Some rooming groups begin as blocks of girls who all have similar personalities and habits, and who chose to live together because they already act analogously. This year, though, my 8-man began as a somewhat random compilation of pairs of friends and friends-of-friends. Our habits in terms of exercise, studying, and social life were as varied as we were.
Looking back on our year, though, it’s hard to believe that was true. None of us had gone to more than one spin class before September, and now half of us go regularly and a few are looking into becoming certified instructors. None of us had run in races, but now three have done at least a 10K. In terms of studying, the booths in Addie’s became the favorite study spot of almost all of our 8-man, and we tend to work at similar times and for approximately the same duration. Socially, too, there have been trends. Within a period of two weeks, we went from 2 girls having boyfriends to 5 of us being in relationships.
Are these all coincidences or did we influence one another? As it turns out, there’s a lot of data highlighting the influence of roommates on one another. Jeanie Alter of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University said that, “It is not surprising that girls’ behavior would be influenced by the behaviors of their peer, whether they be perceived or real. This is true for many types of behaviors, including risky behaviors, such as substance use.” In the housing process we all stress about where we’ll be living, but maybe the main thing to consider is who we’ll be with. As much as we’d like to say we’re fully-formed individuals, the truth is that the people we are surrounded by play a large role, for better or worse, on many aspects of our lives.
Fitness and Health
Many speak of the role of the media on weight and fitness, but increasing emphasis is being placed on immediate environment. Studies have found that peer groups tend to have similar body mass indexes, and when placed in a room with someone, even if their weight doesn’t impact you, their habits certainly do. A University of Michigan study found that students whose roommates reported higher levels of weight-loss plans and exercise regimes were less likely to gain weight. This was true even if the roommate with weight-loss plans happened to be overweight. So it turns out that even if you don’t need to lose weight, if your roommate does, it may unwillingly become a team effort. And if they eat chips all day in bed, your waistline may be what moves.
Academics
Even though many of us have a mental divide between classes and friends, the two actually do influence one another. Studies have found that roommates have strong effects on each other’s academic performance, with correlations in GPA and hours spent studying. Other factors are also at play: one study found that grades are related to your roommate’s pre-college drinking behavior, and another found very strong connection between in-class performance and whether or not a student’s roommate brought a video game system to school. So when considering your roommates, it’s not just their grades and personality, but even their packing list that matters.
Personality and Social Life
We think of our personality and mood as a self-defining aspect of ourselves, but apparently it’s pretty transitory and our roommates can play a large role. According to Nicholas Christkis, co-author of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, each happy friend that a person has increases their likelihood of being happy by 9%, and unhappy friends decrease it by 7%. Specific studies have also been done with roommates, showing the negative influence of a depressed individual on their roommate’s emotional state. We shape each other’s habits, too. When it comes to drinking, for example, students who started college as non-binge drinkers were more likely to adopt those habits when rooming with a student who drinks to excess.
Take a look at your life compared to that of your roommate. Notice any similarities? Have either of you changed over this past year?
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