Dr. Holcomb et al., AN ACADEMIC PARADOX - HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR CLASSSTANDING AND SELF-REPORTED RISK-TAKING, Psychological reports, 82(1), 1998, pp. 215-220
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) administered its
75-item 1991 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey to a nationwide r
andom sample of 12,248 high school students. In a secondary analysis o
f their data, one item on students' perceived class standing, was comp
ared with selected health risk-laking practices. The 7.7% of students
who indicated that they were ''below the middle'' in comparison with t
heir classmates reported more participation in all risk-taking behavio
rs than students who reported being ''in the middle'' (28.6%) or ''abo
ve the middle'' (63.7%). Students' grades, ages, and ethnicity showed
significant differences, with younger students and selected ethnocultu
ral minority students more likely to report being ''below the middle.'
' Perceived class standing may be a proxy measure for estimating parti
cipation in health-compromising practices.