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. 2024 Oct 10;73(4):31–38. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.su7304a4

TABLE 1. Questions, response options, and analytic coding for experiences of racism in school, mental health, suicide risk, and substance use among high school students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023.

Variable Question Response option Analytic coding
Experiences of racism in school
Experienced racism in school
During your life, how often have you felt that you were treated badly or unfairly in school because of your race or ethnicity?
Never, rarely, sometimes, most of the time, or always
Ever: Rarely, sometimes, most of the time, or always
Never: Never
Mental health
Current poor mental health
During the past 30 days, how often was your mental health not good? (Poor mental health includes stress, anxiety, and depression.)
Never, rarely, sometimes, most of the time, or always
Yes: Most of the time or always
No: Never, rarely, or sometimes
Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
During the past 12 months, did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing some usual activities?
Yes or no
Yes: Yes
No: No
Suicide risk
Seriously considered attempting suicide
During the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide?
Yes or no
Yes: Yes
No: No
Attempted suicide
During the past 12 months, how many times did you actually attempt suicide?
0 times, 1 time, 2 or 3 times, 4 or 5 times, or ≥6 times
Yes: 1 time, 2 or 3 times, 4 or 5 times, or ≥6 times
No: 0 times
Substance use
Current use of any tobacco product
During the past 30 days, on how many days did you 
A) smoke cigarettes?
B) smoke cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars, such as Swisher Sweets, Middleton’s
(including Black and Mild), or Backwoods?
C) use chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, snus, or dissolvable tobacco products, such as
Copenhagen, Grizzly, Skoal, Camel Snus, or Velo Nicotine Lozenges?
D) use an electronic vapor product
0 days, 1 or 2 days, 3–5 days, 6–9 days, 10–19 days, 20–29 days, or all 30 days
Yes: 1 or 2 days,3–5 days, 6–9 days, 10–19 days, 20–29 days, or all 30 days for any included substances
No: 0 days for all included substances
Current alcohol use
During the past 30 days, on how many days did you have at least one drink of alcohol?
0 days, 1 or 2 days, 3–5 days, 6–9 days, 10–19 days, 20–29 days, or all 30 days
Yes: 1 or 2 days, 3–5 days, 6–9 days, 10–19 days, 20–29 days, or all 30 days
No: 0 days
Current marijuana use
During the past 30 days, how many times did you use marijuana?
0 times, 1 or 2 times, 3–9 times, 10–19 times, 20–39 times, or ≥40 times
Yes: 1 or 2 times, 3–9 times, 10–19 times, 20–39 times, or ≥40 times
No: 0 times
Current prescription opioid misuse During the past 30 days, how many times did you take prescription pain medicine without a doctor’s prescription or differently than how a doctor told you to use it? 0 times, 1 or 2 times, 3–9 times, 10–19 times, 20–39 times, or ≥40 times Yes: 1 or 2 times, 3–9 times, 10–19 times, 20–39 times, or ≥40 times
No: 0 times