A Comparison of Health Risk Behavior of College Students in Upstate NY and National Norms

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts an annual survey of adolescent health risk behavior with the intention of establishing national norms for variables such as the extent of alcohol and other substance abuse behaviors habits, sexual health risk behaviors, nutrition habits, extent and nature of physical activity and violence. The purpose of this project and thesis is to compare the self reported health behaviors of college student at SUNY Brockport with national averages for the same topics. The goal of this project is to examine the differences and similarities between local data and national norms to make recommendations for improving health standards of local college students. The method used was to take the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2007 created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and modify the questions to fit the objectives of the project. Then the survey will be administered to intact groups of college students at SUNY Brockport and data derived from the analysis of the survey will then be correlated and compared with national data.