Examination of the 6 year trend of undergraduate student drug use, physical activity, and sexual activity

During the fall semester of 2001 (N=434; 39.7% response rate) and spring semesters of 2004 (N=728; 51.2% response rate) and 2006 (N=609; 98.0% response rate), students from a large southeastern university were selected to complete a Human Health Behavior Survey. The first two administrations were mailed to random samples of undergraduate students and the third was administered to students taking a general education class on campus. The survey was a cross-sectional questionnaire that assessed the prevalence and nature of health behaviors in various aspects. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the 6 year trend of student sexual activity, drug use, and physical activity. Because the 2006 sample was a general education class primarily taken by freshmen and sophomores, juniors and seniors were excluded from the analyses. In the behaviors studied, the trend was health enhancing. For example, the mean number of lifetime sexual partners for males were 12.93 in 2001, 5.59 in 2004, and 3.98 in 2006 (p<.05). Similarly for females, the mean lifetime number of sexual partners were 7.64 in 2001, 4.04 in 2004, and 2.21 in 2006 (p<.05). The mean days of marijuana smoked were 1.93 in 2001, 0.89 in 2004, and 1.38 in 2006 while the mean alcohol days of consumption in the past 30 days were 3.82 in 2001, 3.15 in 2004, and 1.36 in 2006 (p<.05) overall showing drug use declining. Days of physical activity generally increased with a mean of 2.21 in 2001, 2.57 in 2004, and 3.46 in 2006 (p<.05).