Behavior Figures

NOTE: Data for 10th graders for 2008 are not included because estimates are considered to be unreliable due to sampling error. See https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html#2009data-drugs.

SOURCE: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future Survey.

NOTE: Data for 10th graders for 2008 are not included because estimates are considered to be unreliable due to sampling error. See https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html#2009data-drugs.

SOURCE: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future Survey.

NOTE: Use of "illicit drugs" includes any use of marijuana, LSD, other hallucinogens, crack, other cocaine, or heroin, or any use of other narcotics, amphetamines, barbiturates, or tranquilizers not under a doctor's orders. For 8th and 10th graders, the use of other narcotics and barbiturates is excluded because younger respondents appear to overreport use (perhaps because they include the use of nonprescription drugs in their responses). Data for 10th graders for 2008 are not included because estimates are considered to be unreliable due to sampling errors. See https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html#2009data-drugs.

SOURCE: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future Survey.

NOTE: Students were asked, "Have you ever had sexual intercourse?" Data are collected biennially.

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

NOTE: Changes in question wording made this measure incompatible with similar data gathered in prior years, so estimates here are limited to 2021. Data for birth control pill use are based on the student's response to the question,"The last time you had sexual intercourse with an opposite-sex partner, what one method did you or your partner use to prevent pregnancy?" "Birth control pills" was one option. Birth control pills to prevent pregnancy does not include emergency contraception such as Plan B or the "morning after" pill. Data are collected biennially.

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

NOTE: The rate is the ratio of the number of crimes (aggravated assault; rape; and robbery, i.e., stealing by force or threat of violence) reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey that involved at least one offender perceived by the victim to be ages 12–17, plus the number of homicides reported to the police that involved at least one known juvenile offender, to the number of juveniles in the population. In 2021, homicides represented 1.2% of serious violent crime, and the total number of homicides by juveniles has been relatively stable over the last decade. Beginning in 2021, the number of homicides were estimated using the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System. From 1993-2020, the number of homicides were estimated using the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports. See Criminal Victimization, 2006 (https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=765) for more information on the redesigned methodology. Due to methodological changes, use caution when comparing 2006 estimates to other years. Estimates for 2016 are not included because, in 2016, the National Crime Victimization Survey sample was redesigned, so 2016 estimates among youth are not comparable with estimates from other years. In 2020, historical estimates were revised since previous publication in America's Children due to changes in the methodology for calculating offender totals for youth and revisions to homicide numbers. The 2020 NCVS weights include an additional adjustment to address the impact of modified field operations due to COVID-19. For more information on the weighting adjustments applied in 2020, see the Source and Accuracy Statement for the 2020 National Crime Victimization Survey in the NCVS 2020 Codebook (https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NACJD/studies/38090/summary) and Criminal Victimization, 2020 (NCJ 301775, BJS, October 2021).

SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, National Incident-Based Reporting System.