Some of you may have participated in the American College Health Association (ACHA) survey earlier this month.
The goal of this confidential and anonymous survey is to measure health risk behaviors among the City College student population. After the results of the Fall 2000 survey were published in The Channels, the newspaper’s editorial staff expressed their cynicism.
Fortunately, we have scientific principles that apply when a survey is designed and administered correctly and they speak for themselves.
The ACHA survey is a nationally implemented measurement tool that has been proven to give valid and replicable results over the last decade. Its methods and results have been compared against those of similar surveys administered by the Center for Disease Control, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The scientific format is designed in part to distinguish perceptions from misperceptions through the use of numbers and statistics. While perceptions are based on reality, so are misperceptions.
In studies of domestic violence, seat belt use, and even purchasing behavior, researchers have found that in general people poorly estimate the behavior of their peers.
In spite of this, people often measure their own choices against these erroneous approximations.
In order to employ the scientific method, the data collection must be accurate. Students are truthful in their responses because the ACHA survey is anonymous and confidential.
At the beginning of the survey, students are instructed not to answer any question that makes them too uncomfortable to answer honestly. The truth is, in a follow-up study of student surveys that analyzed accuracy and validity, 91% of students answered that they were completely truthful in their responses.
Lastly, a few errors in the reporting of statistical facts and interpretations deserve correction. There are not contradictions in reported alcohol use.
When the questions are interpreted appropriately, we find a high level of consistency between questions that measure related behaviors. Additionally, the actual percentage of City College students who smoke is 40%, more than double the national average.
On a daily basis, students impress us at Student Health and Wellness with their forthrightness and honesty. Often, in person, they volunteer the information the survey asks. They seek out condoms, STD checks, pregnancy tests, and counseling without embarrassment. We commend them for it. City College students aren’t ashamed about who they are and what they do. They don’t need to lie to anyone.

Jennifer Baker
Special Program Advisor
Health Education