Adult College Research Articles

Changes in adaptation to time horizons across development.

When making decisions, the amount of time remaining matters. When time horizons are long, exploring unknown options can inform later decisions, but when time horizons are short, exploiting known options should be prioritized. While adults and adolescents adapt their exploration in this way, it is unclear when such adaptation emerges and how individuals behave when time horizons are ambiguous, as in many real-life situations. We examined these questions by having 5- to 6-year-olds (N = 43), 11- to 12-year-olds (N = 40), and adult college students (N = 49) in the United States complete a Simplified Horizons Task under short, long, and ambiguous time horizons. Adaptation to time horizons increased with age: older children and adults explored more when horizons were long than when short, and while some younger children adapted to time horizons, younger children overall did not show strong evidence of adapting. Under ambiguous horizons, older children and adults preferred to exploit over explore, while younger children did not show this preference. Thus, adaptation to time horizons is evident by ages 11-12 and may begin to emerge around 5-6 years, and children decrease their tendencies to explore under short and ambiguous time horizons with development. This developmental shift may lead to less learning but more adaptive decision making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal Examination of ENDS Use Among Young Adult College Students: Associations with Depressive Symptoms and Sensation Seeking.

The present study examined (1) intraindividual changes in the frequency of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use across young adulthood, 18 to 30years old, and (2) if depressive symptoms and sensation-seeking tendencies, independently and in interaction with one another, were associated with these changes. Data were from a longitudinal study of students recruited from 24 Texas colleges and followed across six waves from fall 2015 to spring 2019. Participants (n = 1298; 36.3% non-Hispanic white, 56.3% women) were 18 to 26years old in fall 2015 and all reported past 30-day ENDS use on at least one wave. We used growth curve modeling for an accelerated longitudinal design to examine if ENDS use frequency changed with increasing age and if depressive symptoms and sensation seeking, independently and in interaction with one another, were associated with these changes. Results showed that ENDS use frequency increased with increasing age. Depressive symptoms and sensation seeking were not independently associated with more frequent ENDS use or an accelerated increase in ENDS use frequency across increasing age. However, a significant two-way interaction indicated that young adults with elevated depressive symptoms used ENDS more frequently, but only when they had higher levels of sensation seeking. Findings indicate that young adults with depressive symptoms are a heterogeneous population and that those with high levels of sensation-seeking tendencies are at elevated risk for more frequent ENDS use. Interventions for young adults high in both sensation-seeking and depressive symptoms may help prevent and decrease ENDS use.

P14-045-23 Ultra-Processed Food Intake Is Associated With Lower Diet Quality in Young Adult College Students

P14-045-23 Ultra-Processed Food Intake Is Associated With Lower Diet Quality in Young Adult College Students

Emotional Eating in College Students: Associations with Coping and Healthy Eating Motivators and Barriers.

Emotional eating, or eating in response to stress and other negative affective states, bears negative consequences including excessive weight gain and heightened risk of binge eating disorder. Responding to stress with emotional eating is not universal, and it is important to elucidate under what circumstances and by what mechanisms stress is associated with emotional eating. This is particularly important to understand among college students, who are at risk of experiencing heightened stress and negative changes to dietary habits. The present study investigated the relationships among perceived stress, emotional eating, coping, and barriers to and motivators of healthy eating both concurrently and 1year later in a sample of young adult college students (n = 232). At baseline, emotional eating was significantly associated with perceived stress (r = 0.36, p < .001), barriers to (r = 0.31, p < .001) and motivators of (r = - 0.14, p < .05) healthy eating, and avoidance coping (r = 0.37, p < .001), but not approach coping. Furthermore, avoidance coping mediated (indirect effect b = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.61) and moderated (b = - 0.07, p = 0.04) the relationship between perceived stress and emotional eating. Contrary to study hypotheses, baseline stress levels were not associated with emotional eating 1year later. College students who utilize avoidance coping strategies may be particularly susceptible to the effects of stress on emotional eating. Healthy eating interventions targeting college students might address stress coping strategies in addition to reduction of barriers to healthy eating.

Mental health literacy and relational health literacy among college students

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine MHL and RHL in a sample of college students in the United States, and to explore linkages among literacies and related constructs. Participants: Participants were 169 (N = 169) participants who were adult college students at a state university in the southern United States. Participants were recruited through an online recruitment management system that allows college students to participate in research studies for participation credit. Method: We analyzed online survey data using descriptive analysis. In effort to develop a measurement tool to measure relational mental health literacy, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the Relational Health Literacy Scale (RHLS) that was developed for the present study. Results: Results suggest that college students would be willing to seek mental health resources from some professional sources. Participants were able to more easily identify symptoms of anxiety and depression, and struggled to accurately identify symptoms of mania, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Respondents also demonstrated some awareness of relationship health issues. Conclusions: Implications for further research, practice and policy making are presented and discussed.

Young Adults Disparate Experiences of Elections and Civic Engagement: How does Sociopolitical Stress get under the Skin?

Macro-level sociopolitical events, such as elections, may differentially affect youth’s day-to-day functioning depending on their social positions, identities, and experiences. In a set of studies of young adult college students across the USA, we explored psychological and physiological responses to the 2016 presidential election (Study 1) and trajectories of sociopolitical stress and civic engagement during the 2020 election (Study 2). Study 1 included salivary cortisol and daily diary data from 286 students (M=20.24 years; 73% women; 56% white) from two universities collected on consecutive days before/during/after the 2016 election. Study 2 included three waves of self-report survey data from 588 students (Mage =20.24; 72% women; 68% white) from ten universities in fall 2020. Piecewise trajectory analyses for Study 1 revealed that different facets of a young person’s identity (e.g., political preference, gender, race/ethnicity) moderated trajectories of mood and diurnal cortisol during election week. For example, youth who disapproved of President Trump showed significant increase in bedtime cortisol after he won the election (b=0.21, p<.05). In Study 2, growth mixture modeling pointed to four profiles of sociopolitical stress over the election period (i.e., high, high/decreasing, medium/increasing, low). Youth in the “low” profile were more likely to identify as white, heterosexual, and male, and reported the lowest levels of civic action. Integrating key findings from both studies with theories from developmental science and psychoneuroendocrinology, we suggest a framework to study mechanisms between sociopolitical stress and civic engagement in the 2024 election.

0152 Natural disaster experiences and their varying impact on sleep impairment

Abstract Introduction As rates and severity of natural disasters increase due to climate change, it is crucial to consider their effects on mental health. Among Hurricane Katrina survivors, stressors experienced following the Hurricane, including financial losses, were more robustly predictive of rates of PTSD than traumatic experiences occurring during the Hurricane (Galea et al., 2008). Because sleep disturbance is intimately associated with trauma exposure and has been implicated in the etiology of PTSD, we examined relationships between experiences during and after Hurricane Harvey (a historic storm that hit Texas in 2017) and sleep disturbance in sample of college students impacted by the storm. Methods Undergraduate students (N = 191, age: M = 21.25, SD = 3.14) at the University of Houston completed online surveys 6-8 months after Hurricane Harvey. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms were measured using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, excluding sleep items. Participants also reported on experiences/events during, immediately after, and in the weeks/months following the Hurricane. Total traumatic experiences during the Hurricane (e.g., thinking oneself or others would get hurt or die) and stressful experiences after the storm (e.g., losing power, damage to car or property) were calculated. Financial stress was examined as a unique predictor. Analyses controlled for total traumatic life events measured with the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5. Results In a multiple linear regression model, we tested whether traumatic experiences during, stressors after, and financial stressors due to the Hurricane predicted global PSQI score, controlling for other traumatic life experiences and total PTS symptoms. The overall model was significant (R2 = 0.22, F (5,185) = 10.48, p &amp;lt; .000). Traumatic experiences during the Hurricane (B = 0.37, p = 0.04), but not stressors (B = 0.02, p = 0.87) or financial stress (B = -0.29, p = 0.67) following the Hurricane significantly predicted poor sleep quality at present. Conclusion Our findings suggest that among a sample of young adult college students impacted by Hurricane Harvey, traumatic experiences during the storm were the most robust predictor of sleep disturbance several months later even after accounting for PTS symptoms. Support (if any)

Psychosocial and personality trait associates of phubbing and being phubbed in hispanic emerging adult college students.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04767-y.

Civic Engagement and Resisting “Docile Bodies” in Postsecondary Education

Background/Context: Robust civic engagement by young adults supports the aims of a democratic society, as well as college- and university-espoused commitments to the public good. Civic engagement also benefits students themselves. Although voting participation among young adults has shown modest increases from 2016 to 2020, work remains to be done to help youth become more engaged in civics. Postsecondary education has the tools to support this engagement among college students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Postsecondary education has long sought to support young adults to participate in democratic society, despite the current dominance of a neoliberal focus on career and socioeconomic mobility outcomes. A realignment of goal-setting is necessary to recognize the need to do more than produce “docile bodies” for a neoliberal and capitalist labor market. Yet, colleges and universities struggle to center equity goals that would support radical democratic engagement. Research Design: This article is a philosophical analysis of the intersection of civic education, democracy, and equity in the postsecondary curriculum. Conclusions/Recommendations: The article concludes with four policy recommendations: (1) access to federal and state funding for postsecondary institutions for civic engagement initiatives; (2) support for the freedom to learn and the freedom to teach material grounded in equity principles, including critical race theory; (3) assessing civic education as a core learning outcome through collaborations between postsecondary education and government initiatives; and (4) protecting the methods by which young adults in college can participate in the electoral process.

Social incentives are stronger predictors of drinking decisions than alcohol incentives in young adults: The role of alcohol use disorder.

This study investigated the influence of social incentives, alcohol incentives, and responsibility disincentives on decisions to attend and drink at party events in young adult college students (n=82; 55 women, 27 men) where 36 (20 women; 16 men) had an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and 46 (35 women; 11 men) were control participants without an AUD. In this within-subjects design, participants were presented with a series of hypothetical drinking event scenarios that varied in terms of social incentives (knowing many vs. few people), alcohol incentives (more vs. less alcohol available), and next-day responsibility disincentives (high vs. moderate vs. low). Participants were asked whether they would attend the event and how many drinks they would consume. Social incentives significantly predicted both decisions to attend party events and decisions about how much to drink for all participants. Participants were more likely to decide to attend and drink more at high social incentive party events (where they knew more people). However, while low social incentives generally discouraged attendance decisions, AUD participants were more likely than controls to decide to attend party events in low social incentive contexts. Alcohol incentives did not affect attendance decisions. However, alcohol incentives did increase drinking amount decisions for AUD participants. Finally, while disincentives decreased attendance and drinking amount decisions in general, AUD participants were less deterred by responsibility disincentives than controls. The results highlight the important influence of social rewards on drinking-related decisions and suggest individual differences in how incentives and disincentives affect drinking decisions in persons with an AUD.

Social Support in College Students with ADHD Symptoms: Quantity Beats Quality in Moderating Impairment

ABSTRACT ADHD symptoms in emerging adult college students are associated with multiple impairments. Social support may buffer the relation between ADHD and impairment. Social support can be defined in terms of quantity or quality; more research is needed to better understand this distinction. Thus, the current study examined the moderating effect of social support quantity vs. quality on the relation between ADHD symptoms and impairment in college students. Our sample included 2,517 undergraduate students (75% women) in the United States who participated in an online survey. In a series of moderated regression analyses, we found that social support quantity (i.e. having a larger social network) served as a buffer of impairment, while social support quality (i.e. the depth and availability of individuals in the social circle) did not. This suggests that college students with ADHD symptoms may need to spread their social support needs among a larger group of people to receive the support they need. Clinically, college counseling centers should be aware of this, and tailor their interventions accordingly. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The theory of integrated empowerment in the transition to adulthood: concepts and measures.

Developmental challenges in the transition to adulthood require a process of empowerment that enables young people to guide themselves and build capacities for adult commitments and roles. To examine this systemic process, we conducted an interdisciplinary investigation of constructs from prior literatures that relate to empowerment. Two foundational dimensions of empowerment emerged in relation to individual functioning and relational environments. The two dimensions are self-direction and meaningful roles in society. A creative process of theory construction informed by related literatures identified four component catalysts that drive these dimensions of empowerment among early adults: personal agency, sense of purpose, mentoring experience, and engagement in community. As developed in this article, the Integrated Empowerment Theory explains the relationships among these catalysts within the ongoing, multilayered process of empowerment in the transition to adulthood. A graphic representation in the article specifies the relationships among these theoretical concepts. To advance future research based on these theoretical concepts, we constructed multi-item measures of the four catalysts drawn from indicators in the empirical literature. The resulting scales were presented to participants in an empirical test of their technical adequacies. Participants were 255 early adult college students from eight colleges at a public land-grant research university in the United States. The 18-item scale includes four subscales: agency, purpose, mentoring, and community. The study findings evidenced robust internal consistency estimates across the scales (0.79-0.96). The Integrated Empowerment Theory and the corresponding scales provide tools for research to understand and promote positive developmental outcomes for youth as they navigate experimentation, life choices, and identity construction. The scales also imply a logical sequence for application and intervention. The sequence corresponds to four key catalysts: Community, Agency, Mentors, and Purpose, or CAMP. Although the conceptualization and the scales draw from a college population, the constructs have potential applicability, and await future research with additional age groups. For early adults, empowerment has particularly important implications for societal contributions. Creating contexts where youth can play meaningful roles in their emerging social world holds positive potential for society.

Comparing National College Health Assessment with other surveys of cannabis use and binge drinking among young adult college students 2008–2018

Objective: We considered the utility of National College Health Assessment (NCHA) data relative to other national data for studying college students’ cannabis use and binge drinking, and drug policy effects. Participants: Survey data on 18–22-year old college students were drawn from the 2008–2018 NCHA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Monitoring the Future (MTF), and Healthy Minds Study (HMS). Methods: Prevalence estimates were compared across data sources in terms of level and change from 2008–2018 using linear regressions, separately for men and women. Results: Mean prevalence estimates for 30-day cannabis use and 2-week binge drinking, and linear time trends did not differ significantly among NCHA, NSDUH, and MTF. Conclusions: NCHA prevalence estimates are similar to those from NSDUH and MTF, NCHA has unique strengths, and some weaknesses can be offset. Findings support the value of NCHA for studying college students’ substance use and effects of drug policy.

Perfectionism, Goal Orientation, and Emerging Adults’ Identity Processing Styles

The current study explored the direct and interactive contributions of multidimensional measures of perfectionism and goal orientation in predicting patterns of identity-related self-processing for pre-COVID-19 and during-COVID-19 samples of traditional age (18–22 year old) emerging adult college students ( N = 722). Regression models controlled for age, binary gender, and race, then tested the unique conditional effects and interactions between perfectionism and goal orientation in explaining variability in each of three identity processing styles. After controlling for multiple covariates and hypothesis tests, only a few effects were repeated between the two samples. Those results indicated that a growth-seeking goal orientation was predictive of an informational identity style whereas validation-seeking goal orientation was a significant predictor of diffuse-avoidant and normative identity processing styles. The overall findings suggested that fruitful targets for future intervention studies promoting healthy identity development during the college years might include reducing validation-seeking while strengthening growth-seeking motives.

A Psychometric Validation of the Claremont Purpose Scale with an Emerging Adult University Student Population

Purpose is a key protective factor for well-being, resilience, and satisfaction with life. The Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS) was developed by Bronk and colleagues with adolescents and emerging adults to measure three dimensions of purpose: Meaning, Goal-Directedness, and Beyond-the-Self. The psychometric properties examined in the original scale development paper were replicated with our independent, emerging adult college student sample: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a 3-factor model, good-to-excellent internal consistency, convergent validity with a measure of general perceived meaning in life (MLQ-P), and discriminant validity with a measure of self-reported depression (DASS-21-D). Additional psychometrics examined in this study were test–retest reliability, a 1-factor CFA model, correlations with stress and anxiety, and descriptive statistics that had not yet been reported in the literature. Beyond-the-self items did not load well onto the overall factor in the 1-factor model, and their correlations with other scales (MLQ-S, DASS-21 subscales) differed significantly from the correlations between these other scales and the CPS total, General Meaning, and Goal-Directedness scores. Implications of these data include strong support for the use of each subscale as a distinct, psychometric index, and we recommend the total scale score not be used as a measure of overall purpose. Clearly, there are separate, but related, facets to this measure that, while positive, undermine the utility of a global purpose score. A slightly changed naming of the CPS to the “Claremont Purpose Scales” could promote their use as three separate scales instead of a single, total scale score.

Initial development and validation of a brief assessment of marijuana demand among young adult college students.

Hypothetical purchase tasks assess substance demand, but the length of purchase tasks makes repeated assessment of state-dependent changes in demand difficult, often limiting clinical utility. Although brief assessments of alcohol and cigarette demand exist, brief measures of cannabis demand do not. College students (N = 209, Mage = 19.92, SD = 1.45; 63% female; 56.9% non-Hispanic Caucasian) who reported using cannabis at least 3 days in the past month, completed an online survey including the full-length marijuana purchase task (MPT), a three-item brief assessment of marijuana demand (BAMD) assessing intensity, Omax and breakpoint, and cannabis use outcomes. Convergent and divergent validity were examined. Independent samples t tests compared demand on the BAMD and MPT based on presence or absence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) symptoms, and one-way between-subject analyses of variance compared effects of CUD severity (mild/moderate/severe) on BAMD indices. All indices were significantly correlated across both assessment measures (ps < .01). Similarly, all indices on both demand measures were significantly correlated with craving, CUD severity, and cannabis-related consequences (ps < .01); whereas only intensity and Omax were significantly correlated with cannabis use frequency (ps < .01). Individuals with (vs. without) CUD symptoms reported significantly greater intensity and Omax (ps < .01) and significant differences in CUD severity on BAMD indices were found as well (ps < .05). The BAMD demonstrated convergent and divergent validity with the MPT. Findings suggest that brief cannabis demand can be easily assessed as an indicator for high-risk cannabis use. Thus, the BAMD may be a useful and clinically relevant tool to assess cannabis demand in real-world settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Fashion versus fitspo: The effect of viewing images of contemporary Barbie® dolls in passive versus active poses on college women’s body image and affect

The modern millennial- and Gen Z-targeted Barbiecore feminist movement has emerged in tandem with Barbie®’s reinvention to inspire inclusion and active play. Stimulated by these media trends, the present study using a pre-post experimental design evaluated whether exposure to images depicting contemporary passively-posed Barbie Fashionista® (BF) dolls versus images of actively-posed Barbie Made to Move® (M2M) “fitspiration” dolls versus images of Lego Friends® (LF) scenes would differentially affect aspects of state body image and affect in a sample of 106 racially-diverse young adult college women (MAge = 19.2, SD = 1.39). ANCOVA models assessed the effects of condition on post state measures while controlling for baseline state measures. Results indicated that participants exposed to the BF images reported significantly lower body appreciation relative to those who viewed the LF play sets. A similar trend emerged for participants shown the newer M2M doll images. Additionally, viewing images of the actively-posed M2M dolls was associated with marginally higher appearance comparison scores versus the LF control. These initial findings have implications for considering the relevance of expanded digital strategies for marketing more realistically appearing and functioning Barbie® dolls in affecting the body image experiences and potential purchasing choices of young adult female consumers.

A participatory study of college students' mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted college students' mental health and wellbeing. Even before the pandemic, young adults reported high mental health morbidity. During the pandemic, young adult college students faced unprecedented challenges, including campus closure and a pivot to fully online education. This study employed a novel participatory approach to a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in an introductory epidemiology course to examine factors students considered important regarding their experience during the pandemic. Two groups of undergraduate students enrolled in this course (one in Fall 2020 and another in Spring 2021) and participated in the CURE. A sub-group of these students continued after the class and are authors of this article. Through repeated cross-sectional surveys of college students' peer groups in northern California in October 2020 and March 2021, this student/faculty collaborative research team evaluated depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and several other topics related to mental health among the students' young adult community. There was a high prevalence of anxiety (38.07% in October 2020 and 40.65% in March 2021), depression (29.85% in October 2020 and 27.57% in March 2021), and suicidal ideation (15.94% in October 2020 and 16.04% in March 2021). In addition, we identified the significant burden of loneliness for college students, with 58.06% of students reporting feeling lonely at least several days in the past two weeks. Strategies that students used to cope with the pandemic included watching shows, listening to music, or playing video games (69.01%), sleeping (56.70%), taking breaks (51.65%), and connecting with friends (52.31%) or family (51.21%). Many reported distressing household experiences: more than a third reporting loss of a job or income (34.27%) in the first year of the pandemic. We explain the participatory research approach and share empirical results of these studies. We found this participatory CURE approach led to novel, experience-based research questions; increased student motivation; real-world benefits such as combatting imposter syndrome and supporting graduate school intentions; integration of teaching, research, and service; and development of stronger student-faculty relationships. We close with recommendations to support student wellbeing and promote student engagement in research.

Emerging adult romantic relationship narratives during COVID‐19: Understanding relational challenges and opportunities

AbstractThis cross‐sectional study sought to understand how emerging adult college students currently in relationships experienced and dealt with COVID‐19 stress during a key time for romantic relationship development. Using a relational turbulence theory (RTT) framework, we examined romantic relationship narratives in three different groups of students for indicators of uncertainty (break‐up anxiety [BUA]), interference (conflict and negative emotion), facilitation (support), and coping strategies. Of particular interest was whether these indicators would vary as a function of when the stress of the pandemic was assumed to be more compared to less disruptive to relationships (Group 1 Fall 2020 and Group 2 Spring 2021, off campus/unvaccinated; Group 3 Fall 2021, on campus/vaccinated). As expected, students interviewed during periods when pandemic stress was assumed to be higher showed more break‐up anxiety, increased conflict, and angry word use to describe conflict events. However, contrary to expectations, sad emotions and support did not vary as a function of when students were interviewed. Regardless of when students were interviewed, there were several strategies they used to cope with the stresses of COVID‐19. The most frequent strategies students described were using technology/media to stay connected and taking steps to keep themselves and their families healthy.

American and Moroccan undergraduates encounter religious difference: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT As emerging adult college students ponder their religious/spiritual beliefs and identities, those in religiously diverse countries (e.g. the USA) often encounter beliefs different from their own. These encounters can prompt new perspectives on their own beliefs and elicit responses from rejection to incorporation of the diverging belief, thus shaping students’ beliefs and identities going forwards. But do undergraduates in religiously homogeneous countries like Morocco have similar experiences of encounter and response? Here, 213 American and 78 Moroccan English-language university students wrote descriptions of encounters with, and responses to, others’ dissimilar religious views. Comparisons revealed expected differences (more self-chosen identities among those in the diverse context; older age at the encounter in the homogeneous context) and striking similarities (frequency of encounters with atheism; interpersonal relationships as the most common encounter setting). Across both samples, ‘incorporating others’ belief’ was the rarest response to encountering a difference, and women were more open to learning about divergent beliefs than men were. The roles of local and global contexts in exposure and response to religious diversity are discussed.