Document is current

Article History

Received: 6 April 2022

Revised: 18 November 2022

Accepted: 11 January 2023

First Online: 20 January 2023

Declarations

:

: None.

: This paper involves secondary data analysis of data collected and archived by the Georgia State (US) Department of Education via the Georgia Student Health Survey.

: Data were collected by the Georgia Department of Education. The surveys were administered anonymously. The Georgia Department of Education requires all schools to notify parents/guardians about the Georgia Student Health Survey and give them the option to opt out if so desired. Georgia Student Health Survey questions were made available for review by parents/guardians upon request. The Georgia Department of Education approves “passive” parental consent for the Georgia Student Health Survey which allows parents to “opt out” of survey participation by returning a signed consent form to the school. Local school districts may use “active” parental consent if they choose to do so.We had access to only de-identified student-level data although schools were identified. The IRB chair agreed this research was exempt based on 45 CFR § 46.104 exemption 4 which addresses research involving the collection or study of existing data of sources that are publicly available and the information is recorded so that subjects cannot be identified.

: We have abided by the following ethical standards. The analyses in the paper are entirely original and have been completed honestly and without fabrication or falsification. There has been no plagiarism with the exception of quoted materials for which credit has been given.