Self-reported characteristics of the survey participants, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, and language spoken at home.

Questions that address the exposure youth have to alcohol use in their communities. These questions measure attendance at gatherings where large amounts of alcohol are available along with community events where alcohol is being consumed and used.

Questions that address the exposure youth have to specific stressful life experiences.

Health and nutrition questions that include measures the consumption of fruits and vegetables, physical activity levels and seatbelt use.

Questions related to mental health concerns and suicide risk. This includes questions about suicide ideation and attempts.

Questions about how much risk students perceive are involved in using drugs or alcohol. Also, how much disapproval the students think they could experience from peers and parents if they used substances.

Questions that ask about a variety of concerns that might arise at school, including failing classes, being bullied at school, and having an interest in school and learning.

Questions that measure how frequently students think most students in their schools use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. They represent a measure of how much the students think substance use is a normative or typical behavior by students in their schools.

Questions that ask about whether survey respondents can talk to and receive help and support from the adults in their lives, including parents. It also measures whether the survey participants are talking to their parents about the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

This broad category includes questions addressing the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The questions ask about lifetime and current use of twelve different substances, including alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, heroin, and cocaine. This broad category also encompasses many other questions about the students’ experiences, their attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions that relate to their use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.