Same-sex Students Research Articles

Student attrition in gender-atypical fields of study: a case of disapproval by parents and friends or lacking social integration?

AbstractIn most industrialized countries, the choice of college majors is segregated by gender. Few students enroll in gender-atypical majors. Previous studies suggested that some attrition risks are associated with the gender composition of majors. In this paper, I investigated whether students in gender-atypical majors are more likely to leave the major by dropping out or switching to a different major with more same-sex students than those majoring in gender-typical subjects. Furthermore, I hypothesized that the relation between gender composition and non-completion risks is partially mediated by two social processes, namely poor social integration and disapproval of the major from parents and friends. Using data from undergraduate students from the German National Educational Panel Study, I conducted discrete-time survival analyses and a KHB decomposition. I found that both men and women in gender-atypical majors have a higher risk of switching to a major with a higher percentage of same-sex students than students in gender-typical majors. Women in gender-atypical majors also have a higher dropout risk. Poor social integration and disapproval of the major by parents and friends increase the switching risk and, in the case of social integration, also the dropout risk for all students. However, these two aspects cannot explain the higher attrition risk for students in gender-atypical majors, with one exception. Only for women in gender-atypical majors, lower approval of the major by friends partly mediates the association between the gender composition of the major and the risk of switching to a more female-dominated major.

Knowledge of High School Students and Parents about Adolescent Reproductive Health

Students of SMAN 1 Batang Anai have knowledge about adolescent reproductive health as limited as bathing regularly, exchanging panties after taking a shower and for young women swapping pads 3 times a day. The results of interviews with counseling teachers that there had been cases of pre-marital pregnancy and the presence of same-sex students. The purpose of this study is to describe the knowledge of high school students and parents about the reproductive health of adolescents at SMAN 1 Batang Anai. This research is a descriptive study with a population of 118 students and 24 parents of students determined by propotinate stratified random sampling, the measuring instrument used is a question as an instrument. Analysis In this study using simple regression analysis and path analysis. The results of the study found that students 'knowledge included in the sufficient category with a total of 82 people (69.5%), age and sex of students had an influence on students' knowledge of reproductive health with a influence of 3.3% and 4.2% respectively. . Likewise, the knowledge of parents is included in the category of enough with 12 people (50%), the level of education of parents influences the knowledge of parents about adolescent reproductive health with a large influence of 60.7%. Knowledge of parents is very influential on children's knowledge about adolescent reproductive health with a large influence of 58.1%.

Descriptive and injunctive norms of waterpipe smoking among college students

IntroductionSmoking tobacco via a waterpipe (WP) is on the rise, particularly among college students. One reason for this may be normative perceptions of WP tobacco smoking (WTS) among this population. The current study examined the perceived and actual descriptive and injunctive norms of WTS among a college student sample. MethodsParticipants were 894 college students enrolled at a large, Midwestern university. Participants completed measures of WTS frequency and quantity and perceived/actual descriptive and injunctive norms of WTS. ResultsOver one-third of the sample reported ever trying WTS, while only 2% reported current (past month) use. When comparing ever and never WP smokers, ever smokers reported greater perceived peer approval of WTS. Both males and females overestimated WTS frequency of same-sex students at their university. DiscussionThe current study is one of the first to investigate descriptive and injunctive norms of WTS among college students. Students who report WTS are more likely to overestimate descriptive norms of WTS among their peers, suggesting corrective normative feedback regarding actual use by peers may be an important target for WTS intervention among college students. Future research should investigate the temporal association between normative perceptions and WTS behaviors among college students.

Affective Domain Progression in Single-Sex and Coeducational Schools

Students who study science in single-sex and coeducational schools have attracted lots of attention from the education community. However, changes to students’ attitudes toward science as they progress to higher grades in these schools are not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the changes in attitudes toward science among lower secondary students (Grade 7 to Grade 9) in single-sex and coeducational schools in Brunei. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 1,034 students. Despite a significant nonlinear decline in attitudes toward science from Grade 7 to Grade 9, the attitudes remained positive. This decline in attitudes toward science was at a minimum for students in the coeducational school, and it followed the following order: single-sex boys > single-sex girls > coeducational students. The decline was independent of the initial perceived values of the students’ attitudes, and it followed different trends when the data of the same-sex students from single-sex and coeducational schools were compared. Male students from the SSB school had more chances for significant decline as they progressed from Year 7 to Year 9. Brunei and countries with similar intentions to expand single-sex and coeducation school systems can target communication between single-sex and coeducation schools so they may learn from each other to improve the effectiveness of science teaching and learning processes. We expect that academics and administrators can benefit from the results of this study to guide their secondary science education policies, curriculum reforms, and teaching practices.

Normative perceptions of alcohol-related consequences among college students

College students in the U.S. continue to drink in hazardous ways and experience a range of alcohol-related consequences. Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs), which often include normative components comparing personal drinking to that of similar peers, have been effective in reducing alcohol outcomes among college students. Though normative perceptions of the quantity and frequency of alcohol use have been examined in many studies, norms for alcohol-related consequences have received less attention. The current study examined self-other discrepancies (SODs) for alcohol-related consequences among college students. Participants overestimated how often alcohol-related consequences are experienced by other same-sex students on campus and rated consequences as more acceptable for others to experience than themselves. No differences in SODs were found between those who did and did not report alcohol use. Future studies should examine the efficacy of PFIs that incorporate normative feedback on alcohol-related consequences.

Informing alcohol interventions for student service members/veterans: Normative perceptions and coping strategies

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to inform future interventions for heavy alcohol use and problems among college students by examining the utility of normative perceptions and coping strategies in predicting alcohol use among student service members/Veterans (SSM/Vs). MethodsSSM/Vs and civilian students (N=319) at a large university in the Southern Plains completed self-report measures of demographics, alcohol use and related behaviors, and coping strategies. ResultsBoth SSM/Vs and civilian students significantly overestimated the typical weekly drinking quantities and frequencies of same-sex students on campus. Among SSM/Vs, normative perceptions of typical student (not military-specific) drinking and substance-related coping strategies significantly predicted drinks consumed per week, while substance-related coping predicted alcohol-related consequences. ConclusionsDespite the theoretical importance of similarity to normative referents, military-specific norms did not significantly improve the prediction of SSM/Vs' personal drinking behavior. Moreover, neither typical student nor military-specific norms predicted alcohol-related consequences among SSM/Vs after accounting for substance-related coping strategies. Future research may examine the efficacy of descriptive normative feedback and the importance of military-specific norms in alcohol interventions for SSM/Vs.

Development of a face-to-face injunctive norms brief motivational intervention for college drinkers and preliminary outcomes.

Findings are presented from the first randomized clinical trial that compared changes in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences among college student drinkers from baseline to follow-up across 4 conditions: (a) a new single component injunctive norms brief motivational intervention (IN-BMI) condition; (b) a single component descriptive norms brief motivational intervention (DN-BMI); (c) a combined IN and DN brief motivational intervention (Combined-BMI); and (d) assessment-only control. DN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual alcohol use by typical same-sex students at your university. IN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual attitudes about alcohol-related consequences by the typical same-sex student at your university. Exploratory analyses assessed the effect of IN-BMI and DN-BMI on matched (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived DN) and mismatched norms (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived IN). IN-BMI resulted in greater decreases in alcohol use and consequences when delivered alone and in conjunction with DN-BMI compared with the control condition. Further, the Combined-BMI condition reported greater reductions in alcohol use but not consequences compared to the DN condition. Receiving IN-BMI either alone or in combination with DN-BMI produced greater changes in IN perceptions than were produced in the control group. Grounded in norms theory, this study examined how college student problem drinking is affected by both IN-BMI and DN-BMI alone and in combination. We conclude that IN-BMI alone or in combination with DN-BMI is able to modify alcohol use and reduce alcohol-related consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sex on the beach: the influence of social norms and trip companion on spring break sexual behavior.

Spring Break trips are associated with heavy drinking and with risky sexual behavior (e.g., unprotected sex, multiple partners, unwanted sexual contact), especially for those students who go on trips with friends. The present study adds to this growing event-specific risk literature by examining Spring Break-specific normative perceptions of sexual risk behavior and the role that these perceptions and taking a trip with a friend or with a romantic partner have on Spring Break sexual behavior. College students (N = 1,540; 53.9% female) were asked to report descriptive normative perceptions of sex with casual partners, drinking prior to sex, number of drinks prior to sex, and condom use as well as their own Spring Break drinking and sexual behaviors. Students perceived the typical same-sex student to have engaged in more frequent sexual behavior for all outcomes than students' own self-reported sexual behavior. Furthermore, results revealed that these perceptions were positively associated with behavior. The choice of travel companion (friend(s) versus romantic partner) also differentially predicted sexual behaviors. Results suggested that intervention efforts aimed at reducing risks for Spring Break trip-takers may be strongest when they incorporate corrective normative information and target those traveling with friends.

Cyberball

We examined the effects of ostracism in early adolescent populations using the cyberball paradigm ( Williams, Cheung, & Choi, 2000 ). Ninety-one Swiss school students, aged 10–14 years, were randomly assigned to the ostracism (24 girls, 23 boys) or the inclusion (23 girls, 21 boys) condition and were led to believe that they were playing cyberball with two other same-sex students. In reality, they were computer-generated confederates. We assessed self-reported levels of mood before and after playing the game as well as sense of belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control after the game. Compared to nonostracized students, adolescents in the ostracism condition reported significantly lower levels of positive mood after playing the game. Furthermore, they reported a lower sense of belonging and lower levels of self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control. The present results from a non-English-speaking sample correspond well to the few earlier findings in adolescent and adult populations by suggesting that even brief periods of ostracism with unknown others can lead to a significant decrease in well-being in these age groups.

Correlates of heavy alcohol consumption at Rhodes University

Objective: To establish the extent to which students typically overestimate normative drinking and to determine whether these estimates are uniquely implicated in alcohol consumption over and above the role of the various demographic and family variables. Method: An online survey was used to obtain a sample of 2 177 students who completed the AUDIT questionnaire along with other items, including three adapted from the AUDIT asking respondents to estimate the descriptive drinking norms of their typical same-sex student. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine the relative contributions of these variables towards individual student's own consumption scores. Three blocks of variables were entered in temporal sequence, starting with demographic variables, then family variables, followed by the normative estimates. Results: Most students overestimate how frequently their same-sex peers go drinking and how much alcohol they consume on these drinking occasions and how often they consume six or more drinks on one occasion. These normative estimates account for a significant portion of the variance over and above that accounted for by the demographic and family variables. Conclusions: The university should attempt to correct inflated normative estimates of how many drinks a typical same-sex peer has on a typical day when drinking.

They Drink How Much and Where? Normative Perceptions by Drinking Contexts and Their Association to College Students'Alcohol Consumption

Prior research has shown that normative perceptions of others' drinking behavior strongly relates to one's own drinking behavior. Most research examining the perceived drinking of others has generally focused on specificity of the normative referent (i.e., gender, ethnicity). The present study expands the research literature on social norms by examining normative perceptions by various drinking contexts. Specifically, this research aimed to determine if college students overestimate peer drinking by several drinking contexts (i.e., bar, fraternity/sorority party, non-fraternity/sorority party, sporting event) and to examine whether normative perceptions for drinking by contexts relate to one's own drinking behavior specific to these contexts. Students (N = 1,468; 56.4% female) participated in a web-based survey by completing measures assessing drinking behavior and perceived descriptive drinking norms for various contexts. Findings demonstrated that students consistently overestimated the drinking behavior for the typical same-sex student in various drinking contexts, with the most prominent being fraternity/sorority parties. In addition, results indicated that same-sex normative perceptions for drinking by contexts were associated with personal drinking behavior within these contexts. Results stress the importance of specificity of social norms beyond those related to the normative referent. Clinical implications are discussed in terms of preventions and intervention efforts as well as risks associated with drinking in a novel context.

Group identification as a moderator of the relationship between perceived social norms and alcohol consumption.

Previous research has shown that social norms are among the strongest predictors of college student drinking. Among college students, perceiving that others drink more heavily than themselves has been strongly and consistently associated with heavier drinking. Research has also shown that the more specifically others are defined, the stronger the association is with one's own drinking. In the current research, we evaluated whether group identification as defined by feeling closer to specific groups moderates the associations between perceived drinking norms in the group and one's own drinking. Participants included 3,752 (61% female) students who completed online assessments of their perceived drinking norms for 4 groups of students on their campus and identification with each group and participants' own drinking behavior. Results indicated that greater identification with same-sex students, same-race students, and same-Greek-status students was associated with stronger relationships between perceived drinking norms in the specific groups and own drinking.

The relative impact of injunctive norms on college student drinking: The role of reference group.

This research evaluated the importance of reference groups in the relationships between injunctive norms and alcohol consumption for college student drinkers. First-year students (N = 811; 58% women) completed online assessments of their drinking behavior, as well as their perceptions of the approval (injunctive norms) and prevalence (descriptive norms) of drinking by others. Injunctive norms were evaluated with respect to typical students, typical same-sex students, friends, and parents. Descriptive norms were evaluated with respect to typical students and typical same-sex students. Results suggested that for injunctive norms, only perceptions of proximal reference groups (friends and parents) are positively associated with drinking behavior. However, when considered in the context of multiple referents and norms, injunctive norms for more distal groups (typical students/same-sex students) were negatively associated with personal drinking, whereas descriptive norms for distal referents remained positively associated with drinking. Results suggest that injunctive norms are more complex than descriptive norms and these complexities warrant important consideration in the development of intervention strategies.

I Thought We Could Be Friends, but …

This study examined the precursors and consequences of systematic miscommunications regarding relationship interest during intergroup interaction. Pairs of previously unacquainted same-sex students (White-White, White-Chinese, or Chinese-Chinese) engaged in a relatively intimate controlled interaction. White participants who had had little prior contact with Chinese persons were more apt to exhibit a signal-amplification bias (i.e., to perceive that their overtures had conveyed more interest than was actually the case) in intergroup as compared with intragroup exchanges. In contrast, White participants with high levels of prior contact with Chinese persons and Chinese participants did not show enhanced signal amplification in intergroup relative to intragroup exchanges. These results support our hypothesis that lack of intergroup contact experience sets the stage for miscommunications regarding friendship interest. White participants' tendency to feel that they had initially communicated more interest in being friends than their Chinese partner mediated a downward shift in their actual friendship interest over time, suggesting that signal amplification triggers defensive distancing and ultimately lowers the likelihood of cross-group friendship formation.

問題解決場面における自己と関係性のとらえ方―課題の違いが及ぼす影響―

The purpose of this study was to examine how the differences of task influenced the perceptions of self and their relationship in problem solving situation, and to study the relation between self and their relationship. The participants were 64 college students. Two same-sex students made a pair and were engaged to solve the task together. After pairs solved the task, they completed the questionnaire. Pairs were randomly divided into one of two experimental conditions. In the "ability task" condition, pairs solved the logical task, and pairs of the "interpersonal relations task" condition solved the task concerning interpersonal relations. The results indicated that the self and their relationship were perceived differently between the two conditions of tasks.

How School Counsellors and Psychologists can Support Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents are a sizeable, albeit relatively invisible, minority within our education system. As a result, school counsellors and psychologists will encounter students who are same-sex attracted. Many school counsellors and psychologists who identify same-sex attracted students and see said issues as important will refer these students to specialist services within the community. Such referrals are not always the most appropriate way to handle same-sex attraction issues. School counsellors and psychologist have the professional characteristics required to create a therapeutic alliance and know the behavioural strategies needed to help same-sex attracted students deal with the issues, some related to same-sex attraction, likely to bring such students into contact with counselling or psychological services. It is suggested that school counsellors and psychologists add some basic knowledge, awareness, and skill relating to same-sex attraction to their professional development and, when possible, address the concerns of their sexual minority students directly and through systemic interventions. Reasons why school counsellors and psychologists are in an opportune position to support same-sex attracted students are given. Moreover, some of the knowledge, awareness and skills needed for competent work with same-sex attracted students are outlined. Finally, sexual minority resources are provided.

Using an evidence‐based approach to a paediatric problem

Using an evidence‐based approach to a paediatric problem

Comparative risk estimates relative to the average peer predict behavioral intentions and concern about absolute risk

This study explored whether comparisons of one's perceived absolute risk of being overweight to that of other people are predictive of concern about one's risk and intentions to reduce it. One hundred and six North American college students rated their absolute risk, concern, and intentions, and compared their risk with that of several comparison referents including average targets (e.g., ‘the average same-sex student in the US’), single targets (e.g., ‘best friend’), temporal targets (e.g., ‘yourself a few years ago’), and exemplar targets (e.g., ‘prototypical person with weight problem’). Participants showed high concern and intentions when comparing unfavorably with many of the average targets, even when controlling for absolute risk. Comparisons with single targets were generally related to concern, though not to intentions. Temporal and exemplar comparisons were unrelated to concern and intentions. Comparative risk (particularly with average targets) may elicit worry about one's risk and encourage protective measures, irrespective of one's absolute risk.

Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of vermont and massachusetts high school students.

To examine associations between health risk behaviors and sexual experience with opposite-, same-, or both-sex partners in representative samples of high school students. We used 1995 and 1997 data from the Vermont and Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Logistic regression and multiple regression analyses were used to compare health risk behaviors among students who reported sex with opposite-sex partners only (opposite-sex students), with same-sex partners only (same-sex students), and with both male and female sexual partners (both-sex students). Public high schools in Vermont and Massachusetts. Representative, population-based samples of high school students. The combined samples had 14 623 Vermont students and 8141 Massachusetts students. Violence, harassment, suicidal behavior, alcohol and other drug use, and unhealthy weight control practices. In both states, both-sex students were significantly more likely to report health risk behaviors than were opposite-sex students. For example, both-sex students had odds 3 to 6 times greater than opposite-sex students of being threatened or injured with a weapon at school, making a suicide attempt requiring medical attention, using cocaine, or vomiting or using laxatives to control their weight. In both states, same-sex students were as likely as opposite-sex students to report most health risk behaviors. Relative to opposite- and same-sex students, both-sex students may be at elevated risk of injury, disease, and death by experiencing serious harassment and engaging in violence, suicidal behavior, alcohol and other drug use, and unhealthy weight control practices.

Pessimistic Bias in Comparative Evaluations: A Case of Perceived Vulnerability to the Effects of Negative Life Events

This study tested the hypothesis that unrealistic pessimism characterizes comparative estimates of coping ability. Participants rated their ability to adjust to a range of negative life events in comparison to the abilities of other same-sex students at their college. Most coping estimates showed signs of unrealistic pessimism, in that students rated their own abilities as worse than those of other same-sex students. Analyses indicated that this effect was due, in part, to the presence of an egocentric bias and, in part, to the absence of a self-enhancement bias. First, pessimism appeared to arise because participants paid more attention to the difficulties that they would have coping with severe misfortunes than they paid to the difficulties that others would have. Second, pessimism appeared to arise because participants were not motivated to enhance their coping appraisals, given that they were optimistic that they would not experience these events in the future.