Norwegian College Students Research Articles

Cohort profile: the SHoT-study, a national health and well-being survey of Norwegian university students

PurposeThe SHoT study was set up as a national student health survey for higher education in Norway, conducted at 4-year intervals. The dataset comprises a wide range of self-reported data...

Student perspective on plagiarism

Autumn 2008, four employees at Østfold University College (HiØ), one with a Master's Degree in Sosiology, one with a Master's Degree in Nursing and two librarians, interviewed 33 Norwegian College students about the subjects cheating and plagiarism. This is the first such survey conducted in Norway. There are plenty of comparable reseach from countries such as the US, Great Britain, Canada and even Sweden, but the Norwegian focus on these issues has been missing until a few years ago. We started working with this subject about two years ago, about the same time as some incidents of cheating at a private College and a University Faculty got national interest, and HiØ started to review some of the effects of the reform Kvalitetsreformen. Our survey is part of this project named "Kvalitetsreformens vurderingsformer i høgskolen" (http://www.hiof.no/index.php?ID=14004=nor). Some of the topics treated in our survey are collaboration and collusion, consequenses of cheating, information given to students about plagiarism and the role of the libraries. We find that students, staff and teachers care about these subjects, but perhaps in slightly different ways and with different perspectives. Our aim is to let the students speak, and try to listen and understand, and hopefully find some ideas or starting points to start work with. Many colleges and universities are starting working with plans to deal with these issues, and we believe it is important to include the student perspective in this work. We are planning to release our research in a report in the HiØ's Report Series spring 2010.

Peak-experiences among norwegian youth

This study marks the first empirical investigation of youthful peak-experiences among Nordic persons. The sample comprised 309 native Norwegian college students who generated 318 retrospective reports (occurring below the age of 14). Early peaks involving interpersonal joy--especially the 3 sub-categories of family togetherness, the birth of a baby sibling or cousin, and romantic bliss--were most frequently reported. In frequency, these were followed by peaks involving nature and developmental landmarks. The relevance of these findings for fostering Nordic youth development from a positive, strength-based perspective is discussed. Avenues for future research are highlighted.

Differential relations between two dimensions of self‐esteem and the Big Five?

Recent research has suggested the possibility that self-esteem (SE) may be viewed as a two-dimensional concept consisting of: (a) self-liking, the subjective evaluation of oneself as a social being; and (b) self-competence, the internal conceptions of success and failure in performing tasks (Tafarodi & Swann, 1995). Establishing differential relations between these two dimensions of SE and an important psychological concept like the Big Five, would support the notion of two-dimensional SE. To test this hypothesis the self-liking/self-competence scale (SLCS) and the Big Five Inventory (BFI) were administered to 128 Norwegian college students. The results show a differential relationship between the two dimensions of SE and the personality dimensions of the BFI.

Is marriage/cohabitation beneficial for young people? Some evidence on psychological distress among Norwegian college students

Although a large number of studies have examined the association between marital status or cohabitation on the one hand and psychological distress on the other, few have looked specifically at young people. Theoretically, the effects of marriage may be expected to vary with age, and differential selection into or out of marriage/cohabitation may also have different implications at different age levels. This paper uses cross-sectional data on about 2300 Norwegian college students aged from 19 to 30; for nearly 1000 of these two-wave panel data are also used. Psychological distress is measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and linear regression analysis is used. Cross-sectional analyses show that among female students marriage/cohabitation is associated with less distress. For male students the association changes with age; in the youngest group, married/cohabiting men are more distressed than those living alone, this is reversed beyond about 23 years of age. The longitudinal analyses show that termination of marriage/cohabitation is associated with increased distress. Going from single living to marriage/cohabitation does not seem to have any effect, however. These results are interpreted as providing some tentative support for social selection effects, and for the stressfulness of terminating a marriage or relationship of cohabitation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Measuring implementation intentions in the context of the theory of planned behavior.

The usefulness of measuring implementation intentions in the context of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was explored among 112 Norwegian college students. They responded to a questionnaire measuring past behavior, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intentions, implementation intentions, and actual performance of regular exercising and recycling of drinking cartons. Implementation intentions were measured using five items relating to recycling and four items relating to exercise, which showed satisfactory internal consistencies. Consistent with the main prediction, the presence of implementation intentions was related to performing the two behaviors, although behavioral intentions were the strongest determinant for both behaviors. The results suggest that the TPB may benefit from inclusion of the concept of implementation intentions to provide a more complete understanding of the psychological process in which motivation is translated into action.

Motivation in college: Understanding Norwegian college students' performance on the LASSI Motivation Subscale and their beliefs about academic motivation

Norwegian college students have been found to score remarkably low on the Motivation subscale of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in relation to American norms. In this study, we first administered the LASSI Motivation subscale to a sample of 15 Norwegian college students and then interviewed the students about their responses to the scale items and their beliefs about academic motivation. Only the students having the highest scores on the Motivation scale seemed to wholeheartedly value the activities described by the scale items and conceive of motivation in the self-discipline and duty-oriented way reflected by the scale. In contrast, the students having the lowest scores did not seem to value the activities described by the scale items and clearly defined academic motivation in terms of interest, enjoyment, and excitement. It is suggested that one important reason why so many Norwegian students score low on the LASSI Motivation scale might be that they have a strong sense of autonomy and are intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated. In conclusion, possible contextual differences between American students and our Norwegian participants are also discussed.

Students’ Use of Strategies for Self‐regulated Learning: cross‐cultural perspectives

The paper first focuses on some current instruments for assessing students’ use of self‐regulated learning strategies. Cultural differences that may contribute to differences in the use of such strategies, are then discussed, focussing on the cultural influence factors of individualism versus collectivism, the value placed on education, belief in ability versus effort and social support for academic pursuits. Further, research on cultural differences in the use of strategies for self‐regulated learning is reviewed, with a special emphasis put on the authors’ own recent research on the learning and study strategies of Norwegian college students. It is concluded that the use of self‐regulated strategies at the post‐secondary level shows much commonality in the USA and Norway and that American research on students’ self‐regulation should, therefore, be highly relevant for Norwegian educators. However, to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the parallels and contrasts of self‐regulation in different cultural groups much work is still needed.

The Relationship between Motivational Beliefs and Learning Strategy Use among Norwegian College Students

We studied how motivational beliefs were related to learning strategy use in 176 Norwegian college students who were in the second year of their teacher training. Students' implicit theories of intelligence, self-efficacy beliefs, and learning strategy use were assessed by self-report instruments. It was found that students who conceived of intelligence as a relatively modifiable quality reported using more strategies than students who had doubts about the modifiability of intelligence. However, the relation between students' theories of intelligence and their learning strategy use varied with the way their theories of intelligence were assessed, with only indirect questions about the modifiability of intelligence yielding a positive relation. Regression analysis and group comparisons suggested that beliefs in the modifiability of intelligence may override the contribution of self-efficacy to students' use of learning strategies. With this study, relations previously emphasized within American theory and research are extended to college students in a different cultural context.

Identifying Latent Variables Measured by the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in Norwegian College Students

The latent structure of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) was examined in 2 independent samples of Norwegian college students. Exploratory factor analyses using the LASSI subscales showed the same 3-factor structure for the 2 samples. That factor structure was the same as the structure reported for American college and high school students. The authors performed confirmatory factor analyses to examine how well measurement models suggested by American research on the inventory fit the Norwegian data. On the basis of those analyses, a modified model was generated that was tested on data from both Norwegian and American students. The 3 latent constructs in this modified model were labeled effort-related activities, goal orientation, and cognitive activities. The cross-cultural generalizability of the latent structure of the LASSI was demonstrated, and some new information that aided in the authors' interpretation of the constructs assessed by the inventory was provided.

Values and Beliefs: A Study of American and Norwegian College Students.

Values and Beliefs: A Study of American and Norwegian College Students.

Values and Beliefs: A Study of American and Norwegian College Students. Christen T. Jonassen

<i>Values and Beliefs: A Study of American and Norwegian College Students</i>. Christen T. Jonassen

An Investigation of Sexual Behavior among Norwegian College Students: A Motivation Study

This study investigated sexual attitudes and behavior among Norwegian college students. A survey of questions was administered to sexually mixed groups of from five to eight persons. Subsequently a pornographic movie was shown and degree of sexual arousal measured. The results showed predictable male and female differences and differences between the sexual behavior of the Norwegian sample and American samples tested by other investigators. The study lent some support to an appetitional theory of sexual motivation.