Female Undergraduate College Students Research Articles

A Study on Altruism and Subjective Well-Being among Emerging Adults

Being altruistic is one of the basic human traits but not exhibited by all, it has the capacity to transform the life of the people. The study aimed to explore whether being altruistic and perceived subjective well-being of emerging adults are related and also to find whether gender difference exist in the research variables. The participants consisted of 200 male and female undergraduate College students. Data were analysed using Karl Pearson’s correlation. Results of the study indicated that there exists a significant relationship between altruism and Subjective Well-being. The study also revealed that the emerging adult did not differ based on gender on Subjective Well-being. Also, they differ based on gender on altruism.

The role of perceived parental over-involvement in student test anxiety

The effects of perceived parental over-involvement on students’ level of test anxiety were examined in two studies. In study 1, parental over-involvement scale was developed. The sample comprised 105 male and female undergraduate college students between the ages of 21 and 26. The scale contained two aspects of parental over-involvement: parental attitudes toward academic studies and parental involvement in academic studies. Students’ self-reported attitudes toward academic studies were also included. In study 2, the effects of the three aspects on students’ level of test anxiety were examined. The sample comprised 90 male and female undergraduate college students, between the ages of 21 and 26. Research hypotheses were that the two aspects of parental over-involvement and students’ attitudes will positively correlate with students' test anxiety and that results will persist with high anxious students. Finally, an exploratory question was examined as to whether the two aspects of parental over-involvement will differ in their impact on test anxiety. As expected all three factors positively correlated with test anxiety; however, regression analysis indicated that only parental involvement was predicting text anxiety. Results for participants with high test anxiety partially supported research hypothesis as parental involvement correlated with test anxiety (TA) total score and with worry but not with emotionality. Findings are discussed as response to the exploratory question. Finally, although not hypothesized, academic education of parents was positively related to students' test anxiety. Results suggest that parental attitudes and behaviors are significant factors in college students’ TA.

Fertility awareness and parenting attitudes among American male and female undergraduate university students

In the USA, the postponement of childbearing reflects contemporary social norms of delaying marriage, pursing educational goals and securing economic stability prior to attempting conception. Although university students are more likely to delay childbearing, it is unclear to what extent they are aware of age-related fertility decline. The current study is the first of its kind to assess fertility awareness and parenting attitudes of American undergraduate university students. Two-hundred forty-six randomly selected undergraduate university students (138 females and 108 males) completed an online self-report survey adapted from the Swedish Fertility Awareness Questionnaire. Students were evenly distributed between the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes with a mean age of 20.4 years. Participants wanted to have their first and last child within the window of a woman's fertility. However, participants demonstrated a lack of fertility awareness by vastly overestimating the age at which women experience declines in fertility, the likelihood of pregnancy following unprotected intercourse and the chances that IVF treatments would be successful in the case of infertility. Nearly 9 in 10 participants want to have children in the future and viewed parenthood as a highly important aspect of their future lives. Delaying childbearing based on incorrect perceptions of female fertility could lead to involuntary childlessness. Education regarding fertility issues is necessary to help men and women make informed reproductive decisions that are based on accurate information rather than incorrect perceptions.

Using the theory of planned behaviour and prototype willingness model to target binge drinking in female undergraduate university students

The current study investigated whether binge drinking in female undergraduates could be reduced by the mere measurement effect (MME), and by altering binge drinker prototypes from the prototype willingness model (PWM). Whether willingness added to the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was also explored. Female undergraduates aged 17–25 (N = 122) were randomly allocated to a prototype manipulation, mere measurement, or control group, and completed two online questionnaires separated by 14–21 days. Controlling for past behaviour, MME group consumed less alcohol than the control group, and this effect was more extreme for those who previously consumed more alcohol. However, the prototype manipulation had no effect. The TPB variables were predictive of intentions and behaviour, but willingness was not. Despite limitations, the MME could be utilised to reduce binge drinking in female undergraduates. The TPB appears to model binge drinking in female undergraduates better than the PWM, implying that binge drinking can be a reasoned behaviour.

Facilitated Attentional Disengagement from Negative Information in Relation to Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms of Dutch Female Undergraduate Students

Prior research has shown that depressive symptoms are associated with an enhanced attention toward negative stimuli and difficulty of disengaging attention from negative stimuli. The current study was an extension of a 2005 study by Koster and colleagues. A different stimulus presentation time and word set were used. The whole range of depressive symptoms was included in this sample instead of creating dichotomized groups. The Exogenous Cueing Task with negative, positive, and neutral cues was administered to 85 female undergraduate university students. Participants completed the Beck's Depression Inventory-II-NL questionnaire to measure self-reported depression. Contrary to previous findings, depressive symptoms were related to a facilitated rather than impaired attentional disengagement from negative stimuli. An explanation for the discrepancy with findings from Koster, et al. may be the different stimulus presentation time (1000 msec. instead of 500 or 1500 msec.).

Awareness and Utilization of Emergency Contraceptives among Female Undergraduate Students of University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

Any woman of reproductive age may need Emergency Contraception (EC) at some point to avoid an unintended pregnancy. The aim of this study is to determine the awareness and utilization of EC among female undergraduate students of the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 450 randomly selected full time female undergraduate students. The tool for data collection was a semi-structured self administered questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 22.2 ± 2.9 years with majority (88.0%) of them being single. Majority 276 (61.3%) of the respondents were sexually active out of which 213 (77.2%) had engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse and 110 (39.9%) had had an unintended pregnancy. Three hundred and seventy one (82.4%) respondents were aware of EC and their main source of information about EC was from friends (27.4%). Only 122 (32.9%) respondents had correct knowledge of EC while 45 (12.1%) had used it. Various incorrect methods/forms of EC were used by respondents to protect against unwanted pregnancy. Although, the awareness of EC among female undergraduates was high, correct knowledge and utilization by the students was low. There is therefore an urgent need to educate adolescents and young people in the university about EC especially in the area of correct methods available for them. The establishment of Reproductive Health Clubs and Adolescentfriendly health services where students can seek health information especially in reproductive health should be encouraged in the university.

The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Females with a Pre-Existing Fear of Storms

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on those with preexisting storm fear. Participants were divided into two groups, those with a fear of storms and control participants with no reported fears of any specific stimuli. Differences were examined on measures of exposure to and distress from trauma, fear, coping self-efficacy, and demographic variables. The participants were 62 female undergraduate college students who completed an online survey examining the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Despite no differences in the overall occurrence of trauma between the two groups, storm-fearful participants reported significantly more overall distress from their exposure when compared to the non-fearful participants. Those with storm-fears also reported significantly poorer coping self-efficacy following the storm than those who were not fearful. Overall, individuals with a fear of storms reported experiencing greater psychological impact and poorer coping self-efficacy from the same degree of storm exposure.

The Relationship between Temperament and Anxiety

This study of 509 (340 female) undergraduate university students in southern Appalachia who completed the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), is the first phase in the development of a model to predict risk for stress-related health problems. Results indicate that high negative affect strongly predicted individuals with above average anxiety (OR = 3.7, 95% CI 2.43, 5.64), while high positive affect, effortful control, and sociability predicted that individuals would be low in reported anxiety (OR = .33 [95% CI .25, .44], .29 [95% CI .19, .45], and .69 [95% CI .56, .86], respectively).

HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Sexual Activity, and Safer Sex Practices Among Female Students in Hong Kong, Australia, and the United States

Early in the epidemic, HIV infection and AIDS were rarely diagnosed in women. Today, the HIV/AIDS epidemic represents a growing and persistent health threat to women, especially young women. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an international study with female undergraduate college students to assess knowledge and attitudes about HIV/AIDS, current and future sexual behaviors, and condom use self-efficacy. Participants included several convenience samples of female undergraduate college students from three public universities in the southern region of the United States (n = 112), a large public university in Australia (n = 66), and a public university in Hong Kong (n = 93). This research study utilizes a quantitative survey research design. Seventy-seven percent of American women and 66% of Australian women were sexually active compared with only 21% of Chinese women (χ2 = 67.74, p < .001). Of the sexually active women, 86% of Australian women reported regular use of safer sex practices during the past year compared with 69% of American women and 20% of Chinese women (χ2 = 8.9, p < .05). Although the sample as a whole scored generally high on HIV/AIDS awareness, it is not reflected in safe sex practices or intentions for future safe sex practices. Future studies should focus on further understanding the social, cultural, and psychological factors that hamper safe sex practices among this population as well as successful intervention strategies to overcome these barriers.

An investigation of the effect of body dissatisfaction on selective attention toward negative shape and weight‐related information

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of inducing body dissatisfaction on selective attention toward negative shape and weight-related information. A total of 54 female undergraduate university students were randomly allocated to one of three induction conditions: body dissatisfaction, negative mood, and neutral. Subsequently, participants' attentional bias toward negative shape/weight words was measured using a dot probe task. Contrary to the hypotheses, participants in the body dissatisfaction condition did not demonstrate an increase in attention toward negative shape/weight words compared with the negative mood and neutral conditions. Indeed, it was the negative mood induction that resulted in significantly increased attention toward negative shape/weight words relative to the body dissatisfaction condition. The finding that the negative mood (rather than the body dissatisfaction) induction triggered an attentional bias toward shape- and weight-related information is discussed in terms of the anxiety literature given the nature of the mood induction utilized. This finding might help to account for the high comorbidity between eating disorders and anxiety disorders and suggests the possible relevance of attentional training interventions designed for anxiety disorders in the treatment of eating disorders.

Awareness Of Breast Cancer Screening Among Female Undergraduate Students Of University Of Ibadan, Nigeria

The mortality and morbidity rate of carcinoma of the breast among Nigerian women is alarming and is a serious health issue to health professionals especially nurses. The high rate of mortality and morbidity associated with breast cancer can be reduced through early detection measures which include mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE) and breast self examination (BSE). The aim of this study therefore is to determine the level of awareness of breast cancer screening methods among the female undergraduate students of University of Ibadan who are future mothers. This is a non-experimental descriptive study that utilised a self-structured questionnaire for collection of data. Three hundred willing female undergraduate students drawn proportionately from the three halls of residence participated in the study. Only 286 out of the 300 questionnaires distributed, were correctly filled, and fit for analysis. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilised for analysis of data. The age of the respondents ranged from 16 to 40 years. Majority (92.6%) were single. Those who have heard about BSE, CBE and mammography were 82.7%, 59.8% and 46% respectively. The mass media top the list of sources of information. However, only 33.8% demonstrated good knowledge of appropriate time BSE should be carried out. Larger proportion; 81.2% had never accessed CBE at any particular time in life. There is a significant association between the respondents\' level of awareness of mammography and the respondent mothers\' level of education, (P ? 0.05). The findings of the study revealed high level of awareness of BSE but low level of knowledge. Similarly, the number of respondents who had benefited from CBE was very low. Therefore, nurses, midwives and doctors are encouraged to teach their clients BSE and incorporate CBE into the routine physical examination of their clients. Keywords : Awareness, Breast cancer, Screening, Undergraduate students. African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Vol. 11 (1&2) 2008: pp. 161-173

Causes of Sexual Promiscuity Among Female Undergraduate Students In University of Lagos.

This study investigated causes of sexual promiscuity among female undergraduate students in university of Lagos. The sample comprised 150 female undergraduate students randomly selected from all the five female hostels in University of Lagos. A researcher-constructed questionnaire was administered to test the three hypotheses formulated for the study. One-way Analysis of variance, protected t-test and independent t-test statistical techniques were used for data analysis. The findings show that peer group pressure and socio-economic background of students significantly promote sexual promiscuity among female students. It was also found that knowledge of contraceptives does not significantly promote sexual promiscuity among female students. It was recommended that Individual and group counselling should be mounted to checkmate peer pressure and socio-economic impact on sexual promiscuity. Irrespective of socio-economic status, parents should groom their female children to avoid being promiscuous in sex matters. The role of counsellors in sensitising female undergraduates to avoid sexual promiscuity was also recommended. The Nigerian Journal Of Guidance And Counselling Vol. 7 (1) 2000: pp. 214-222

The Effect of Egalitarian and Complementarian Gender Role Attitudes on Career Aspirations in Evangelical Female Undergraduate College Students

This research investigated the effect of two opposite religious gender role attitudes (Complementarianism and Egalitarianism) on the career aspirations of female college students at an Evangelical Christian university in the Midwest. A survey measuring Egalitarianism / Complementarianism gender role ideology and career aspirations was distributed to a random sample of 400 students of which 271 participants responded. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship exists between gender role attitude and career goals. Results also showed that an Egalitarian gender role attitude has a positive effect on the level to which a female aspires.

Hand preference, magical thinking and left–right confusion

Several reports suggest a significant correlation between hand preference quotients and Magical Ideation Scale (MIS) scores, such that individuals with mixed prefer ences have higher MIS scores. In a sample of 156 male and 257 female undergraduate university students no significant correlation was found between MIS scores and hand preference; hand preference being defined in numerous ways, and using short and long hand preference questionnaires to assess handedness. An index of left–right confusion was significantly related to MIS score, but only in females. We suggest that the role of subjects' response style and general approach to filling out questionnaires should be fully explored before “neurological” causes of links between hand preference and other questionnaire‐assessed behavioural variables are invoked.

Men Want Intelligence, Women Want Love: Sex Differential Use of English Adjectives Among Nigerian University Undergraduate Students

KEYWORDS Sex; language use; language variation. ABSTRACT This is a sociolinguistic study of the emotional responses of male and female undergraduate students of a Nigerian university using English as an L2. It reports the verbal mapping of these responses in terms of vocabulary choice within some selected topics and attempts to correlate vocabulary usage to speakers' sex. The contexts, which can be appraised to cause emotional responses, include talking about love/joy, morality/guilt and so forth. According to Coon (2001), an emotional stimulus can be external or internal and can make us fearful, sad or happy and it is greatly influenced by how we think about an event (p. 437). The present study demonstrates that men and women tend to appraise the issues investigated differently and their different feelings are reflected in the variable patterns of adjective selection.The study shows that in talking about future partners, while the male students tend to use more of adjectives that focus on their partners' non-romantic qualities such as 'intelligence' and showing 'respect' (focusing on certain determinants of status/hierarchy), the female speakers tend to use adjectives with romantic connotations such as 'loving' and 'caring' (expressing emotional connectedness). In talking about abortion and murder, while the male speakers preferred to use more of religious adjectives like 'evil' and 'satanic', the female students used more of expressively strong moral adjectives like 'dastardly' and 'gruesome'. The study concludes that in Nigeria, there are variations in the use of adjectives by L2 users of English, which among other factors are related to speaker-sex.

Cross-national study of attitudes towards seeking professional help: Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arabs in Israel.

Help-seeking processes provide critical links between the onset of mental health problems and the provision of professional care. But little is known about these processes in the Arab world, and still less in transnational, comparative terms. This is the first study to compare help-seeking processes among Muslim Arab female students in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. The present study compares the attitudes of Arab Muslim female students from Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards mental health treatment. A convenience sample of 262 female Muslim-Arab undergraduate university students from Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arab students in Israel completed a modified Orientation for Seeking Professional Help (OSPH) Questionnaire. Data revealed that nationality was not statistically significant as a variable in a positive attitude towards seeking professional help; year of study, marital status and age were found to be significant predictors of a positive attitude towards seeking help. High proportions of respondents among the nationalities referred to God through prayer during times of psychological distress. The discussion considers implications for professional service delivery and programme development. Future research could extrapolate findings to other Arab countries and to Arab peoples living in the non-Arab world.

Dissatisfaction with relationship power and dating violence perpetration by men and women.

This study focuses on the relationship between an individual's dissatisfaction with the level of power they have in their dating relationships, parental violence they experienced during their childhoods, and their dating violence perpetration. A sample of 352 male and 296 female undergraduate college students completed a dating violence survey, including selected subscales from the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) and the Relationship Power Scale. Findings show that relationship power dissatisfaction is associated with the use of violence in dating relationships for both men and women. However, parental violence emerged as an even stronger predictor of dating violence perpetration. Findings also indicate that male perpetration of dating violence is related to mother's violence, whereas female perpetration of dating violence is related to father's violence. The results indicate the importance of including gender in the study of dating violence perpetration.

Perceived Self-Efficacy in Performing Lifesaving Skills: An Assessment of the American Red Cross's Responding to Emergencies Course

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the American Red Cross (ARC) Responding to Emergencies course on college students' perceived ability and willingness to perform lifesaving skills in emergency situations. A total of 214 male and female undergraduate college students who were enrolled in 12 classes of the ARC Responding to Emergencies course at a midwestern university completed pretest and posttest surveys. Surveys were completed prior to instruction and on completion of the course and skills training (approximately 8 weeks later). Results show that the course was highly effective in improving students' perceived self-efficacy of performing lifesaving skills. Pretest-posttest differences were significant for all items on the self-efficacy subscales except the outcome values for rescue breathing and control for severe bleeding. The course was also effective in reducing the impact of barriers on students' willingness to perform lifesaving skills. Bandura's self-efficacy model was useful in predicting students' willingness to perform lifesaving skills. The course was effective in increasing students' perceived efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, and outcome values for performing lifesaving skills and thus has the potential to increase emergency response rates of persons trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Program implications and recommendations for future studies are offered.

The Perceptual and Affective Components of Body Image Disturbances in Anorexic and Normal Females

The literature is inundated with studies reporting the body image experiences of anorexia nervosa patients and normal weight people. Such studies have not, however, yielded consistent results. The present study reinvestigated the issue bearing in mind the theoretical and methodological limitations of previous research. The perceptual and affective aspects of body image were investigated in 11 white, female anorexic patients and 51 white, female psychology undergraduate university students. A combination of the movable caliper technique and image-marking procedure was used to assess body size perception, that is, the perceptual aspect, and the Body Cathexis scale was used to assess body satisfaction, that is, the affective aspect. It was found that anorexic females overestimate the width of their waist and thighs significantly more than normal females ( p &lt; 0.05) and that they have a significantly lower body satisfaction ( p &lt; 0.001). It was concluded that the DSM IV criterion of a disturbance in body image has specific diagnostic relevance in anorexia nervosa.

Spirituality and Religiosity: Relative Relationships to Death Anxiety

To assess the relative contributions of spirituality and religiosity to levels of death anxiety, the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) [1] and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) [2] were administered to 134 female and seventy-four male undergraduate college students. Results of a stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that spirituality has a significant negative relationship with death anxiety, i.e., as the degree of certainty with respect to life after death, greater levels of satisfaction with life, and greater feelings of purpose in life increase, levels of death anxiety decrease. No significant relationship was revealed between religiosity and death anxiety. Taken together, these findings suggest that the inconsistency in research findings concerning the relationship between religiosity and death anxiety may be accounted for by the variable of spirituality. An additional finding was that female participants reported higher levels of death anxiety than males.