Assess College Students Research Articles

Assessment of university students’ level of financial literacy: the voices of the National University of Development Studies education students

ABSTRACTThe study on which this article is based, intended to assess the level of financial literacy among the Government of Lesotho sponsored university students studying at the National University of Lesotho. The study was carried out during the academic year 2016/17. The objectives of the study were; first, to determine Development Studies education students’ level of financial literacy. Second, to identify if there is a change in Development Studies students’ attitude and behaviour towards handling National Manpower Development Secretariat financial support. Last, to identify strategies that could help students improve knowledge and skills in handling finances. The study adopted both a quantitative and qualitative approaches. It is a qualitative approach because it provided participants responses non-statistically, while quantitative approach descriptive statistics, frequency counts and percentages in order to hear the voices of the student teachers on how they handle their finances. A financial literacy survey questionnaire of four parts was developed to collect data from Development Studies education students/student teachers in the third year of study. The survey questionnaire was self – administered to a purposefully sampled group of 60 students. Data was analysed with the use of descriptive statistics, frequency counts and inclusion of participants’ verbatim excerpts. The study revealed that student teachers lack financial literacy. It concludes with the recommendation that student teachers require financial education that can assist them to understand the use of money.

Exploring college students’ sexual and reproductive health literacy

Objective: To assess college students’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) literacy experiences, specific to contraception use and STI prevention. Participants: In Spring 2015, participants (n = 43) from a large institution participated in six focus groups (two male and four females groups). Methods: Focus groups were guided by the health literacy domains (access; understand; appraise; apply); data were analyzed in MaxQDA using the constant comparative method. Results: The Internet was the most commonly accessed source for SRH information. Participants discussed facilitators (eg, use of visuals) and barriers (eg, medical jargon) to understanding information; and personal lifestyle, advice from family/friends, symptoms, and sexual partners as appraisal factors. Participants applied information by communicating with friends/providers and seeking healthcare. However, findings were not linear nor mutually exclusive, representing the interaction of health literacy skills. Conclusion: Findings suggest that a patient-centered intervention capitalizing on technology and trusted individuals (providers/peer educators) may facilitate college students’ SRH literacy.

Application of vested interest theory to prevention of non-medical prescription stimulant and marijuana use: Unforeseen benefits of attitude-behavior inconsistency

BackgroundVested interest (VI) has been found to enhance attitude-behavior consistency in several contexts. With an eye toward a potentially novel method of prevention (i.e., reducing perceived VI to minimize attitude-behavior consistency among those positively inclined toward psychotropic substance use), the current investigation explores whether VI moderates attitude-intention consistency regarding nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NUPS) and marijuana. MethodsEmphasizing prevention, the study focused exclusively on non-users. Study 1a assessed college students (N = 310) attitudes, VI, and intentions regarding NUPS among those with no prior NUPS experience. Respondents were sampled using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Study 1b investigated marijuana-abstinent college students (N = 93), recruited from college classrooms. ResultsThe pattern of results was similar in both studies. In addition to an association between attitudes and VI, analysis revealed main effects for attitudes and VI on substance use intentions. Moreover, VI moderated the attitude-intention relationship (p < .01). Attitudes were most weakly associated with usage intentions when perceptions of VI were low (vs. moderate or strong). ConclusionResults of these studies replicate and expand prior findings relating VI to drug use, and suggest a potential path for future prevention efforts. The current study was cross-sectional, however if the causal pathways are as theorized, an intervention that reduces subjective VI has the potential to reduce positive attitudes while simultaneously reducing the influence of favorable attitudes on intentions.

Education Science Students’ Statistics Anxiety: Developing and Analyzing a Scale for Measuring their Worry, Avoidance, and Emotionality Cognitions

Current instruments for assessing university students’ statistics anxiety prevailingly emphasize the affective construct component. In order to unfold the construct in a more exhaustive and differentiated manner, a scale for measuring university students’ worry, avoidance, and emotionality cognitions was developed. In two samples of education science majors the present pilot study aimed at analyzing the scale’s psychometric properties and at gaining preliminary validation results. Principal component analyses led to the formation of a unidimensional scale which appeared to be sufficiently reliable. Its relations to domain-specific self-belief and background variables turned out as theoretically expected – thus, for the time being the scale should claim criterion validity.

Does Objectification on Social Media Cost Young Men?

Using an experimental methodology, the present study assessed college students’ perceptions of a male peer who presented himself on Facebook in either an objectified or nonobjectified manner. One hundred eighty-nine college students ( n = 111 women, n = 78 men) viewed a Facebook profile with either an objectified or a nonobjectified profile photo of the same young man and then evaluated the profile owner. They also reported on the desirability of dating the profile owner. Results indicated that the objectified profile owner was considered less competent but not less socially appealing or physically attractive. Participants liked the nonobjectified profile and profile photo better than the objectified profile and profile photo. There was also more interest in a committed dating relationship with the nonobjectified profile owner than the objectified profile owner. Findings suggest that using an objectified profile photo on Facebook may come with some costs for young men.

Assessing College Students’ Use of Campus Recreation Facilities through Individual and Environmental Factors

Physical activity is related to overall well-being among college students. For many college students, on-campus recreational facilities are the primary environment for physical activity to occur. Social cognitive theory highlights the relationship between individual factors, the environment, and behavior. This study aimed to assess the relationship of individual-level factors, including self-efficacy, exercise behaviors, and social physique anxiety, as well as students’ reported comfort in the recreational environment, with use of campus facilities. To test these relationships, the researchers surveyed 189 undergraduate students and conducted descriptive and linear regression analyses. Results suggest students’ comfort in their recreational environment is critical to their use of facilities, and, in turn, their engagement in physical activity. Suggestions for future research and practice, particularly concerning recreational facility use, are included in the discussion.

Primary versus secondary prevention messages: College students' perceptions of effectiveness by marijuana user status

Objective: With medical and recreational marijuana legislation expanding throughout the country, the need to educate high-risk populations is evident. The purpose of this study was to assess college students’ perceptions of health communication messages comparing primary and secondary prevention messages concerning marijuana. Participants: Participants (n = 487) included college students, ages 18–25, enrolled in a Midwestern University. Methods: Participants assessed messages based on likeability, creativity, believability, persuasiveness, relevance, and usefulness using an online questionnaire that also included open-end comments. Results: Rasch analyses indicate that nonmarijuana users rated primary prevention messages higher than secondary prevention messages, whereas marijuana users ranked secondary prevention messages more favorably than primary prevention messages. Conclusion: Interventions designed to address marijuana use among college students may be more effective if tailored toward user status. Specifically, primary prevention materials should be designed for abstainers, while secondary prevention messages that focus on harm reduction strategies should be used with marijuana users.

Assessing College Students' Health Perception of Fat in Meals

Assessing College Students' Health Perception of Fat in Meals

Predicting Social Anxiety From Global Positioning System Traces of College Students: Feasibility Study.

BackgroundSocial anxiety is highly prevalent among college students. Current methodologies for detecting symptoms are based on client self-report in traditional clinical settings. Self-report is subject to recall bias, while visiting a clinic requires a high level of motivation. Assessment methods that use passively collected data hold promise for detecting social anxiety symptoms and supplementing self-report measures. Continuously collected location data may provide a fine-grained and ecologically valid way to assess social anxiety in situ.ObjectiveThe objective of our study was to examine the feasibility of leveraging noninvasive mobile sensing technology to passively assess college students’ social anxiety levels. Specifically, we explored the different relationships between mobility and social anxiety to build a predictive model that assessed social anxiety from passively generated Global Positioning System (GPS) data.MethodsWe recruited 228 undergraduate participants from a Southeast American university. Social anxiety symptoms were assessed using self-report instruments at a baseline laboratory session. An app installed on participants’ personal mobile phones passively sensed data from the GPS sensor for 2 weeks. The proposed framework supports longitudinal, dynamic tracking of college students to evaluate the relationship between their social anxiety and movement patterns in the college campus environment. We first extracted the following mobility features: (1) cumulative staying time at each different location, (2) the distribution of visits over time, (3) the entropy of locations, and (4) the frequency of transitions between locations. Next, we studied the correlation between these features and participants’ social anxiety scores to enhance the understanding of how students’ social anxiety levels are associated with their mobility. Finally, we used a neural network-based prediction method to predict social anxiety symptoms from the extracted daily mobility features.ResultsSeveral mobility features correlated with social anxiety levels. Location entropy was negatively associated with social anxiety (during weekdays, r=−0.67; and during weekends, r=−0.51). More (vs less) socially anxious students were found to avoid public areas and engage in less leisure activities during evenings and weekends, choosing instead to spend more time at home after school (4 pm-12 am). Our prediction method based on extracted mobility features from GPS trajectories successfully classified participants as high or low socially anxious with an accuracy of 85% and predicted their social anxiety score (on a scale of 0-80) with a root-mean-square error of 7.06.ConclusionsResults indicate that extracting and analyzing mobility features may help to reveal how social anxiety symptoms manifest in the daily lives of college students. Given the ubiquity of mobile phones in our society, understanding how to leverage passively sensed data has strong potential to address the growing needs for mental health monitoring and treatment.

Grading Grades as a Measure of Student Learning

In this article, we discuss the limitations of grades as a measure of student learning. We also consider more robust measures that may be preferable to grades alone for assessing college students’ academic achievement. We begin with a brief history of grades, followed by a discussion of the pros and cons of educators’ widespread reliance on grades to represent student learning, capabilities, and overall potential. We then discuss supplemental assessment strategies that yield a richer reporting of student products, processes, and progress in their learning. Finally, we conclude by reiterating the inadequacy of employing a uni-dimensional measure to represent the multi-dimensionality of the human potential.

College Students' Knowledge Concerning Oropharyngeal Cancer, Human Papillomavirus, and Intent Toward Being Examined.

The purpose of this study was to assess college students' knowledge of oral/oropharyngeal cancer and the relationship of human papillomavirus (HPV) to oropharyngeal cancer. Data were also collected to determine their perceived susceptibility to oropharyngeal cancer and awareness of emotions toward and intentions to receive an oral cancer examination in order to design tailored messages for promoting oropharyngeal cancer prevention on college campuses. Two hundred ten baccalaureate students in nonhealth majors from a public southeastern university were surveyed. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of knowledge of oral/oropharyngeal cancer and the HPV and intentions to be examined. Results indicated most were unaware of oropharyngeal cancer, did not understand the purpose of an oral cancer examination, and could not affirm they had received one or had one explained to them. Results also indicated poor understanding of some of the signs and risk factors of oropharyngeal cancer, especially HPV. In addition, oral/oropharyngeal cancer knowledge and negative emotions were predictors of examination intentions, confirming current behavioral theories that postulate rational decisions require collaboration from both cognitive and affective systems. Recommendations are offered for tailored educational communications and strategies about oropharyngeal cancer on college campuses.

University students’ sleep during an exam period: the role of basic psychological needs and stress

During exam periods university students are at risk for poor sleep. To understand variability in this vulnerability for poor sleep, the role of the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was examined by assessing university students (N = 121; 78% female; Mage = 21.69, SD = 1.39, range 19–25) before, during, and after an exam period. Need-based and sleep-related functioning deteriorated during the exam period and then improved after the exam period. As need satisfaction decreased (i.e., from pre-exam to exam period) sleep quality, sleep quantity and daytime functioning deteriorated, while subsequent increases in need satisfaction (i.e., from exam to the post-exam period) were accompanied by improvements in sleep quality and daytime functioning. These correlated changes in need-based experiences and the sleep-related outcomes were largely accounted for by changes in stress, suggesting that stress may play an explanatory role in these associations.

Momentary negative affect is lower during mindful movement than while sitting: An experience sampling study

BackgroundMovement-based behaviors and mindfulness can decrease many aspects of negative affect (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression). It is unclear whether mindfulness during waking movement-based behaviors (e.g., moving, standing, sitting) influences the associations between those movement-based behaviors and negative affect. ObjectiveThis study tested whether situational mindfulness moderated associations between (1) usual moving/standing behavior and negative affect, or (2) momentary moving/standing behavior and negative affect. DesignA smartphone-based, 14-day experience sampling study was conducted to assess college students’ daily waking movement-based behaviors and subjective experiences. MethodA multilevel model was estimated to predict momentary negative affect from a variety of predictors including the interaction between mindfulness and movement-based behaviors. ResultsParticipants’ momentary negative affect was lower when moving (versus sitting) if they were more mindful than usual at that moment (b = 0.10, p < .001). People also reported less negative affect while moving (b = −0.70, p < .001) or standing (b = −0.51, p < .001) than sitting. ConclusionsThese results extend prior work by showing that mindfulness during movement-based behaviors is associated with less momentary negative affect. Integrating mindfulness practices with daily movement-based behaviors may lead to greater mental health benefits and this hypothesis should be tested in experimental research.

Assessment of college students with the revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2): Sociodemographic characteristics and relationship

ABSTRACTThis paper presents prevalence data gathered from the fast-growing metropolitan southeast in the United States college campus representative sample through an on-line 28-question survey on the sexual, physical, and psychological harm in university/college dating and domestic violence relationships. The study questions were 1) what is the prevalence of dating and domestic violence on college campus? and 2) what are the characteristics of those affected by it? The results, derived from the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) and the dating experiences survey, reveal that college students’ gender identity, sexual orientation, grade point average (GPA), number of missing classes, current relationship status that they were associated with dating and domestic violence among college students. Statistically significant relationships were found between sexual violence and participants’ sexual orientation and the length of their romantic relationship as well as physical violence, including hitting and shoving, and participants’ sexual orientation and their class attendance. Institutional responses to prevent campus violence through prevention training, education, and intervention services could lower the prevalence of dating and help alleviate the adverse effects that it could have on college students.

Translation, adaptation, and validation of the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment to Portugal: Effect of disciplinary area and academic level on critical thinking

&lt;p&gt;Critical thinking is essential today, state higher education institutions, organizations, and society. This study aimed to translate, adapt, and assess the psychometric proprieties of the Portuguese version of &lt;em&gt;Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment&lt;/em&gt; (Halpern, 2012), administered to 333 college students. Also, it aimed to analyze if there were differences in total scores according to disciplinary area and academic level. Data support the validity of the Portuguese version of this instrument, and indicate differences in both variables. These findings are of interest in future research conducted in Portugal, and in cross-cultural studies using this test to assess college students' critical thinking. Seeing that critical thinking combines the skill and will that are needed for &lt;em&gt;good&lt;/em&gt; thinking, and that, alongside benefits in academic and work contexts, a higher quality of critical thinking is expected to be associated with less negative outcomes in everyday life, this line of research is of most relevance.&lt;/p&gt;

The relationship between student's learning motivation and life style in a Japanese medical school

Motivation research has studied in educational psychology in past decade (Pintrich, 1993; 2000) in primary, secondary and college education (Vansteenkiste et al., 2005). The motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) is a self‐report instrument designed to assess college students' motivational orientations (Pintrichet al., 1993). MSLQ is based on a general cognitive view of motivation. The studies of learning motivation in medical students were limited.In this study, we examined the relation between learning motivation and lifestyle such as food intake and sleep in medical students. 421 medical students participated in the present study. The questionnaire was all anonymous. The survey included that the learning motivation, daily food intake and sleep pattern. We compared those items and learning motivation.In the results, the frequency of breakfast and consumption of vegetable and milk production were correlated with learning motivation, though the sleep duration was not significantly correlated with learning motivation.In conclusion, the balanced food intake including vegetable and milk production could be important factor for improving learning motivation in students.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Assessing College Students’ Perceptions About Cigarette Smoking: Implications for Prevention

ABSTRACTBackground: College students are susceptible to cigarette smoking initiation, and those who smoke are at risk for a lifetime addiction. Purpose: This study examined the differences in college student smoker and nonsmoker perceptions about cigarette smoking in relation to emotional benefits, health hazards, self-confidence, and body image. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a convenience sample was conducted. The Attitudes and Beliefs about the Consequences of Smoking (ABC) instrument assessed cigarette smoking perceptions. An independent samples t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) assessed the differences between smoking status and the 4 ABC subscales. A multivariate ANOVA was conducted to test for the differences between smoking status and gender, as well as other demographic items. Results: Of the 1333 participants, the average age was 21, 63% were female, 69% were white, and 11% were current smoker. The one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers. Multivariate tests indicated a significant effect of smoking status and gender for the 4 subscales. The interaction of smoking status and gender had a significant effect on smoking attitudes. Discussion: College student smokers underestimate the harm of cigarette smoking. Translation to Health Education Practice: Tailored smoking prevention and cessation interventions targeting college students are recommended.

Turkish Adaptation of Instrument for Assessing Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Faculty Knowledge in Technology-Supported Class Environments

This study is aimed at adapting an instrument for “Assessing College Students’ Perceptions of Faculty Knowledge in Technology-Supported Class Environments” developed by Shih and Chuang (2013) into Turkish by conducting validity and reliability procedures. This study is crucial due to the fact that it focuses on how students perceive teacher’s knowledge in technology-supported classrooms. The adaptation procedure has such stages as (i) translation, (ii) back translation, (iii) experts’ opinion, (iv) pilot assessment to 25 students and final modification, and (v) implementation of the instrument to 430 undergraduate students for validity and reliability studies. For construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis was done. The results showed medium and high goodness-of-fit indices (χ2/df=3.94, RMSEA=0.083, NFI=0.91, NNFI=0.93, CFI=0.94, RMR= 0.074). In terms of the reliability, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient is found to be 0.945; Spearman Brown reliability coefficient is 0.742; and Guttmann split-half reliability coefficient is 0.725. These results showed evidence for a high internal reliability for the instrument. Like the original version of the instrument, Turkish adaptation has also 4 constructs including a total of 50 items.

Assessing Moroccan University Students’ English Learning Motivation: A Comparative Study

This study seeks to survey whether students are motivated to learn English or not and to evaluate the differences within and between three most known universities in Morocco, involving a private one, in terms of students’ English learning motivation. Moreover, factors that make a student more motivated to learn English were investigated. This study examines motivation of university students according to their institution, gender, and other variables. Assessment of university students’ motivation was by scores on items from the Academic Motivation Scale. The sample consisted of 329 undergraduate students from three different Moroccan universities. The most important finding was that participants in general are quite motivated to learn English with a score of (M = 3.80) with regard to the overall score using a 5-point Likert scale, and a higher level of introjected extrinsic motivation (M = 4.11), which means that they do such tasks because they are supposed or asked to do them. Moreover, factors such as how students consider university, their location during the academic year, and their decision behind choosing to go to university were found to affect students’ motivation.

Development and validation of the brief regulation of motivation scale

The purpose of this study was to develop and establish evidence supporting the validity of a brief scale designed to assess college students' regulation of motivation. This scale, titled the Brief Regulation of Motivation Scale, is more manageable to administer and intuitive to interpret compared to previous lengthy multidimensional scales. With a sample of 396 college students, multiple sources of validity evidence were examined. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses supported two separate factors subsequently titled regulation of motivation and willpower. The patterns of correlations between the two factors and critical aspects of self-regulated learning (e.g., motivation, learning strategies) were consistent with theoretical expectations. Only the regulation of motivation factor successfully predicted students' reported use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies and their procrastination. Overall, we found stronger support for the validity of regulation of motivation scale, by itself, as an indicator of students' general tendency to self-regulate their motivation.