THE CO-MORBIDITY OF VIOLENCE-RELATED BEHAVIORS WITH HEALTH-RISK BEHAVIORS IN A POPULATION OF HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

Purpose: To describe the frequency of violence-related behaviors and t heir association with other health behaviors among high school student s. Methods: The Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered to all nin th and eleventh graders (n=2075) of a school district in Texas. It pro vided information regarding violence-related behaviors and other healt h behaviors. Students were classified into four mutually exclusive, vi olence-related categories according to whether they were involved in a physical fight and/or carried a weapon.Results: Overall, 20% of the s tudents were involved in a physical fight but had not carried a weapon , 10% carried a weapon but had not been involved in a physical fight, and 17% had been involved in a physical fight and had carried a weapon . Prevalence of weapon-carrying and fighting were higher among males t han females, and among ninth graders than eleventh graders. Among male s, 48% had carried a weapon the month prior to the survey. Students wh o both fought and carried a weapon were 19 times more likely to drink alcohol six or more days than students who did not fight nor carried a weapon. Logistic regression analyses showed that drinking alcohol, nu mber of sexual partners, and being in ninth grade were predictors of f ighting. These three variables plus having a low self-perception of ac ademic performance and suicidal thoughts were predictors of fighting a nd carrying a weapon. Conclusions: The data indicate that violence-rel ated behaviors are frequent among high school students and that they a re positively associated with certain health behaviors. Interventions designed to reduce violence should also address coexisting health-risk behaviors and target high-risk groups.