk per day was associated only with excellent SRHS. Among Hispanic students, eating fruit and vegetables fewer than five times per day was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS.
Associations of physical inactivity behaviors with SRHS differed by race/ethnicity. Among all racial/ethnic groups, not playing on a sports team was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS. In addition, among white students, associations with excellent and fair or poor SRHS were found for four of the five physical inactivity behaviors; not attending physical education classes was associated with only excellent SRHS. Among black students, other physical inactivity behaviors were generally not associated with SRHS. Among Hispanic students, associations with SRHS were varied. Not meeting recommended levels of physical activity and participating in physical education classes on a less than daily basis were associated with only excellent SRHS, and using computers for three or more hours per day was associated with only fair or poor SRHS.
Associations between SRHS and body weight and weight-control behaviors also differed by race/ethnicity, though among each racial/ethnic group, trying to lose weight was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS. Among white students, associations with excellent and fair or poor SRHS were found for being overweight or obese and for all weight-control behaviors, except exercising to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight, which was associated with only fair or poor SRHS. Among black students, being obese was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS, and three of four weight-control behaviors were associated with SRHS, although associations did not follow a clear pattern. Among Hispanic students, being overweight or obese was associated with only fair or poor SRHS. All four weight-control behaviors were associated with SRHS, but did not follow a clear pattern.
Current asthma was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS among white students and fair or poor SRHS among Hispanic students. Among all racial/ethnic groups, students who slept fewer than eight hours per night had lower odds of excellent SRHS and higher odds of fair or poor SRHS.
Interactions by sex within racial/ethnic subgroups
Among white students, associations with SRHS () varied by sex for five of 29 risk behaviors. Results stratified by sex () showed that, among white female students, these risk behaviors were consistently associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS, while among white male students, associations with SRHS were less consistent.
| Table 3.Adjusted odds ratios and 95% CIs for excellent and fair or poor self-rated health status by sex and race/ethnicity:a U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007 |
Among black and Hispanic students, there was one significant interaction by sex (). Among black students, forced sexual intercourse was associated with fair or poor SRHS among females, but was not significant among males (). Among Hispanic students, not meeting recommended levels of physical activity was associated with excellent and fair or poor SRHS among males, but was not significant among females.