The Texas Youth Tobacco Survey bas been conducted in Texas school districts since 2008. The survey is conducted by The Bush School of Public Service and Administration (PSAA) at Texas A&M University on behalf of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
A statewide survey is conducted every other year. School districts in funded Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs (TPCC) are invited to participate each school year during the funding cycle (usually 5 years). These assessments generate current data to inform state and region level policy-making. In addition, they can provide a standard of comparison for districts and campuses conducting local surveys.
1
Why is the survey being done?
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has funded Tobacco Prevention and Control Coalitions (TPCC) in nine areas of Texas. The goal of the community coalitions is to provide tobacco cessation and prevention activities to school districts in each of the following areas: 1) Bexar County, 2) Ellis County, 3) Johnson County, 4) Nacogdoches County, 5) Houston County, 6) Jasper County, 7) Shelby County, and 8) Tyler County. The Texas Youth Tobacco Survey will be conducted between December and the end of the school year in each of these areas to understand prevalence rates of tobacco use among students. In addition, the survey will be conducted among a random sample of schools across the state in order to provide comparative data for the coalition areas.
The Texas Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) is specifically designed to enhance the capacity to design, implement, and evaluate the youth component of a Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. The YTS will provide data that was previously not available for students in grades 6-12 with respect to: prevalence of tobacco use (cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, flavored cigars and cigarettes, and e-cigarettes), exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), minors’ access and enforcement, knowledge and attitudes, media and advertising, school curriculum, and tobacco use cessation.
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2
How much will the survey cost?
Materials will be free for all schools/districts that are chosen in the YTS sample. Schools/districts will be provided with monetary compensation for time and effort involved in survey administration. This payment will be made when survey administration is complete and all materials are returned.
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3
What grades are included?
The YTS will be administered to students in grades 6 through 12.
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4
What formats are available for the Texas Youth Tobacco Survey?
The YTS is offered in two formats: (1) the traditional paper-pencil version where a student darkens an oval for a corresponding answer and (2) an online web version. Both versions are identical in the number and types of questions. The two versions are offered in English and Spanish.
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5
What is the sample size?
It is estimated that approximately 15,000 students in grades 6-12 will participate in the 2025 Texas Youth Tobacco Survey. School districts will be asked to survey a maximum of 12 classrooms per grade (depending on district enrollment) in grades 6 through 12, or all students if the district has fewer classes per grade.
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6
How long will it take to fill out the questionnaire?
One class period will be needed for administration of the self-administered questionnaire. It will take approximately 10 minutes for the survey administrator to distribute survey materials and read directions to the students. It will then take approximately 35 minutes for students to record their responses. The questionnaire contains approximately 39 questions.
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7
Are sensitive questions asked?
No, all questions on the survey relate to student’s attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge about tobacco use, intent to use, exposure to tobacco use, and exposure to tobacco marketing/advertising.
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8
Is the survey voluntary? What if school districts, schools, or students do not choose to participate?
Participation in the YTS is voluntary. However, to develop accurate baseline estimates of tobacco use and intent to use tobacco among adolescents, participation rates must be high. Selected schools/districts cannot be replaced. The goal is to achieve 90 to 95 percent participation by selected schools/districts.
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9
Is student participation anonymous? How is student privacy protected?
Survey administration procedures are designed to protect student privacy and allow for anonymous participation. Students submit their questionnaire with no personal identifiers, and place them all into one envelope. Published reports will not include names of participating students.
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10
Is Parental Notification required?
Schools/Districts taking part in The Texas Youth Tobacco Survey are required to notify parents of the survey and its general contents at least 2 weeks prior to survey administration. This notification MUST include the “Information Sheet” that has been provided. Ideally, these forms should be mailed to parents to ensure proper dissemination, but it is up to each school/district to decide how such matters are to be handled.
The Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects at Texas A&M University has waived the requirement to document parental assent/consent, but does require that the “Information Sheet” be distributed to parents, and that the students are read the information in the classroom informing them that participation is completely voluntary. There may be circumstances that require your school/district to use informed consent and, if so, it is up to the school/district to obtain and document such consent.
Either the parents of students, or the students themselves, have every right to NOT participate in the Texas Youth Tobacco Survey. Each participating school/district is responsible for having a mechanism in place to accommodate those students who will not be participating in the survey. Either the Campus Coordinator or the teacher will need to keep track of students for whom either the parents or the students themselves choose not to participate in the survey.
If you have any questions, or are unclear as to these requirements, please call us at 979-862-3437 or send an email to txschoolsurvey@tamu.edu.
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11
How are students selected for participation?
For the Texas Youth Tobacco Survey to be administered in your school/district, TAMU project staff will need to randomly select classes for participation in the study. The random selection process will allow us to generate survey results that are representative of the student population within your school/district. Detailed instructions for completing this master list will be provided once a school/district signs up to participate in the survey.
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12
Are surveys and parent information forms available in Spanish?
Yes, limited numbers of Spanish surveys will be available, and the “Information Sheet” will be available in Spanish as well. To receive these surveys, schools/districts will need to send a request to TAMU stating how many each school needs.
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13
How do I enroll in the Texas Youth Tobacco Survey?
Please register online at https://txyts.org
Extra copies. Additional hard copies of the reports can be requested.
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14
Where can additional information be obtained?
If you have questions or need further information, please feel free to contact TAMU project staff
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