Health Risk Behaviors among Adolescents in the Rural South: A Comparison of Race, Gender, and Age

Abstract

Risky behaviors contribute to many of the physical and mental health problems of today's adolescents. The present study surveyed more than 2,500 high school and middle school students in a rural county in southwest Georgia in an attempt to identify differences in health risk behaviors, including tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use, violence and gang-related behaviors, and student assessment of high-risk behaviors, based on three demographic characteristics: race, gender, and age. Results show that Caucasian students are more likely to use tobacco and alcohol, whereas African-American students are more likely to engage in violent activities. In addition, older students (aged 15+ years) were more likely to use tobacco, alcohol, and drugs and to participate in violent behaviors, and male students are more likely to use tobacco and drugs and to participate in violent behaviors than female students.