BEH4.B Sexual activity: Among those who reported having had sexual intercourse during the past three months, the percentage of high school students who reported use of birth control pills to prevent pregnancy before last sexual intercourse, selected years 1991

BEH4.B Sexual activity: Among those who reported having had sexual intercourse during the past three months, the percentage of high school students who reported use of birth control pills to prevent pregnancy before last sexual intercourse, selected years 1991–2005

Characteristic	1991	1993	1995	1997	1999	2001	2003	2005
Total	20.8	18.4	17.4	16.6	16.2	18.2	17.0	17.6
Gender
Male	16.5	14.7	14.3	13.0	11.8	14.9	13.1	14.6
Female	25.0	22.3	20.4	20.5	20.4	21.1	20.6	20.6
Race and Hispanic origin^a
White, non-Hispanic	23.4	20.4	21.3	20.6	21.0	23.4	22.3	22.3
Black, non-Hispanic	16.8	15.1	10.2	11.9	7.7	7.9	7.9	10.0
Hispanic	13.2	12.4	11.4	9.5	7.8	9.6	11.2	9.8
Other^b	17.2	16.4	9.9	11.0	14.2	10.7	13.5	13.2
Grade
9th-Grade	9.1	9.0	10.9	7.8	12.0	7.6	8.7	7.5
10th-Grade	18.3	13.7	12.2	12.0	9.3	15.8	12.7	14.3
11th-Grade	21.1	16.8	15.4	15.6	15.3	18.6	19.6	18.5
12th-Grade	27.0	25.8	25.0	24.0	24.9	26.3	22.6	25.6
^a From 1991 to 2003, the 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. In each survey, a single question format (approved by OMB) was used to ask about both race and ethnicity. In 2005, the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) applied OMB's 1997 revision to the 1977 directive and began asking about race and ethnicity in a two-question format (a methodological study [in press] has been conducted to confirm that trend analyses would not be effected by the change in format starting with the 2005 survey). In addition, note that data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately, but are combined for reporting. Regardless of question format, the data have been combined to create the following standard categories—White, non-Hispanic, Black, non-Hispanic, and Hispanic. Estimates are not shown separately for American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander races due to the small sample size for each of these groups.
^b Students were coded as "Other" if they (1) did not self-report as Hispanic, and (2) selected "American Indian or Alaskan Native," "Asian," and/or "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander," or selected more than one response to a question on race.
NOTE: Data for birth control pill use are based on the student's response to the question, "The last time you had sexual intercourse, what one method did you or your partner use to prevent pregnancy?"; "birth control pills" was one option, in addition to "I have never had sexual intercourse," "No method was used to prevent pregnancy," "Condoms," "Depo-Provera (injectable birth control)," "Withdrawal," "Some other method," and "Not sure."
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.