The Bear Facts

This data comes from WashU students! Each year, students self-report their experiences and behaviors via the Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors (MACHB) survey. The survey launches in the Spring semester to a random sample of students. All responses are anonymous.

Statistical analysis allows us to determine that this sampling of students is representative of the overall student population. Probability sampling is the fundamental basis for all survey research. The basic principle: a randomly selected, small percentage of a population of people can represent the attitudes, opinions, or projected behavior of all of the people, if the sample is selected correctly.

These statistics may not seem accurate to you because of misperceived norms. Remember, we tend to overestimate risky behaviors and underestimate moderate/healthy behaviors. Risky behaviors are often more obvious, get more attention, and are more memorable than moderate/healthy behaviors. For example, if you walk across campus and smell cigarette smoke or see someone light up, you might immediately think to yourself ‘everyone smokes.’ But you likely passed many more people who weren’t smoking!

Additionally, our campus has been collecting data from the MACHB survey since 2020. We have seen consistent trends in the behaviors that students report, and mechanisms are in place to ensure valid data collection, such as questions to determine social desirability bias (e.g., are students just answering the way they think we want them to answer) and a thorough data cleaning process (e.g. to remove significant outliers if students are clearly not accurately reporting their behavior).

You can email Health Promotion at wellness@wustl.edu with any questions or to request campaign posters.