Health risk behaviors in a unique population-first ring suburban adolescents.

This study aims to call attention to First Ring suburban communities as a unique and unrecognized population and to characterize health risk behaviors of adolescents within these communities. A risk behavior profile of the First Ring suburbs surrounding a large Midwestern city is presented and compared to the frequency of these behaviors in a national sample. In 2002, a representative sample of 3428 high school students from First Ring suburban communities in an urban county completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. A 20-item risk score composed of "current" risk behaviors was compiled in order to compare the relative number of risk behaviors exhibited by the First Ring schools to a 2001 national sample. Prevalence of individual behaviors was also determined and compared to data collected nationally. Prevalence was further subdivided by gender, race, and grade in order to explore risk groups within First Ring suburbs. Despite the perception that the "urbanization" of First Ring suburbs is synonymous with "urban" problems and risk behaviors, First Ring students reported significantly fewer current risk behaviors than did students nationally. Significant differences in behavior were found between First Ring and national gender and racial groups. Some patterns of behavior within gender and racial groups differed from national patterns. The commonly held presumption that First Ring suburbs are riskier for students due to increased urbanization of these communities appears unfounded. The contribution of these destructive misperceptions to social migration away from urban centers and the need for local data collection are discussed.