Typical College Student Research Articles

Healthcare Students' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Peers with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The present study investigates healthcare students' affective, behavioral, and cognitive attitudes toward hypothetical peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the effect of the ASD label on their attitudes. The MAS scale for ASD persons in the postsecondary education (Matthews et al., 2015) was translated and adapted in Greek according to the guidelines of World Health Organization (2016). Participants (n = 444) were randomly divided into three equal groups and completed their demographic information. Each participant read the three vignettes of the Greek-adapted MAS scale describing a communicative interaction with one hypothetical fellow student with autistic characteristics in three different social situations but in each group, the vignette's character was labeled differently (High-functioning, typical college student, and no-label). Students in the High-functioning group demonstrated more positive affective, behavioral, and cognitive attitudes toward the vignette characters than students in the no-label condition. Furthermore, students in the typical student group reported more rejective behaviors toward the vignette characters than students in the high-functioning group, implying that atypical behavior evokes rejection and stigmatization, while the label did not. Male students presented more positive cognitive attitudes across study groups in comparison to female students, while previous contact with individuals with ASD did not seem to impact significantly attitudes. The findings of the study indicate that knowledge of an ASD diagnosis leads to greater acceptance and have important implications for future research, disability policy makers, and university support services.

Hybrid Learning Experiences of College Students with Special Education Needs

Higher education institutions increasingly embrace hybrid learning to offer adaptable and variable educational techniques. After the COVID-19 limits were loosened, students could now take in-person and online courses simultaneously. Students engaged in distance learning for almost three years gradually return to class. Although hybrid learning has been the subject of numerous research among typical college students, little is known about how this method of instruction affects individuals with special needs. This descriptive qualitative study examined their opinions and experiences in hybrid learning environments to close this gap. Semi-structured interviews and theme content analysis were used. This study includes students with various diagnoses, including sensory impairments, learning disabilities, physical impairments, and social, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Findings revealed that students’ experiences with hybrid learning were marked by efficient learning, safe feeling, a sense of belonging, and expectation setting. College students with special education needs can benefit from efficient learning and a safe feeling. However, it presented difficulties in establishing a sense of belonging and clearly defining expectations, highlighting the need for customized approaches to satisfy their various needs.

Effects of Smart Bottles on Water Consumption and Health Status of College Students

Hydration is important to a human body because it helps regulate body temperature, protect spinal cord, joints and other sensitive tissues, aid in the digestive system, remove body waste, and keep the brain function optimally. Despite the health benefits, most children and adults do not consume the recommended amount of water daily. Previous research suggested that interventions with a combination of educational/behavioral strategies and legislative/environmental prompts produced the best results to promote water intake. Existing in this technology-driven era, the invention of smart devices has changed the way we live. One type of devices, smart bottles, has been proved to be acceptable tools to monitor and promote water intake volume among kidney stone patients and senior citizens. This research aimed to examine the effects of smart bottles on college students’ water consumption and health status. Daily water intake for 35 days and urine samples were collected from two groups of students enrolled in a walking class at a regional university in southeastern United States. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t test, and binary logistic regression. Results revealed that the bottle’s smart features did not prompt or motivate the college students to drink more water and those who received the smart bottles did not show healthier results in urinalysis tests. A plausible explanation of the results can be caused by the lifestyle of typical college students who are more likely to consume beverages other than water because of personal preference and social influence.

Effects of Physical Training on Student Health in Ordinary Universities

Following functional physical training, college students’ physical condition, shape, and other indicators were compared and carefully studied, demonstrating the effectiveness of the training program recommended in this article. This study is predicted to offer a set of practical functional physical training programs for college students, helping to promote the improvement of physical quality and general studies of health development. Physical fitness index evaluation. In terms of physical fitness, after 12 weeks of functional fitness training, there were significant differences in muscle endurance (planks and sit-ups), explosive power (vertical jump), accuracy and sensitivity (hexagonal jump sensitivity), balance (standing on one foot with eyes closed), flexibility (sitting forward) and maximum strength (squatting and bench press) compared with before experiment (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in Male pull-ups, standing long jumps, cardiovascular endurance (1000, 800 meters), speed quality (50 meters), and coordination (one minute rope skipping) were all better than they were before the trial (P>0.05), although not significantly. These are the conclusions: Functional physical training may significantly improve typical college students’ FMS and Y-balance test results as well as minimize their risk of sports injuries by equating the two sides of the body more evenly. Although the maximum oxygen uptake index was somewhat promoted, the impacts on college students’ height, weight, and BMI were not immediately apparent. Muscle endurance, explosive power, accuracy, agility, balance, and other maximum strengths have all been drastically raised, yet they haven’t been greatly improved.

Race- and university-specific norms associated with alcohol use among Black college students

Approximately one-third of college students engage in heavy episodic drinking. Although White students drink more than Black students, White individuals are more likely to mature out of heavy drinking, whereas Black individuals drink more as they age and experience disproportionate alcohol-related consequences. Compared to their White counterparts, limited research has examined factors associated with alcohol use among Black college students. Descriptive drinking norms based on the typical college student are strong predictors of college student drinking, but previous research found that this association was weaker for Black college students. Therefore, the current study is a preliminary examination of perceived drinking norms (descriptive) and approval (injunctive) based on race for Black college students. Further, we explored likelihood of excessive drinking around other Black students. The current study included survey responses of 192 Black college students from a large southeastern US university. Results indicated that university and race-specific descriptive norms, but not university and race-specific injunctive norms, were associated with more drinks per week. These findings suggest that descriptive norms with Black students at the participant’s university as the normative reference group are associated with alcohol use among Black students. Further, greater likelihood of drinking excessively around peers who share the same racial identity may impact alcohol consumption for this population. Current prevention programs for college student drinking are tailored by gender rather than race; however, preliminary findings from the current study suggests that tailoring by race may be an effective way to prevent alcohol misuse among Black college students.

Marginality and Mattering of Students With Disabilities at a Jesuit University

Marginality and Mattering of Students With Disabilities at a Jesuit University J. Mark Pousson (bio) and Mina Sagan (bio) Sense of belonging in college students with and without disabilities has been linked to their academic success, persistence, and psychological adjustment (Cole et al., 2020; Strayhorn, 2019). What fuels their sense of belonging are friendships, social acceptance of peers, and positive relationships with faculty (Pittman & Richmond, 2008; Strayhorn, 2019). Inherent in the experience of belonging is the sense that one matters to others; in regard to college students this sense of mattering is extended to the campus community consisting of faculty, staff, and peers (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981; Strayhorn, 2019). When individuals question their belonging or mattering, they feel marginalized; this can negatively impact a student's academic success, persistence to degree, and mental health (Flett et al., 2019). While marginality can be perceived as transitory, it can also refer to a permanent condition. Individuals may experience being in two cultures, each of which determines its marginal groups and which of these are visible or of value (Schlossberg, 1989). College students with invisible disabilities may struggle with the expectation of being a typical college student while attached with the label of being a person with a disability who has to prove their disability status to receive accommodations (Hong, 2015; Trybus et al., 2019). College students with and without disabilities who attend Jesuit colleges and universities are stakeholders in a centuries-old tradition of Catholic education that was designed not only to educate but to form the moral character of its students complemented by "conscience and a compassionate concern for others beyond oneself" (McCallum & Horian, 2013, p. 41). While there has been research on perceptions of mattering, belonging, and the barriers experienced by college students with disabilities, there appears to be a lack of research on these experiences by Jesuit college students with disabilities (Flett et al., 2019; Hong, 2015; Vaccaro et al., 2015). With [End Page 362] the paucity of research in this area, we sought to answer the following question: How do students with invisible disabilities at a Jesuit university experience mattering? LITERATURE REVIEW Rosenberg and McCullough (1981) addressed four aspects of mattering: attention (being noticed by someone), importance (a belief of being cared for by another person), ego-extension (a sense someone experiences pride in an individual's actions and can empathize with their failures), and dependence (a sense of being needed). Schlossberg (1989) expanded the mattering research of Rosenberg and McCullough by adding another aspect: appreciation (a sense others appreciate an individual's contributions). Marginality, on the other hand, is experienced as a sense of lacking full membership within a social system, and since it can lead to depression and self-consciousness, marginality can have an adverse effect on students' academic performance and learning ability (Flett et al., 2019; Schlossberg, 1989). A contributing societal factor that can challenge sense of mattering for college students with invisible disabilities is ableism, a system of oppression that labels individuals with disabilities as "inferior and . . . as other" (Liebowitz, 2017, p. 153). A common mechanism that perpetuates ableism is the use of microagressions, daily interactions that maintain inequalities against marginalized individuals. College students with invisible disabilities may be the recipients of either microagressions directly or indirectly since they may not be perceived as being part of the disability community. A by-product of prolonged exposure to microagressions for college students with invisible disabilities could be internalized ableism whereby they internalize the inferior messages from society or daily interactions with others (Kattari et al., 2018). The Jesuit approach to education begins with cura personalis, translated caring for the whole person or education of the whole person for the purpose of service to and "transformation of society" (McCallum & Horian, 2013, p. 4). While other value-based postsecondary institutions focus education on forming the intellect and vocational skills, the Jesuit education forms the intellect and the "affective and moral sensibilities of the heart" (McCallum & Horian, 2013, p. 4). A resource to assist student affairs professionals in incorporating these components within the cocurricular landscape of Jesuit universities is Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities, a guide that formalizes student affairs divisions' contribution...

A novel approach to assess descriptive and injunctive norms for college student marijuana use

Descriptive and injunctive norms are traditionally assessed using different metrics. Following an innovation in the alcohol field, we examined a novel measure of perceived descriptive and injunctive marijuana norms (i.e., Marijuana Norms Grid, MNG) to characterize how these normative perceptions relate to one’s own use of marijuana. The present study addressed three research questions: (1) Do college students overestimate descriptive/injunctive marijuana norms of typical college students and close friends? (2) Are descriptive/injunctive norms uniquely related to marijuana frequency and quantity? (3) Are injunctive norms related to marijuana frequency and quantity above and beyond how injunctive norms are traditionally assessed? College students (n = 7000) were recruited from 9 universities throughout the US, including 2077 past month marijuana users. Participants completed an online, cross-sectional survey that included measures assessing marijuana use, marijuana consequences, and descriptive and injunctive marijuana norms using traditional and novel assessments, among other assessments. The results revealed robust self-other discrepancies using the MNG such that participants overestimated how often and how much college students use marijuana. We also found that both descriptive and injunctive norms related uniquely to one’s own marijuana use. The MNG injunctive norms explained about 19% of additional variability in marijuana outcomes beyond injunctive norms assessed using the traditional method. The findings of the present study support the utility of the novel assessment of injunctive marijuana norms. Implications for norms-based interventions are discussed.

Folly and Malice: The Habsburg Empire, the Balkans and the Start of World War One

Folly and Malice: The Habsburg Empire, the Balkans and the Start of World War One

How Do Online Degrees Affect Labor Market Prospects? Evidence from a Correspondence Audit Study

This article reports the findings of a correspondence audit study that examines how online bachelor’s degrees affect labor market outcomes. The study involves sending 1,891 applications for real job openings using 100 fictitious applicant profiles. The applicant profiles are designed to be representative of recent college graduates from established universities. Using random assignment to degree type, applicant profiles that indicate a traditional (in-person) degree receive nearly twice as many callbacks as those that indicate an online degree. Findings suggest that, at least currently, completing an online degree program would significantly limit the labor market prospects of typical college students.

The Relationship of College Student and Veteran Identities to Mental Health Symptoms and Alcohol Use Among Veteran and Nonveteran Students

Although the 9/11 GI Bill gives veterans access to educational benefits, many return from deployment with physical and psychological challenges that may impede academic success. The current study assessed veteran and nonveteran students reports of alcohol misuse and psychiatric symptoms. The study sought to examine how identifying as a veteran and/or a college student might influence the relationship between veteran status and alcohol and psychiatric symptoms. Participants were 184 veteran and 201 nonveteran students, who completed measures of alcohol use and problems, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, depression symptoms, and identification with college student and veteran identities. Veterans were less likely to identify with typical college students compared to nonveterans. There were no significant differences in alcohol use, consequences, or PTSD symptoms between veteran and nonveteran students. However, veteran status was associated with lower scores on measures of depression and anxiety. Interestingly, identification with typical students was associated with lower scores on all measures of mental health symptoms. Moderation analyses suggests that higher identification with typical college student identity was associated with fewer PTSD symptoms particularly among veterans. Identification with typical students may be associated with fewer mental health symptoms among college students, particularly veterans returning to college.

College Students’ Perceptions of Stress and Coping Mechanisms

Background: Typical college students experience stressors every day. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine college students’ perceptions of stress and coping mechanisms. Method: A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive research design was used to assess students’ perception of stress and coping mechanisms. To collect data, a survey tool was used to answer 6 demographic and twenty-five survey items on a 4-point Likert-type scale. Two central research questions guided the study: (1) What are college students’ perceptions of stress? and (2) What are college students’ perceptions of coping mechanisms? Results: The responses to these questions were analyzed and the implications are discussed. Conclusion: College students agree that college life is stressful and that their level of stress increases significantly before exams. In addition, students reported that expectations to excel in classes cause additional stress. Students reported a variety of coping mechanisms, including listening to music, socializing with friends/family, and sitting alone in a quiet place.

High Risk, High Reward

My journey in leadership and entrepreneurship started in college. I aspired to be more than just a typical college student. I became active in managing and creating college clubs and involving myself in the organization of and participation in different programming competitions. Moreover, I provided facilitation, training, and support for students to get involved in local, regional, and international competitions, such as IEEEXtreme, Google Code Jam, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Arab Collegiate Programming Contest (ACPC), and several others. I participated in creating the local Student Branch of the IEEE at my university, the Arab American University in Jenin, Palestine, and managed it for a short period before my graduation.

The Role of Alcohol Expectancies in the Associations Between Close Friend, Typical College Student, and Personal Alcohol Use

ABSTRACTBackground Perceptions of peer drinking and alcohol expectancies have been consistently associated with alcohol use among college students. There is evidence that perceived peer drinking also shapes alcohol expectancies. Research has yet to address the potential differential impact of perceived drinking by close friends versus by typical college students on alcohol use among first-semester college students. Relatedly, mediation of these associations by specific domains of alcohol expectancies has yet to be examined. Objectives: The first aim of the present study was to investigate whether perceptions of close friend drinking were more strongly associated with alcohol expectancies, alcohol use, and consequences of alcohol use than perceptions of typical college student drinking. The second aim focused on which alcohol expectancy domains partially accounted for the association between close friend drinking, typical college student drinking, and alcohol use and consequences. Method: Participants (n = 400 first-semester college students) completed survey questionnaires, which included measures of perceived close friend/typical student alcohol use, alcohol expectancies, and drinking behaviors. Results: Results showed that close friend alcohol use was more strongly associated with alcohol use and consequences compared to typical college student use both directly and indirectly through expectancies about alcohol enhancing social behaviors. Conclusions/Importance: These findings suggest that first-semester college student drinking is more influenced by perceived alcohol use among close friends than typical college students. Future intervention efforts for alcohol use on college campuses may benefit from including close friend network components along with targeting alcohol expectancies regarding social behaviors.

Descriptive drinking norms in Native American and non-Hispanic White college students

ObjectiveCollege students tend to overestimate how much their peers drink, which is associated with higher personal alcohol use. However, research has not yet examined if this phenomenon holds true among Native American (NA) college students. This study examined associations between descriptive norms and alcohol use/consequences in a sample of NA and non-Hispanic White (NHW) college students. MethodNA (n=147, 78.6% female) and NHW (n=246, 67.8% female) undergraduates completed an online survey. ResultsNAs NHWs showed similar descriptive norms such that the “typical college student,” “typical NA student,” and “typical NHW student” were perceived to drink more than “best friends.” “Best friends” descriptive norms (i.e., estimations of how many drinks per week were consumed by participants' best friends) were the most robust predictors of alcohol use/consequences. Effect size estimates of the associations between drinking norms and participants' alcohol use were consistently positive and ranged from r=0.25 to r=0.51 across the four reference groups. Negative binomial hurdle models revealed that all descriptive norms tended to predict drinking, and “best friends” drinking norms predicted alcohol consequences. Apart from one interaction effect, likely due to familywise error rate, these associations were not qualified by interactions with racial/ethnic group. ConclusionsWe found similar patterns between NAs and NHWs both in the pattern of descriptive norms across reference groups and in the strength of associations between descriptive norms and alcohol use/consequences. Although these results suggest that descriptive norms operate similarly among NAs as other college students, additional research is needed to identify whether other norms (e.g., injunctive norms) operate similarly across NA and NHW students.

Perceptions of Students with Autism and Their Parents: The College Experience

Abstract Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are attending postsecondary programs at unprecedented rates. Transitions are especially challenging for students with ASD, yet little is known about critical transitions during the college experience. Using the College Adjustment Program Evaluation Scales (CAPES), we examined student and parent perspectives across five dimensions: Student Life, Emotional Adjustment, Independent Living Skills, Interpersonal Relationships, and Self-Advocacy. Sixteen participants--eight students and eight parents, completed the CAPES at the end of fall semester of year one and the end of spring semester year two. Student and parent CAPES ratings were uniformly positive with some differences. We found large effect sizes across dimensions and significant differences in Student Life, Independent Living, and Interpersonal Relationships with parent ratings higher than student ratings. An item analysis revealed specific challenges and skills salient to the results. Implications for supports for students with ASD, higher education practices, and transition research are discussed. Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, transition, college, postsecondary education ********** The purpose of postsecondary education (PSE) and the pathways to it are multifaceted. Postsecondary/higher education in the U.S. has evolved across time (Renn & Reason, 2013), and institutions of higher education have developed empirically-based strategies to serve an increasingly diverse student population and improve the first year experience of students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Whether or not a student has a disability, the value of PSE to the student and to society are pivotal issues in the current debate over the goal of PSE. Mayhew and colleagues (2016) synthesized over 1,800 studies related to student development during college and report positive long-term effects on cognitive development, critical thinking, academic self-concept, locus of control, independence, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being to name a few. The effects of college on students with disabilities, however, is seldom addressed in the higher education and student affairs literature (Hendrickson, Therrien, Weeden, Pascarella, & Hosp, 2015). Although research is scant, the studies that are available indicate that PSE opportunities appear to significantly improve the transition to adulthood and long-term life outcomes (e.g., academic skills, employment, quality of life) of youth with disabilities (Hart, Grigal, & Weir, 2010; Neubert & Redd, 2008). Preliminary psychological wellbeing data indicate that students with ASD and cognitive disabilities and their typical college counterparts are similarly affected by college (Hendrickson, Vander Busard, Rodgers, & Scheidecker, 2013). Hendrickson et al. (2015) compared a national sample of first year college students with and without cognitive disabilities on student engagement and their perceptions of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, the campus environment, and educationally enriching experiences. They found that students with intellectual disabilities who attended a structured, inclusive, campus-based program did not differ significantly from typical college students in their responses to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE; Pascarella, Seifert, & Blaich, 2010). McGregor and colleagues (2016) report that college students with learning disabilities (LD) were less satisfied with their college experience than other students, had more obstacles caused by nonacademic responsibilities, and felt that there was a bias against individuals with disabilities. McGregor and colleagues' data showed that students with LD who sought and received accommodations were in more frequent contact with faculty and experienced less difficulty with assignments than peers with LD who did not. …

Addressing Inconsistencies in the Social Norms Drinking Literature: Development of the Injunctive Norms Drinking and Abstaining Behaviors Questionnaire.

Informed by inconsistent findings regarding the association between injunctive norms (IN) and drinking behaviors, the current study developed a new measure of IN, the Injunctive Norms Drinking and Abstaining Behaviors Questionnaire (IN-DABQ). This measure addressed several psychometric weaknesses of prior assessment of this construct, specifically, reliance on single-item measures, and assessment of a limited range of drinking behaviors. The new measure also assessed norms for reasons for abstaining from drinking as college students often have simultaneous motives to use and inhibit their drug use. A parallel measure of descriptive norms (DN), the Descriptive Norms Drinking and Abstaining Behaviors Questionnaire (DN-DABQ), was created to allow for a comparison of the relative predictive effects of descriptive and IN in relation to different drinking outcomes. A college sample (N=254, female=50.42%) was recruited using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants completed an online survey assessing demographic characteristics, social norms for 3 referents, weekly alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences. Exploratory factor analyses indicated 2 factors for the DN-DABQ and 3 factors for the IN-DABQ. The IN Drinking Behaviors factor consistently predicted weekly consumption and alcohol-related consequences across 3 reference groups (typical college student at your school, friends, and closest friends). These findings suggest that prior inconsistencies in the relationship between IN and drinking behaviors are likely a function of poor measurement of this construct. Implications for normative feedback interventions are discussed.

Leisure-Time Physical Activity: Experiences of College Students With Disabilities.

College years are an experimental phase in young adulthood and can lay the foundation for lifelong behaviors. One type of behavior developed during these years is the use of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). LTPA experiences of typical college students have been examined, but there is a lack of studies examining the experiences of students with disabilities. The purpose of this inquiry is to understand the experiences of college students with disabilities and their LTPA, with focus on factors that facilitate or create barriers to engagement. Grounded theory was used to understand LTPA with undergraduates with mobility or visual impairments. Results indicated a theme of culture of physical activity and disability as they received a message that engagement in LTPA was "unnecessary" or "heroic," which altered their LTPA experiences. Barriers to LTPA can be understood through a social relational lens to recognize the multidimensionality of barriers and facilitators to LTPA.

Comparison With the Typical College Student Predicts Graduation When Identity Is Uncertain

This study investigated the effect of personal identity and social comparison on college graduation. First-year college students completed an online survey measuring exploration and commitment to personal identity and perceptions of the prototypical student. Those who perceived the typical student as favorable but dissimilar to themselves had the lowest probability of graduating within 6 years if they were also not committed to a personal identity. Among students with a clearly established identity, comparison with the typical student was unrelated to graduation. The results suggest that commitment to a personal identity protects students against the potentially deleterious effects of social comparison.

Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants in college students: Attitudes, intentions, and vested interest

IntroductionResearch on vested interest theory (VIT) indicates that the importance and hedonic relevance of attitudes moderates the link between attitudes and attitude-congruent behavior. Though largely untested in prevention research, this relationship may prove crucial in determining the success or failure of prevention efforts. The current study was designed to determine if subjectively perceived vested interest maximized the association between attitudes and intentions regarding the nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NUPS). MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted with college student respondents (N=162) using Amazon's MTurk. Participant age ranged from 19 to 49years old. A subsample analysis (n=129) was also conducted with younger respondents, as the typical college student is usually under the age of 30. ResultsFour-step hierarchical regression analysis indicated that both attitudes and perceived vested interest were significantly associated with NUPS behavioral intentions (p<.001). Further, vested interest moderated the relationship between stimulant-related attitudes and usage intentions (p<.001). Attitudes were significantly associated with intentions of moderately and highly vested respondents (p<.001), but not those of participants expressing low levels of perceived vested interest. ConclusionsFindings support the proposition that vested interest may be a useful target for attenuating NUPS. Rather than attempting to weaken positive attitudes toward NUPS, campaigns may prove more successful if designed to convince receivers that NUPS is not in their best interest.

Learner Characteristics and Motivation: How to Achieve Efficient and Effective Learning

During the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference 2014, a workshop was held three consecutive times as part of the Pedagogical Speed Dating sessions to introduce experienced college/university faculty and instructional designers to an approach to instructional design that is based on increasing motivation. The purpose of the workshop was to demonstrate the use of Keller’s ARCS Model of Instructional Design for Motivation, specifically how to achieve effective learner/learner, learner/content, and learner/teacher interaction. The discussion focusses on the experiences of typical university and college students.