Identify College Students Research Articles

Development and evaluation of the Marijuana Reduction Strategies Self-Efficacy Scale.

To evaluate several psychometric properties of a questionnaire designed to assess college students' self-efficacy to employ 21 cognitive-behavioral strategies intended to reduce the amount and/or frequency with which they consume marijuana, we recruited 273 marijuana-using students to rate their confidence that they could employ each of the strategies. Examination of frequency counts for each item, principal components analysis, internal consistency reliability, and mean interitem correlation supported retaining all 21 items in a single scale. In support of criterion validity, marijuana use-reduction self-efficacy scores were significantly positively correlated with cross-situational confidence to abstain from marijuana, and significantly negatively correlated with quantity and frequency of marijuana use and marijuana-related problems. In addition, compared with respondents whose use of marijuana either increased or remained stable, self-efficacy was significantly higher among those who had decreased their use of marijuana over the past year. This relatively short and easily administered questionnaire could be used to identify college students who have low self-efficacy to employ specific marijuana reduction strategies and as an outcome measure to evaluate educational and skill-training interventions.

Identifying College Students Likely to Participate in a Travel Abroad Volunteer Project

Foreign travel provides excellent opportunities for college students to broaden their global mindset. While empirical research focusing on variables that influence student participation in study abroad programs are available, there is a paucity of research that focuses on travel abroad programs relating to participating in volunteer projects. Using a sample of 193 undergraduate business students, this study attempts to develop profiles of students that are “not likely,” “maybe,” and “most likely” to participate in a travel abroad volunteer project. Those who were “mostly likely” to participate had traveled abroad before, demonstrated high levels of self-congruity and diversity seeking, and stated financial costs to be less of a constraint in participating in such a project. Discussion of findings and direction for future research is also provided.

Multiracial matters – disrupting and reinforcing the racial rubric in educational discourse

When studying matters of race and education, there seems to be an assumption that the inclusion of all monoracial populations equates to a comprehensive look at all students, particularly students of color. But what about students who identify with more than one race? How do Multiracial students identify and how are they included/excluded with respect to educational curricula, policies and climates? This growing group presents an immediate opportunity and challenge to the educational community, because while educational researchers appropriately and vigorously pay attention to matters of traditionally under-represented monoracial groups of color, it has yet to be seen where Multiracial students fall into this discourse. Based on a qualitative study of 25 Multiracially identified college students, I explore the ways in which the notion of Multiraciality muddies traditional conversations about race and education in an effort to better understand the potential impact of this ‘new’ demographic within an educational context.

College Students’ Perceptions and Behaviors Toward Calorie Counts on Menu

This study identified college students’ perceptions and behaviors related to calorie counts on menus and examined any inconsistencies between perception and behavior among different levels of nutrition education. Fifty-four percent of respondents always believed that calorie information on menus can assist weight maintenance or weight loss. Forty-one percent of respondents always wanted to see calorie counts on menus at all restaurants. Behavioral statements were overall carried out “sometimes” by one third of students, while only one tenth of respondents indicated that they always changed menu selections or eating habits after knowing the calorie count. There were differences in perception and behavior score (PB Score) among different levels of nutrition education. This study confirmed the importance of nutrition education for college students in affecting menu item choices.

Assessing alcohol use in college: is it time for a new approach to identify risky drinking behavior?

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how traditional risky drinking indicators, such as binge drinking, are inefficient when identifying college students who are in need of alcohol-related services. Methods: Using data collected from the 2010 National College Health Assessment II (NCHA-II), the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of binge drinking was analyzed relative to experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences in the previous 12 months. Results: Despite a considerable mathematical advantage, binge drinking demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.80 and a specificity of 0.69. Additionally, more than 56% of the sample who were identified as binge drinkers did not experience a major negative consequence in the previous 12 months. Conclusions: Risky drinking indicators constructed solely of frequency, quantity and duration items have a limited capacity to discriminate at-risk college drinkers from the general student body. New indicators comprised of novel drinking behaviors are necessary to properly identify students at high risk.

Meal time dilemma; college students demand healthy but choose tasty foods

College dining services and intrapersonal factors are crucial to college students’ food choices. The goal of this study was to identify college students’ perceptions of and reasons for choosing healthy or less healthy foods in dining halls. Perceptions of health characteristics of foods were collected by questionnaire from students (n=25) in a residential college campus. In another 88 students, self‐reported food consumption based on 21 food characteristics, types of foods, frequency of consumption and reasons for choosing those foods were collected for each meal. Students perceived healthy food to have these characteristics: fresh, fewer chemicals, more vitamins and minerals, high protein, and non‐processed. While many students (41%) reported choosing healthy foods “very often” or “always”, the majority reported that they demand healthy foods. Students (32%) primarily chose both healthier and less healthy foods for taste. Fewer students chose healthier foods for health (22%), and they chose less healthy foods because they were filling (13%), or it was a habit (7%). Females chose healthier food more often than males and freshman chose healthier food the least often. Future research should examine how to address the discrepancy of demand versus consumption of healthy foods, and to explore interventions utilizing promoting “tasty” with healthy foods.

College Student Utilization of a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program

The authors sought to identify college students at risk for experiencing a mental health crisis that warranted a psychiatric evaluation at a hospital and/or a psychiatric hospitalization. A retrospective chart review of college students evaluated at a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program during a 1‐year period was conducted. Demographic variables, mental health treatment history, diagnosis, and hospital discharge plans were found to predict those students likely to be hospitalized and those likely to have positive discharge outcomes.

The Motives for and Consequences of Viewing Television Medical Dramas

Although television medical dramas have been popular for a long time and have delivered health- and medical-related information to audiences, few studies have focused on audience's view. This study explores motives for and consequences of viewing medical dramas from the uses and gratifications (U&G) perspective. A survey identified college students' motives toward medical drama viewing and the relationship of the motives with individuals' health information orientation, audience activity (selectivity, attention, involvement), and their use of health information learned from the dramas. Although viewers' primary motive for viewing medical drama was not to gather health information, only health information motive, among all motives, directly predicted use of health information from medical dramas. Viewers' entertainment-related motives toward medical drama viewing indirectly and positively predicted use of information in the dramas via involvement with those dramas, and indirectly and negatively via attention to the story in those dramas. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Relationships among parental monitoring and sensation seeking on the development of substance use disorder among college students

Substance use disorder is a serious health problem that tends to manifest in late adolescence. Attempting to influence targetable risk and protective factors holds promise for prevention and treatment. Survey data from 1253 college students (48.5% male, 26.9% non-White) were used to investigate the independent and combined effects of two prominent factors, sensation seeking and parental monitoring, on the probability of alcohol and/or cannabis dependence during the first year of college. In multivariate analyses that controlled for high school use, gender, race, mother's education, and importance of religion, retrospective reports by the student of parental behavior during the last year of high school indicated that higher levels of parental monitoring had a direct effect on reducing risk for alcohol dependence during the first year of college, but not on cannabis dependence. High levels of sensation seeking were associated with increased risk for both alcohol and cannabis dependence. No interaction effects were found. The results extend prior findings by highlighting influences of pre-college parental monitoring and sensation seeking on the probability of alcohol and/or cannabis dependence during the first year of college. The findings also suggest that these two factors are useful in identifying college students at high risk for alcohol and/or cannabis dependence.

Alcohol-induced memory blackouts as an indicator of injury risk among college drinkers

BackgroundAn alcohol-induced memory blackout represents an amnesia to recall events but does not involve a loss of consciousness. Memory blackouts are a common occurrence among college drinkers, but it is...

Neural Network to Identify Individuals at Health Risk

The risk of diseases such as heart attack and high blood pressure could be reduced by adequate physical activity. However, even though majority of general population claims to perform some physical exercise, only a minority exercises enough to keep a healthy living style. Thus, physical inactivity has become one of the major concerns of public health in the past decade. Research shows that the highest decrease in physical activity is noticed from high school to college. Thus, it is of great importance to quickly identify college students at health risk due to physical inactivity. Research also shows that the level of physical activity of an individual is highly correlated to demographic features such as race and gender, as well as self motivation and support from family and friends. This information could be collected from each student via a 20 minute questionnaire, but the time needed to distribute and analyze each questionnaire is infeasible on a collegiate campus. Thus, we propose an automatic identifier of students at risk, so that these students could easier be targeted by collegiate campuses and physical activity promotion departments. We present in this paper preliminary results of a supervised backpropagation multilayer neural network for classifying students into at-risk or not at-risk group .

대학생의 노인부양과 Care의 사회화에 대한 인식

This study was conducted to identify college students' supportive attitude toward the elderly and their awareness of the socialization of care for the elderly, since they will have the responsibility for and the support of the aged society in the near future. This study was also conducted to analyze the factors which affect the socialization of elderly care, and to contribute to building a care system which promotes ahealthy and happy lifestyle for the elderly. After conducting a survey of 1,100 students from13 universities around the entire country, I have analyzed 1,089 data forms, and omitted 11 data entries which had errors or were not answered. 1. Those surveyed are 1,089 students from 13 universities around the entire country. Regional distributions are as follows : 263 students from 4 universities in Daegu and Kyongsangbuk Do(24.2%), 291 students from 3 universities in Busan and Kyongsangnam Do(26.7%), 272 students from 2 universities in Jeolla Do(25.0%), 263 students from 4 universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Do. Males are 51.7% and females are 48.3% of these students. 2. Instrumental supportive sense level is high in men and emotional supportive sense level is higher in women. Also emotional supportive sense is higher in groups of those having more family members and coming from agricultural regions. 3. The sense of living with aged parents is higher in those living with grandparents than those living separate. The sense of living with sons and daughters after aging is stronger in the students from the Science and Engineering Departments than in the Social and Human Sciences Departments; also higher for men than women. 4. Recognition of elderly care socialization is higher in those from Social and Human Sciences Departments than from Science and Engineering Departments; higher in the case of upper classmenand aged groups, groups having fewer family members than more family members, and in the case of living separated from grandparents. 5. The factors affecting the sense of living with grandparents were family cohesion and instrumental supportive sense. The factors affecting the sense of elderly care socialization were family cohesion, instrumental supportive sense, and emotional supportive sense. From the results it is concluded that to insure a healthy and happy lifestyle for aged people, elderly care socialization offered by society and the country must provide desirable, appropriate care services based on the centralized support system of the family. In order to do this, we propose that elderly care needs inter-family and inter-generational fusion programs to improve family cohesion and care recognition. Also, elderly care is in urgent need to build a strong Family and Health Welfare System for care socialization.

Assessing College-Level Learning Difficulties and “At Riskness” for Learning Disabilities and ADHD

This article describes the development and validation of the Learning Difficulties Assessment (LDA), a normed and web-based survey that assesses perceived difficulties with reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, listening, concentration, memory, organizational skills, sense of control, and anxiety in college students. The LDA is designed to (a) map individual learning strengths and weaknesses, (b) provide users with a comparative sense of their academic skills, (c) integrate research in user-interface design to assist those with reading and learning challenges, and (d) identify individuals who may be at risk for learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and who should thus be further assessed. Data from a large-scale 5-year study describing the instrument’s validity as a screening tool for learning disabilities and ADHD are presented. This article also describes unique characteristics of the LDA including its user-interface design, normative characteristics, and use as a no-cost screening tool for identifying college students at risk for learning disorders and ADHD.

Gender Differences in the Relationship between Competitiveness and Adjustment among Athletically Identified College Students

This study explored the relationship between gender and enjoyment of competition and various indicators of mental health and adjustment in a sample of college students who report that they highly value athletics. One hundred and thirty-seven students completed the Sports Anxiety Scale, Multi-perfectionism Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Trait), Beck Depression Inventory, and Perception of Competition Scale. Results indicated that among women, enjoyment of competition was associated with decreased levels of athletic anxiety and a positive correlation between positive self-perception when winning and self-and socially oriented perfectionism, and between negative perception when losing and self-and socially oriented perfectionism. Among males, enjoyment of competition was related to decreased levels of general anxiety and depression, but not athletic anxiety. Furthermore, among men there was a positive correlation between enjoying competition and self-oriented perfectionism and between negative self-perception when losing and socially-oriented perfectionism. These data indicate gender differentially impacts the benefit of valuing athletics on measures of athletic anxiety and general measures of psychological well being.

Prevalence and predictors of persistent suicide ideation, plans, and attempts during college

Background Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students in the U.S. and is preventable. Approximately 1100 college students die by suicide each year. This study examined the prevalence and predictors of one-time and persistent suicide ideation, plans, and attempts reported during college. Methods Data were gathered prospectively over four years. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 1253 first-year college students at one large mid-Atlantic university. Risk factors were measured in Year 1. Results An estimated 12% wt of individuals experienced suicide ideation at some point during college, and of those individuals, 25% had more than one episode of ideation (persistent ideation; 2.6% wt of the overall sample). Ten individuals had a plan or attempt during college (0.9% wt of the sample). Risk factors for persistent suicide ideation included low social support, childhood or adolescent exposure to domestic violence, maternal depression, and high self-reported depressive symptoms. Persistent ideators differed from one-time ideators only by higher levels of depression ( p = .027). Persistent ideators were no more likely than one-time ideators to have made a suicide plan or attempt during college (8% vs. 9%, respectively). Limitations Although the sample size is large, only a small percentage of participants had persistent ideation, suicide plans or attempts during college. Conclusion These results have implications for programs aimed at identifying college students at risk for suicide. The accurate identification of college students at risk for suicide is an important step toward suicide prevention.

Correlates of Same-Sex Sexuality in Heterosexually Identified Young Adults

Currently, little is known about heterosexually identified individuals who nonetheless acknowledge same-sex interests. To address this shortcoming, the prevalence of same-sex attractions, fantasies, and experiences among heterosexually identified college students was examined, as well as differences between those who are exclusively heterosexual in their interests and those who are nonexclusive because they report some same-sex attractions or fantasies. Students (N = 243) at a large, Northeastern university completed an online survey providing information about their sexual orientation identity; same- and other-sex attractions, fantasies, and behaviors; and demographic, sexual history, and sexual attitudes variables. Compared to exclusive heterosexual women, nonexclusive women were more liberal in their political and sexual attitudes and had greater sexual experience. Nonexclusive men were virtually indistinguishable from exclusive heterosexual peers on assessed variables. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the nature and meaning of non-heterosexuality in contemporary Western society.

Introduction to the special issue on "Statistical approaches and methodological issues in longitudinal analysis of substance use and related behaviors"

Introduction to the special issue on "Statistical approaches and methodological issues in longitudinal analysis of substance use and related behaviors"

Contraceptives in college: undergraduates' usage patterns and misconceptions about pregnancy prevention methods

The survey was conducted to identify college students' behaviors and attitudes toward sexual health issues. This study, which was part of the larger survey, specifically examined undergraduates' use and knowledge of various types of contraception.

College students' sexual health: behaviors, STD testing and prevention, and Pap smear knowledge

The survey was conducted to identify college students' behaviors, knowledge of and attitudes toward sexual health issues. This study, which was part of the larger survey, specifically examined myths surrounding STD transmission and Pap smears.

Screening for High-Risk Drinking in a College Student Health Center: Characterizing Students Based on Quantity, Frequency, and Harms

This study examined characteristics of students who presented to a college health center and screened positive for the 5/4 definition of high-risk drinking (five or more drinks in a row for men, or four or more drinks in a row for women, on at least one occasion in the past 2 weeks) and analyzed the students' data according to their reporting of alcohol-related harms. Secondary analysis of data obtained for an intervention study to reduce high-risk drinking in college students was used. Data on alcohol use and alcohol-related harms were obtained from Web-based Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaires and 30-day alcohol recall diaries (Timeline Followback calendar). Students (N = 363; 52% female) were classified as nonheavy, heavy, and heavy and frequent drinkers, based on their self-reported alcohol use. Alcohol-related harms were measured using the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index and eight additional items derived from the Drinker Inventory of Consequences-2L. Students in the nonheavy, heavy, and heavy and frequent groups had mean Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index scores of 10, 14, and 23, respectively. The heavy-and-frequent drinking group comprised 20% of the sample but experienced 31% of the total harms. The 5/4 screening question accurately identified college students presenting to a college health center who were already experiencing significant alcohol-related harms. The addition of a frequency question (drinking 3 or more days per week) to the 5/4 screening question provided a simple method for identifying those students at highest risk and in greatest need of intervention.