Risk behavior was evaluated with items that are commonly used in the public health literature (15) that we also have used previously with rural African American youth (4, 16, 17). Youth indicated how many times during the past month they had drunk beer, wine, wine coolers, whiskey, gin, or other liquor (alcohol use); used marijuana; or had sexual intercourse. Asking preadolescents about their risk behavior frequencies during the past month yields more valid and reliable recall data than does the use of a longer time frame (2). Past-month frequencies of alcohol use, marijuana use, and sexual intercourse were summed to form a risk behavior index.
