Wyoming

Please be sure to read the data notes & limitations page. This explains many aspects of these comments, including how only changes over time can be discussed as statistically significant, and why the comparisons with national rates discuss data for selected subgroups.

Overview of Findings

Findings for Wyoming were mixed. Objectives showing improvement included motor vehicle crash mortality, safety belt use, riding with a driver who has been drinking, binge drinking, and marijuana use. Rates did not change for fighting, weapon carrying, sexual intercourse, current sexual activity and condom use. Wyoming rates of overall mortality and suicide attempts requiring medical attention worsened from baseline.

Comparisons of final Wyoming rates to national rates were also mixed. Wyoming’s rates of overall mortality, motor vehicle crash mortality, safety belt use, weapon carrying, current sexual activity compared unfavorably to national rates. Final rates of sexual intercourse, and suicide attempt requiring medical attention in Wyoming were better than national rates. Wyoming rates matched national rates for most other objectives.

Highlights of Findings by Objective

Jump To: Mortality; Unintentional Injury; Violence; Substance Use and Mental Health; Reproductive Health; Chronic Disease Prevention

Mortality

Rates of overall mortality among older adolescents in Wyoming decreased from baseline, driven largely by a decrease among White male older adolescents. Mortality rate among young adults in Wyoming increased, also driven by an increase in the rate for White male young adults. Rates for most other subgroups were based on fewer than 20 deaths and thus not suitable for analysis.

Comparison with national data. As in Wyoming, mortality rates decreased for older adolescents and increased for young adults; however, the changes for both age groups were smaller nationally than in Wyoming. In 2007, the Wyoming rates for older adolescents and young adults were higher than the rates for those age groups nationally.

Unintentional Injury

(motor vehicle crashes, safety belt use, & riding with a driver who has been drinking alcohol)

Please note the data for safety belt use are presented as “not wearing safety belt,” the inverse of the objective. This text describes safety belt use.

Mortality in Wyoming due to motor vehicle crashes (MVC) decreased slightly from baseline, with a slightly steeper decrease among Whites. The rate for males overall increased.

Comparison with national data. Nationally, MVC mortality was essentially unchanged from baseline, compared to a small decrease in Wyoming. Similar to Wyoming, the rate for Whites decreased. Rates were flat for males, in contrast to an increase for males in Wyoming. In 2007, the overall rate of MVC mortality and the rate for males in Wyoming were about twice the rates for those groups nationally. The 2007 rate for Whites in Wyoming was higher than the national rate for Whites.

Rates of safety belt use in Wyoming increased significantly from baseline, with a particularly large decreased for males. In 2009, the rate for females was higher than the rate for males. Whites had a higher rate than Hispanics.

Comparison with national data. Nationally, rates of safety belt use also increased from baseline. In 2009, Wyoming rates of safety belt use were lower than national rates, both overall and among subgroups. This Wyoming-national difference was largest among Hispanics. Nationally, the 2009 rate for Hispanics roughly matched the rate for Whites. In Wyoming, by contrast, Hispanics had a much lower rate than Whites. The national gender pattern matched the pattern noted for Wyoming.

Wyoming rates of adolescents who reported riding with a driver who had been drinking alcohol decreased significantly from baseline. Rates decreased for Whites and Hispanics, and males and females. In 2009, males and females reported similar rates of this behavior. The rate for Hispanics was somewhat higher than the rate for Whites.

Comparison with national data. The national rate of riding with a driver who has been drinking alcohol also decreased from baseline, but to a lesser extent than in Wyoming. In 2009, Wyoming rates of this behavior roughly matched national rates, overall and among males and females. An exception was the rate for Hispanics, which was higher in Wyoming than nationally. The national gender and racial/ethnic patterns roughly matched the patterns noted for Wyoming.

Violence

(homicide, physical fighting, weapon carrying)

Homicide rates were based on fewer than 20 deaths; thus were unsuitable for analyses.

Wyoming rates of physical fighting were flat from baseline overall and among most subgroups. In 2009 the rate for males was much higher than for females. The overall rate for Hispanics was higher than for Whites.

Comparison with national data. The national rate of physical fighting decreased slightly from baseline, in contrast to flat rates for Wyoming. In 2009, the overall Wyoming rate roughly matched the national rate, both overall and for Whites. However, rates were higher for Hispanic males in Wyoming compared to Hispanic males nationally. The national gender and racial/ethnic patterns matched patterns noted for Wyoming.

Overall rates of weapon carrying in Wyoming did not change significantly from baseline; rates for females increased, both overall and for White females. In 2009, the rate for males was nearly four times the rate for females. Hispanics had a slightly higher rate of weapon carrying than Whites.

Comparison with national data. The national rate of weapon carrying was also flat from baseline. As in Wyoming, rates increased among White females nationally; however overall rates for females did not change nationally, in contrast to Wyoming. In 2009, the overall rate of weapon carrying in Wyoming was higher than the national rate, overall and for all subgroups. Nationally, Whites and Hispanics had similar rates, in contrast to the higher rates among Hispanics in Wyoming. As in Wyoming, males had much higher rates than females nationally.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health

(binge drinking, marijuana use, suicide, suicide attempts requiring medical attention)

Rates of binge drinking in Wyoming decreased considerably from baseline, overall and for all subgroups. In 2009, rates were slightly higher among males than among females. Rates were higher for Hispanics than for Whites.

Comparison with national data. National rates of adolescent binge drinking changed little from baseline, compared to a sizable decrease in Wyoming. The national gender pattern roughly matched the pattern for Wyoming. However, nationally Whites had higher rates than Hispanics, the reverse of the pattern noted in Wyoming.

Rates of marijuana use in Wyoming decreased from baseline, with a particularly large decrease among Hispanics. In 2009, males had higher rates of marijuana use than for females. This gender difference was particularly large among Hispanics. The rate for Hispanics was twice the rate for Whites.

Comparison with national data. National rates of marijuana use among adolescents decreased only slightly from baseline, in contrast to a larger decline in Wyoming. The national gender pattern roughly matched the pattern for Wyoming. However, nationally Whites had higher rates than Hispanics, the reverse of the pattern noted in Wyoming.

Suicide rates were based on fewer than 20 deaths; thus were unsuitable for analyses.

Rates of adolescent suicide attempts in Wyoming requiring medical attention increased from baseline. Rates also increased for males overall and for Whites overall; rates were flat for other subgroups. In 2009, males and females had similar rates. The rate for Hispanics was nearly twice the rate for Whites.

Comparison with national data. National rates of adolescent suicide attempts requiring medical attention decreased from baseline, in contrast to an increase in Wyoming. The overall rate for Wyoming in 2009 was about half the national rate. The national gender and race/ethnicity patterns roughly matched the patterns noted for Wyoming.

Reproductive Health

(sexual inexperience, no current sexual activity, condom use)

Please note, for the first two objectives, the text and tables present findings about adolescents who are sexually experienced and currently sexually active, the inverse of the actual objective. For the third objective, the table presents findings for lack of condom use, the inverse of the objective. The text describes condom use. (See Data Notes & Limitations).

The overall Wyoming rate of adolescents having engaged in sexual intercourse did not change significantly from baseline, overall and among all subgroups. In 2009, the rate for males matched the rate for females. Hispanics had a higher rate than Whites.

Comparison with national data. National rates of sexual experience among adolescents were also flat from baseline. In 2009, the rate of sexual experience in Wyoming was higher than the national rate. The national gender and racial/ethnic patterns matched the patterns noted for Wyoming.

The overall rate of sexually experienced adolescents in Wyoming reporting current sexual activity did not change significantly from baseline, both overall and among all subgroups. In 2009, females had higher rates than males. The rate for Hispanics was higher than the rate for Whites.

Comparison with national data. The national rate of currently sexually experienced adolescents was also flat from baseline. In 2009, the overall rate of current sexual activity among adolescents in Wyoming was slightly higher than the national rate, with much higher rates among Hispanics in Wyoming compared to Hispanics nationally. As in Wyoming, females reported slightly higher rates than males nationally. Nationally, Hispanics also had higher rates than Whites; however this difference was larger in Wyoming.

Rates of adolescent condom use in Wyoming did not change significantly from baseline. In 2009, males reported a higher rate of condom use than females.

Comparison with national data. Overall, national rates of condom use were also flat from baseline; however rates increased significantly among White males and females. In 2009, the overall rate of condom use in Wyoming matched the national rate. The national gender pattern roughly matched the pattern in Wyoming.

Chronic Disease Prevention

Data not available.

Additional data may be available at: http://www.health.wyo.gov/familyhealth/adolescent/index.html