Journal of American College Health最新文献

Objective: To investigate COVID-19's impact on sleep, specifically insomnia, in college students. Participants: Students from a private university were eligible if they registered for Refresh, an online sleep-health program. Methods: A pre-intervention survey was distributed and assessed insomnia and COVID-19 factors using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and a COVID-19 questionnaire. Baseline ISI scores from students enrolled in 2020-2021 were compared to scores from students enrolled in 2018-2019 using a two-sample t-test. Associations between insomnia and the COVID-19 factors were determined using chi-square tests. Results: There was no significant difference in baseline ISI scores when comparing 2018-2019 scores to those collected during the pandemic, p = 0.274. There was a statistically significant association between having insomnia and a student's learning location, p = 0.006, as well as disturbances in sleep caused by the pandemic, p = 0.026. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic did not worsen baseline insomnia.

Objective: Loneliness is increasingly acknowledged as a public health concern due to its association with morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of loneliness is highest in the post-secondary population. Understanding the correlates of loneliness may assist in developing policy and program interventions. Participants and Methods: Post-secondary students (n = 28,975) from the Winter 2022 Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS) cycle. A multi-level logistic regression controlling for the institution was built to determine how demographic, health behaviors, mental health and institutional level factors are associated with loneliness. Results: The prevalence of loneliness was 31% in our sample. Demographic (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, social economic status), health behaviors (e.g., physical activity and substance use), mental health (e.g., mental distress and social support) and institutional factors (e.g., college or university institution) impacted the odds of reporting loneliness (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest loneliness might require greater attention by institutional staff and administrators.

Condom sabotage is a form of sexual assault that violates bodily autonomy, increasing the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI). The current study explored associations between reports of condom sabotage and sexual risk indicators among college students. College students (N = 466) completed a web-based cross-sectional survey. Students who reported experiencing condom sabotage were significantly more likely to describe themselves as single in comparison to students who described themselves as partnered (p = .002). After adjusting for relationship status, condom sabotage was significantly associated with reporting having multiple sexual partners (adjusted OR [aOR], 2.27; 95% CI, 2.22-42.28; p = .003), and being treated in the past 12 months for an STI (adjusted OR [aOR], 1,84; 95% CI, 1.82-21.98; p = . 004). The manuscript offers practical recommendations to develop health communication campaigns and public health interventions to prevent sexual assault, including condom sabotage, among college students.

Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic increased negative affect and feelings of loneliness among university students.

Objective: Given that identifying as a member of a social group, like a university student, serves as a protective factor against diminished well-being, we examined whether students' social identity might offer a "social cure" during COVID-related remote learning.

Participants: Three hundred fifty-six students from a large, public university that was fully remote in 2021.

Results: Students with a stronger social identity as a member of their university reported lower loneliness and greater positive affect balance during remote learning. Social identification was also associated with greater academic motivation, whereas two well-established predictors of positive student outcomes - perceived social support and academic performance - were not. Nonetheless, academic performance, but not social identification, predicted lower general stress and COVID-related worry.

Conclusions: Social identity may be a potential social cure for university students who are learning remotely.

Background and objectives: The stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic spurred alarming levels of stress and anxiety in college students. It is important to identify factors that attenuate the negative effect of stress on anxiety. Framed by the attachment diathesis-stress process perspective, this study examined how the two dimensions of insecurity in romantic attachment-attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance-buffered the effect of stress on anxiety in a population of college students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design and methods: The study employed cross-sectional and correlation designs and used an online survey to gather self-report data from a sample of 453 college students. Data were collected from March 15, 2020, to February 16, 2021. Results: Anxiety, stress, and the two insecurity dimensions were all mutually correlated with one another. Multiple regression analysis revealed that as the level of attachment anxiety increased, the association of stress and anxiety turned stronger. Conclusions: The findings suggest that targeting attachment insecurity may prove to be fruitful when helping college students effectively regulate stress to lessen levels of anxiety.

Objectives: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with an elevated risk of substance use, but few studies have simultaneously examined other aspects of victimization history that may contribute to substance use. The current study examined the direct and moderating effects of childhood polyvictimization (i.e., multiple experiences of violence victimization before age 18) on the association between IPV subtypes (physical, sexual, psychological, and injury) and alcohol/drug use. Methods: A sample of 256 college students ages 18-25 (72% female, 68% white) completed a survey assessing past-year IPV, childhood polyvictimization, and past three-month substance use. Results: There were no direct or joint associations between IPV, childhood polyvictimization, and alcohol use. There were direct associations between psychological IPV, childhood polyvictimization, and drug use. No other forms of IPV were significantly associated with drug use. Conclusions: Results highlight unique direct associations between violence victimization and drug use risk compared to alcohol use risk in this context.

Objective: Alcohol use is a substantial problem among college students and has several negative consequences. The current study examined the associations between anhedonia and alcohol use and related problems via impulsive behavior (e.g., negative urgency, sensation seeking). We parsed anhedonia into four specific facets: consummatory, anticipatory, recreational, and social anhedonia.

Participants: Six hundred and forty college students aged 18-25 were included in the final analysis.

Method: Data were collected via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Self-report inventories assessing for anhedonia, alcohol use, impulsive behavior, and depressed mood were utilized.

Results: Recreational consummatory anhedonia was negatively associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related problems through negative urgency. Recreational consummatory anhedonia also had significant negative associations with alcohol consumption via sensation seeking. Further, social anticipatory anhedonia was positively associated with alcohol use and related problems via negative urgency.

Conclusions: This study highlights important associations between anhedonia, impulsivity, and alcohol use and related problems.

Objective: This study explores mental health stressors related to family dynamics of Korean American college students during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: In January 2021, using purposive sampling, we recruited 15 Korean American student leaders at a west coast university. Methods: Self-identified leaders were interviewed via Zoom, and data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic analytic approach based on grounded theory. Results: Students leaders' perceived sources of family stress for Korean American college students centered on three themes: (1) loss of independence, (2) family pressure, and (3) strained family relationships. Conclusion: Study findings offer insight for college mental health programming regarding family stressors, especially as related to moving back home with family.

Objective: Examine the impact of the campus food environment on postsecondary students' dietary behaviors (e.g., dietary intake) and food purchasing. Participants: Students currently attending a postsecondary institution, all ages and geographic locations included. Methods: A systematic search from January 2000-October 2022 was conducted in six databases using postsecondary education, food environment, and diet related keywords. Results: In total, 25 quantitative and 10 qualitative studies were extracted. All quantitative studies that conducted statistical analyses (n = 15) reported a statistically significant relationship between the campus food environment and dietary intake, including both positive and negative effects. All qualitative studies (n = 10) discussed students' experience of the campus food environment influencing their diet. Conclusions: This review found moderate evidence that the campus food environment has an impact on postsecondary students' dietary behaviors. A campus environment that has healthy foods accessible, affordable, and acceptable for postsecondary students may have a beneficial impact on students' dietary intake.

Objectives: Courses on well-being are increasingly evaluated to see how they may promote mental health in college. We examined the impact of a course on students' well-being, anxiety, and depression.

Methods: Subjects were undergraduates enrolled in the "Science of Happiness," (SOH) (n = 105), and "Child and Adolescent Psychopathology," (CAP) (n = 114). Well-being measures included the PERMA Profiler and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) at the beginning and conclusion of the semester. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 items (DASS-21) measured psychopathology.

Results: There were significant improvements on the SWLS 1.28 (p = .038; d = .264) in SOH. There was no improvement for the PERMA Profiler in either group, and no differences between groups. There was no significant change on the DASS-21 for SOH subjects.

Conclusions: Undergraduate courses that deliver positive psychology psychoeducation have a small effect size even in non-randomized studies. Future curriculum innovation is needed and better research to validate positive psychology psychoeducation.