BACKGROUND: Hispanics are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in Missouri. From 2000 to 2013, the Hispanic population in Missouri increased from 118,592 to 232,954, a 96% increase, compared to 6.1% increase in non-Hispanic population in Missouri. In 2013, 41% of Missouri Hispanics were age 19 or younger, compared to 25% among the non-Hispanic population. Monitoring the health status and risk behaviors among the youth of this ethnic minority group is very important for improving overall population health and reducing health disparities. the objective of this study is to explore racial and ethnic disparities in the risk behaviors leading to unintentional and intentional injury among Missouri high school students.
METHODS: The 2013 Missouri Youth Risk Behavior Survey data were used in this study. The prevalence of 10 risk behaviors for unintentional and intentional injuries was compared among racial and ethnic groups. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to control for age and gender of respondents.
RESULTS: Compared to non-Hispanic white students in Missouri, significantly higher percentages of Hispanic students rode with someone who drank alcohol (35.7% vs 17.4%), never/rarely wore a seat belt when riding in a car driven by someone else (23.9% vs 9.8%), were injured in a physical fight in the past 30 days (16.5% vs 8.0%), were forced to have unwanted sexual intercourse (16.6% vs 8.5%), were physically hurt by someone they were dating (19.6% vs 7.8%), felt sad or hopeless (40.2% vs 25.5%), considered suicide (23.0% vs 14.2%), and planned suicide (20.0% vs 12,2%). Compared to non-Hispanic black students, significantly higher percentages of Hispanic students carried weapons in the past 30 days (25.1% vs 12.2%), considered suicide (23.0% vs 11.4%), and planned suicide (20.0% vs 7.4%). After age and sex adjustment, all the differences were significant except for the weapon carrying behavior.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a significantly higher prevalence of risky behaviors among Hispanic high school students that could lead to unintentional and/or intentional injuries. Public health programs and policy makers should consider these risk behaviors when designing interventions and policies to prevent injuries among youth.