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Background
The Middle School Health Behavior Survey (MSHBS) is a statewide, school-based
confidential survey of Florida's public middle school students. The purpose of
the MSHBS is to monitor priority health-risk behaviors that contribute
substantially to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems
among youth, which contribute to patterns in adulthood. The first MSHBS was
administered in 2009. The MSHBS expands on the Youth Physical Activity and
Nutrition Survey (YPANS), a statewide, school-based confidential survey of
Florida's public middle school students administered in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
YPANS was supported by the Obesity Prevention Program in the Bureau of Chronic
Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
The MSHBS is part of the Florida Youth Survey (FYS), which includes the Florida
Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS), the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and the
Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). The Florida Youth Survey Effort
is an inter-agency collaboration of the Florida Departments of Education,
Children and Families, Health, Juvenile Justice.
Topics on the MSHBS
The following topics are asked in this survey: 1) Demographic information (age,
gender, grade, race/ethnicity, weight, height); 2) Unintentional injuries and
violence; 3) Tobacco use; 4) Alcohol and other drug use; 5) Dietary behaviors;
and 6) Physical activity.
Sampling Methods
The MSHBS is based on a two-stage cluster probability sample design. First, a
random sample of public middle schools is selected for participation in the
survey. Second, within each selected school, a random sample of classrooms is
selected, and all students in those classes are invited to participate in the
survey. The responses of the survey participants are weighted to be
representative of all Florida public middle school students.
Target Population
Florida public
middle school students (6-8 grade levels)
Data Analysis
Since the MSHBS
is based on a two-stage cluster probability sampling methodology rather than a
simple random sample, SUDAAN or advanced components of SAS or other statistical
programs are recommended for the data analysis. Confidence interval is an
important measure of statistical significance and very useful when making
comparison between data. |
