ABOUT THIS REPORT

This data report provides descriptive statistics in percentages from the sample of respondents at the University of Southern California for a set of key measures. Most measures come from the standard survey modules in the Healthy Minds Survey that are administered on all participating institutions. The results section include:

 Key Findings  Sample Characteristics  Prevalence of Mental Health Problems  Health Behaviors and Lifestyle  Attitudes and Beliefs about Mental Health Services  Utilization of Services and Help-Seeking Behaviors  Experiences of Violence

For each measure, the data tables and figures in this report display the following information: the aggregate estimated values from Spring 2018 and Fall 2020 for the total sample, UG sample, G-UPC sample, G-HSC sample, and G-Online sample. All values have been weighted to be representative of the full student populations to which they refer (see Data Weighting). Also note that for some measures, respondents were allowed to check more than one response category (e.g., they might have gone to more than one type of provider for mental health services), so the percentages sometimes add up to more than 100% across response categories.

The table below provides the number of students from the USC census population, the number of students who were invited to participate in the survey, unweighted responses, survey response rates, weighted responses and corresponding margin of errors at 95% confidence interval for each student sample.

Number of students from the USC census population Number of students invited to participate in the survey Unweighted sample 47,364 44,981 18,282 19,521 20,027 15,074 3,897 3,499 5,158 6,887

15,897 30,000 4,000 12,569 4,000 9,559 3,897 3,499 4,000 4,373

4,560 5,994 984 2,413 1,272 1,957 1,177 779 1,037 845

Survey response rates (%) 28.6 20.0 24.6 19.2 31.8 20.5 30.2 22.3 25.9 19.3

Weighted sample

Margin of error at 95% CI 4,543 5,994 1,795 2,601 1,920 2,008 332 468 496 917

±1.4 ±1.2 ±3.0 ±1.9 ±2.7 ±2.1 ±2.4 ±3.1 ±2.7 ±3.2

The margin of error at 95% confidence interval gives a sense of how much uncertainty there is about each estimated value. This uncertainty exists because our estimates are based only on a random sample of students, rather than a complete census of the student population. Essentially, the margin of error tells us that there is a 95% probability that the true population value is within this particular range. Readers can use the margin of error to determine if there is a 95% or higher statistical probability that a value from a particular student population (UG, G-UPC, G-HSC or G-Online) from Fall 2020 is higher or lower than the value of the same student population from Spring 2018. For example, the survey results show that 22.2% of UG student sample from Fall 2020 (margin of error of ±1.9% = a range of 20.3% - 24.1%) had severe depression from the PHQ-9 screener. In comparison, 15.8% of UG student sample from Spring 2018 (margin of error of ±3.0% = a range of 12.8% - 18.8%) had severe depression. Since the range of values from Spring 2018 and from Fall 2020 do not overlap, we can conclude with 95% confidence that a higher proportion of UG student population from the Fall 2020 had severe depression when compared to the UG student population from Spring 2018.

Throughout this report, * refers to values of the student populations from 2020 that are different (higher or lower) when compared to the values of the same student populations in 2018 (no overlap in the range of values based on their margin of error at 95% confidence interval).

This report also follows the template from the Fall 2020 Aggregate Data Report of the National Healthy Minds Study (N = 32,754 from 36 institutions across North America, including USC). USC data from this report can be used to compare with the national report.