Health Promotion

The Health Risk Behaviors of Students with IEPs in CT: A Secondary Analysis

Overview

The purpose of this study was to find out if students who have IEPs do more unsafe things than students who do not have IEPs.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that monitors certain risky health behaviors among youth. Since 2013, Connecticut has added a supplemental question to the national questionnaire that asks student participants if they are receiving special education services as part of an individualized education plan or IEP. Data were requested from Connecticut Department of Public Health. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to assess if special education is a risk factor for engaging in health risk behaviors.

Accomplishments

Publication

Lutz, T. M., Ferreira, K. E., Noel, J. K., & Bruder, M. B. (2023). Secondary analysis of one State's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data by Individualized Education Program (IEP) status. Disability and health journal16(1), 101393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2022.101393