NCJ Number
240440
Date Published
2009
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes some of the findings from the 2008 Arizona Youth Survey (AYS), which was designed to assess school safety, adolescent substance use, antisocial behavior, and the risk and protective factors that predict these adolescent problem behaviors among 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students.
Abstract
The risk and protective factors focus on substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, school drop-out, and violence. Nineteen risk factors for each of these problem behaviors are divided into broader categories related to community, family, school, and peer/individual influences. Protective factors, which exert a positive influence or buffer against the negative influences of risk, tend to reduce the likelihood that adolescents will engage in problem behaviors. Protective factors identified through research include social bonding to family, school, community, and peers; healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior, and individual characteristics. Five types of charts are presented in the report: substance use, antisocial behavior and youth gambling, risk factors, protective factors, and where youth obtained alcohol. When available, data from the 2004 and 2006 AYS's are presented. The results of the AYS presented in this report. The data presented in this report can be used to assist schools and communities in complying with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires that schools and communities use six "Principles of Effectiveness" in making decisions on federally funded prevention and intervention programs. The Substance Use and Antisocial Behavior charts provide information related to the first principle, which is that prevention programs and activities must be based on a needs assessment that uses objective data regarding the incidence of drug use and violence. The Risk and Protective Factor charts provide information related to the principle that local prevention programs and activities must be based on the analysis of predictor variables such as risk and protective factors. Data tables and list of contacts for prevention efforts