Wellness Facts and Figures

Wellness Services conducts the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) National College Health Assessment (NCHA) on a bi-annual basis. The NCHA supports the health of the campus community by highlighting short- and long-term health behaviors and gaining a current profile of health trends within the campus community.

The following results are specific to the Boise State University campus. To compare to national standards, please select the highlighted “national reference group” for each corresponding year.

Not all results received have been reported on this page. For the complete executive summary, or to see previous survey results, please contact The Office of Wellness Services at wellness@boisestate.edu.

NCHA III Spring 2020 Results

Demographics and Sample Characteristics

Response Rate

743 total respondents of a randomized sample of 5,000
14.9% response rates

Age

Age	Percent
18-20 years	30.2%
21-24 years	25.5%
25-29 years	16.0%
30+ years	28.3

Gender

Gender	Percent
Female	68.4%
Male	28.1%
Non-binary	2.8%

Student Status

Status	Percent
18-20 years	30.2%
1st year undergraduate	16.4%
2nd year undergraduate	13.6%
3rd year undergraduate	19.1%
4th year undergraduate	17.5%
5th year or more undergraduate	7.9%
Master’s (MA, MS, MFA, MBA, etc.)	19.6%
Doctorate (PhD, EdD, MD, JD, etc.)	2.8%
Not seeking a degree	0.9%
Other	2.2%
Full-time student	75.0%
Part-time student	24.1%
Other student	1.0%

Identity

Identity	Percent
Straight/Heterosexual	83.9%
Asexual	0.9%
Bisexual	6.6%
Gay	1.9%
Lesbian	2.2%
Pansexual	2.0%
Queer	0.7%
Questioning	1.4%
Identity not listed above	0.4%

Housing

Housing	Percent
18-20 years	30.2%
1st year undergraduate	16.4%
2nd year undergraduate	13.6%
3rd year undergraduate	19.1%
4th year undergraduate	17.5%
5th year or more undergraduate	7.9%
Master’s (MA, MS, MFA, MBA, etc.)	19.6%
Doctorate (PhD, EdD, MD, JD, etc.)	2.8%
Not seeking a degree	0.9%
Other	2.2%
Full-time student	75.0%
Part-time student	24.1%
Other student	1.0%

First-Generation

The proportion of students for whom no parent/guardian have completed a bachelor’s degree

44.2%

Member of a social fraternity or sorority

Identity	Percent
Straight/Heterosexual	83.9%
Asexual	0.9%
Bisexual	6.6%
Gay	1.9%
Lesbian	2.2%
Pansexual	2.0%
Queer	0.7%
Questioning	1.4%
Identity not listed above	0.4%

Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Percent
American Indian or Native Alaskan	3.0%
Asian or Asian American	4.7%
Black or African American	1.9%
Hispanic or Latino/a/x	9.7%
Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) or Arab Origin	0.5%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander Native	0.8%
White	82.9%
Biracial or Multiracial	2.4%
Identify not listed above	1.2%

A. General Health and Campus Climate

General Finding

52.0 % of college students surveyed ( 61.4 % male and 48.9 % female) described their health as very good or excellent.

Sense of Belonging

Proportion of college students who reported they agree or strongly agree that:

%	Male	Female	Total
I feel that I belong at my college/university	67.0	70.6	69.1
I feel that students’ health and well-being is a priority at my college/university	49.8	55.0	52.6
At my college/university, I feel that the campus climate encourages free and open discussion of students’ health and well-being	56.0	58.0	56.4
At my college/university, we are a campus where we look out for each other	46.6	53.2	50.3

B. Nutrition, BMI, Physical Activity, and Food Security

General Finding

52.0 % of college students surveyed ( 61.4 % male and 48.9 % female) described their health as very good or excellent.

Sense of Belonging

Proportion of college students who reported they agree or strongly agree that:

%	Male	Female	Total
I feel that I belong at my college/university	67.0	70.6	69.1
I feel that students’ health and well-being is a priority at my college/university	49.8	55.0	52.6
At my college/university, I feel that the campus climate encourages free and open discussion of students’ health and well-being	56.0	58.0	56.4
At my college/university, we are a campus where we look out for each other	46.6	53.2	50.3

C. Health Care Utilization

General Findings

College students reported:

%	Male	Female	Total
Receiving psychological or mental health services within the last 12 months	16.3	30.3	27.0
Visiting a medical provider within the last 12 months	63.6	81.5	76.4

D. Impediments to Academic Performance

Affected Academic Performance

Problems or challenges in the last 12 months:

%	Male	Female	Total
Career	10.0	15.4	13.9
Finances	15.3	16.9	17.1
Procrastination	45.0	37.4	39.7
Faculty	3.8	5.7	5.5
Family	9.1	11.6	11.0
Intimate Relationships	11.0	11.8	11.4
Roommate/housemate	4.3	7.1	6.5
Peers	2.4	4.5	4.2
Personal appearance	4.8	6.5	6.2
Health of someone close to me	11.5	9.8	10.5
Death of a family member, friend, or someone close to me	6.2	11.4	9.8
Bullying	1.9	2.4	2.3
Cyberbullying	1.0	1.2	1.2
Hazing	0.5	0.4	0.4
Microaggression	1.4	2.2	2.4
Sexual Harassment	1.0	1.8	1.6
Discrimination	2.4	2.4	2.6

E. Violence, Abusive Relationships, and Personal Safety

Sense of Safety

College students reported feeling very safe :

%	Male	Female	Total
On their campus (daytime)	87.1	78.2	80.6
On their campus (nighttime)	61.4	21.5	33.1
In the community surrounding their campus (daytime)	73.7	57.9	62.1
In the community surrounding their campus (nighttime)	40.7	16.9	23.9

Violence & Abusive Relationships

Within the last 12 months, college students reported experiencing:

%	Male	Female	Total
A physical fight	3.4	1.6	2.0
A physical assault (not sexual assault)	1.4	2.0	1.9
A verbal threat	9.6	9.7	10.0
Sexual touching without their consent	2.9	6.3	5.4
Sexual penetration attempt without their consent	1.0	1.0	1.1
Sexual penetration without their consent	.5	1.2	1.1
Being a victim of stalking	1.9	3.8	3.7
A partner called me names, insulted me, or put me down to make me feel bad	10.0	14.2	13.0
A partner often insisted on knowing who I was with and where I was or tried to limit my contact with family or friends	5.7	6.7	6.4
A partner pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped, kicked, bit, choked or hit me without my consent	4.3	2.6	3.1
A partner forced me into unwanted sexual contact by holding me down or hurting me in some way	1.0	1.4	1.2
A partner pressured me into unwanted sexual contact by threatening me, coercing me, or using alcohol or other drugs	1.4	2.4	2.2

F. Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Use

General Findings

Reported ever using:

%	Male	Female	Total
Tobacco or nicotine delivery products (cigarettes, ecigarettes, Juul or other vape products, water pipe or hookah, chewing tobacco, cigars, etc.)	49.8	35.6	39.7
Alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, liquor, etc.)	74.2	78.1	77.3
Cannabis (marijuana, weed, hash, edibles, vaped cannabis, etc.) [Please report nonmedical use only.]	42.8	43.7	44.1
Prescription opioids (morphine, codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone [OxyContin, Percocet], hydrocodone [Vicodin], methadone, buprenorphine [Suboxone], etc.) [Please report nonmedical use only.]	7.2	5.7	6.5

Tobacco and Nicotine Delivery Products

*Reported using tobacco or nicotine delivery products used in the last 3 months:

*These figures use all students in the sample as the denominator, rather than just those students who reported tobacco or nicotine delivery product use in the last 3 months.

%	Male	Female	Total
Cigarettes	11.0	6.5	7.9
E-cigarettes or other vape products (for example: Juul, etc.)	20.6	12.8	14.8
Water pipe or hookah	1.9	1.0	1.3
Chewing or smokeless tobacco	3.8	0.6	1.5
Cigars or little cigars	9.1	1.6	3.9
Other	3.3	0.2	1.1

Driving Under the Influence

17.8 % of college students reported driving after having any alcohol in the last 30 days.* *Only students who reported driving in the last 30 days and drinking alcohol in the last 30 days were asked this question.
33.0 % of college students reported driving within 6 hours of using cannabis/marijuana in the last 30 days.* *Only students who reported driving in the last 30 days and using cannabis in the last 30 days were asked this question

Alcohol Consumption

*Reported number of drinks consumed the last time students drank alcohol in a social setting.

*Only students who reported drinking alcohol in the last three months were asked this question

%	Male	Female	Total
4 or fewer	69.2	82.9	78.8
5	8.9	6.3	7.0
6	10.3	5.3	6.8
7 or more	11.6	5.5	7.4

*College students who drank alcohol reported experiencing the following in the last 12 months when drinking
alcohol:

*Only students who reported drinking alcohol in the last 12 months were asked these questions.

%	Male	Female	Total
Did something I later regretted	15.3	19.7	18.4
Blackout (forgot where I was or what I did for a large period of time and cannot remember, even when someone reminds me)	13.3	14.1	14.0
Brownout (forgot where I was or what I did for short periods of time, but can remember once someone reminds me)	24.7	21.4	22.4
Got in trouble with the police	1.3	0.7	0.8
Got in trouble with college/university authorities	2.5	0.7	1.2
Someone had sex with me without my consent	0.6	1.7	1.5
Had sex with someone without their consent	0.6	0.5	0.5
Had unprotected sex	15.2	10.9	11.9
Physically injured myself	6.3	5.4	5.5
Physically injured another person	1.3	0.7	1.0
Seriously considered suicide	2.5	1.7	2.2
Needed medical help	1.9	1.0	1.2
Reported one or more of the above	24.0	24.3	24.1

G. Sexual Behavior

Oral Sex

When, if ever, was the last time you had oral sex:

%	Male	Female	Total
Never	26.8	22.7	23.9
Within the last 2 weeks	32.5	34.3	33.5
More than 2 weeks ago but within the last 30 days	8.6	8.0	8.0
More than 30 days ago but within the last 3 months	11.5	9.4	10.1
More than 3 months ago but within the last 12 months	7.2	12.4	11.0
More than 12 months ago	13.4	13.3	13.5

Vaginal Sex

%	Male	Female	Total
Never	28.5	23.5	25.1
Within the last 2 weeks	41.5	47.8	45.6
More than 2 weeks ago but within the last 30 days	5.8	5.6	5.5
More than 30 days ago but within the last 3 months	9.2	6.6	7.5
More than 3 months ago but within the last 12 months	6.8	7.8	7.5
More than 12 months ago	8.2	8.8	8.9

Anal Sex

%	Male	Female	Total
Never	72.0	70.9	70.8
Within the last 2 weeks	4.3	2.6	3.3
More than 2 weeks ago but within the last 30 days	2.9	1.6	1.9
More than 30 days ago but within the last 3 months	3.9	4.0	3.8
More than 3 months ago but within the last 12 months	2.9	5.2	4.7
More than 12 months ago	14.0	15.6	15.5

Use of Barrier Methods

College students who reported having oral sex, or vaginal or anal intercourse within the last 30 days who reported using a condom or another protective barrier most of the time or always:

%	Male	Female	Total
Oral Sex	4.7	4.3	4.3
Vaginal Sex	35.7	28.2	30.2
Anal Sex	26.7	23.8	26.3

Pregnancy Prevention

College students who reported having vaginal intercourse (penis in vagina) within the last 12 months were asked if they or their partner used any method to prevent pregnancy the last time they had vaginal intercourse:

%	Male	Female	Total
Yes, used a method of contraception	75.6	81.7	80.1
No, did not want to prevent pregnancy	6.9	5.0	5.6
No, did not use any method	16.0	13.0	13.7
Don’t know	1.5	0.3	0.6

H. Mental Health and Wellbeing

Kessler 6 (K6) Non-Specific Psychological Distress Score (Range is 0-24)

%	Male	Female	Total
No or low psychological distress (0-8)	70.2	68.5	68.3
Moderate psychological distress (9-12)	15.1	17.0	16.6
Serious psychological distress (13-24)	14.6	14.5	15.0

UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS3) Score (Range is 3-9)

%	Male	Female	Total
Negative for loneliness (3-5)	60.3	59.9	59.8
Positive for loneliness (6-9)	39.7	40.1	40.2

Overall Stress Experienced

Within the last 12 months, how would you rate the overall level of stress experienced:

%	Male	Female	Total
No stress	5.7	1.8	2.8
Low	29.7	22.6	24.5
Moderate	49.3	50.2	49.9
High	15.3	25.4	22.8

I. Acute Conditions

Experienced Acute Conditions

%	Male	Female	Total
Cold/virus or other respiratory illness (for example: sinus infection, ear infection, strep throat, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, or laryngitis)	22.5	41.0	35.7
Flu (influenza) or flu-like illness	14.4	14.6	14.6
Orthopedic injury (for example: broken bone, fracture, sprain, bursitis, tendinitis, or ligament injury)	9.2	10.1	9.9

J. Ongoing or Chronic Conditions

Mental Health

College students reported ever being diagnosed with the following:

%	Male	Female	Total
ADD/ADHD – Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder	12.9	9.1	10.6
Anxiety (for example: Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobia)	17.2	35.1	30.4
Depression (for example: Major depression, persistent depressive disorder, disruptive mood disorder)	15.9	28.0	25.2
Eating Disorders (for example: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating)	1.4	4.4	3.4
Insomnia	3.4	8.3	7.1

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

%	Male	Female	Total
Genital herpes	0.0	1.6	1.1
Hepatitis B or C	0.5	0.4	0.4
HIV or AIDS	0.0	0.2	0.1
Human papillomavirus (HPV) or genital warts	0.5	5.9	4.2

Diabetes

Total representation of students reported they have been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes/insulin resistance:

%	Male	Female	Total
Ever diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes/insulin resistance	1.9	3.4	3.3

Students who reported being diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes/insulin resistance, indicated they had:

%	Male	Female	Total
Type I Diabetes	25.0	25.0	21.1
Type II Diabetes	25.0	8.3	10.5
Pre-diabetes or insulin resistance	50.0	62.5	65.2
Gestational Diabetes	0.0	15.4	15.0

K. Sleep

General Findings

Reported amount of time to usually fall asleep at night (sleep onset latency):

%	Male	Female	Total
Less than 15 minutes	51.4	46.0	47.6
16 to 30 minutes	25.0	25.2	24.8
31 minutes or more	23.6	28.8	27.6

Over the last 2 weeks, students reported the following average amount of sleep
(excluding naps):

%	Male	Female	Total
Less than 7 hours	43.1	40.8	42.2
7 to 9 hours	56.5	57.6	56.5
10 or more hours	0.5	1.6	1.4