Journal of American College Health最新文献

Objective: To determine the direct and indirect effects of sexual assault on sleep health in varsity athletes.

Participants: Varsity athletes (n = 2,910) who completed the Fall 2019 or 2020 administrations of the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment III.

Methods: We combined exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to evaluate relationships between four predictor variables: sexual assault, psychological distress, alcohol use and cannabis use and two response variables: sleep duration and insomnia symptoms.

Results: Overall, 9.6% of women, 5.0% of men, and 34.9% of non-binary student athletes reported experiencing sexual violence in the last 12 months. Across genders, sexual assault was positively associated with insomnia symptoms and negatively associated with sleep duration both directly and indirectly as mediated by mental distress and alcohol use.

Conclusions: When screening for sleep disturbances, as recommended by NCAA, athletic staff should recognize the impact of sexual violence and provide trauma-informed victim support.

Objective: Stress among college students contributes to and results from poor sleep. We created a brief, remotely-delivered sleep hygiene intervention and tested whether it improved sleep hygiene and reduced sleep disturbance and stress, compared to a sleep education control condition. Participants: We studied 108 racially/ethnically diverse undergraduates (76.9% females, 18.5% males, 1.9% nonbinary, 1.9% prefer not to disclose). Methods: Baseline and two-week follow-up questionnaires assessed sleep hygiene, sleep disturbance, and perceived stress. ANCOVAs compared intervention and control conditions at follow-up; mediation analyses explored whether the intervention reduced stress through improved sleep. Results: Compared to controls, the intervention improved sleep hygiene and sleep disturbance (both p < .001, η_p² = 0.21, large effects) and lowered stress (p = .006, η_p² = 0.07, medium effect). Mediation analyses suggest that the intervention reduced stress via improved sleep hygiene and disturbance. Conclusions: Brief, remotely-delivered, sleep hygiene training decreases undergraduates' stress, perhaps by improving their sleep hygiene and sleep quality.

Objective: To audit the snack food environment and evaluate the availability of healthy items campus-wide, investigating high-traffic areas and the ways in which the placement and content of snack outlets may vary across different building types and distance to other food sources. Participants: All snack food vending machines (VM) and convenience stores (CS). Methods: A cross-sectional snack food audit was conducted between June 2019 and January 2022. VMs and CS were rated on the availability and healthfulness of foods and beverages. Frequency and distributions of snacks, healthy snacks, VM scores, building types, enrolled students, and distance to food were analyzed and differences were evaluated. Results: The campus-wide offerings of unhealthy foods in VM ranged from 84-92%, with clusters of buildings with fewer than five healthy items. CS ranked among the least healthy. Conclusions: The snack environment at this large Hispanic-serving university contains predominantly very unhealthy choices. A policy on snack foods is needed to promote healthy eating habits and prevent obesity.

Objective: This study explores the concept of food insecurity as a syndemic among U.S. college students, examining its connections with mental health issues and socioeconomic determinants. Participants: The data came from two national surveys of U.S. college students (N = 63,680) before and after the 2020 campus shutdown. Methods: Our analysis assess the prevalence of food insecurity among U.S. college students during the Covid outbreak and its impact on their mental well-being, academic performance, and various socioeconomic factors. Results: Food insecurity affected 40.8% of U.S. college students before the Covid pandemic and 35.0% of them after it. Viewing food insecurity as a syndemic reveals its links to diminished academic performance, increased obesity rates, mental health issues, and parents' educational background. Conclusions: These findings help identify at-risk students and develop interventions to alleviate food insecurity like expanding on-campus support systems, delivering emergency food aid, and reconfiguring residential dining programs.

Objective: College students tend to have lower body image than other groups, in part because of comparisons they make with peers. The closing of college campuses due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the ability to compare; thus, we investigate how the transition to and from virtual-learning influenced body image.

Participants: Third- and fourth-year undergraduates (N = 103) at a private university.

Method: In Fall 2021, undergraduates retrospectively indicated their frequency of body talk, body surveillance, and restrained eating behaviors before the pandemic, during virtual-schooling, and upon returning to campus.

Results: Repeated-measures ANOVAs showed that virtual-schooling was associated with less body surveillance and fewer restrained eating behaviors than pre-COVID; and for students who lived at home (versus with friends), pre-COVID was associated with more body talk behaviors.

Conclusion: This study provides insights into how virtual-schooling may mitigate some of the risk factors for body image disturbances.

Background: Immigration impacted students face structural inequities that increase their risk to food insecurity and restrict their access to resources. Objective: To examine how food insecurity is related to mental health and academic outcomes among Latinx immigration impacted students. Method: This cross-sectional study utilized data with 1861 Latinx immigration impacted students; undocumented (n = 592), U.S. citizens with at least one undocumented parent (n = 634), and U.S. citizen students with lawfully present parents (n = 635). Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between food insecurity and mental health and academic achievement; and moderation analysis was used to examine differences by self/parental immigration status and access to food pantry on campus resources. Results: Food insecurity was prevalent among immigration impacted students (75-58%). Food insecurity was associated with higher levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and a decline in academic achievement. Self/parental immigration status and use of food pantry resources were not statistically significant moderators in the relationship between food insecurity and mental health outcomes or academic achievement. Conclusion: These findings point to the need for urgent long-term sustainable policy and practice changes to achieve justice for this vulnerable population.

Objective: Although complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been widely used, there are a few quantitative studies through which these trends in minority young adults can be analyzed. The purpose of this study is to describe and understand Hispanics' use of Mexican American complementary and alternative medicine with a focus on Hispanic college students' exposure and attitudes toward CAM. Participants: We surveyed at a mid-sized, Hispanic-serving public university located in the southwestern US. Of the 203 students, 38% of the Hispanic students in the sample reported that they have used a form of CAM. Methods: We performed logistic regression and mediational analyses to analyze the data. Results: We found positive associations between personal exposure to Mexican American CAM and the use of CAM. Additionally, belief in the influences of emotional and supernatural states on physical health strongly predicted the usage of Mexican American CAM, whereas belief in the efficacy of Western biomedicine was inversely associated with the use of CAM. Conclusion: Recognizing the cultural and attitudinal factors that shape healthcare decisions can guide the development of more inclusive, culturally tailored healthcare approaches and educational initiatives for young Hispanic college students.

Objective: Campus sexual misconduct causes adverse physical, mental, behavioral, reproductive, and financial consequences. Informing prevention efforts at federal, state, and institution levels requires valid data. We assessed the appropriateness of Clery Act Campus Crime Statistics data for evaluating campus sexual misconduct. Participants: We sampled 40 institutions within the American Association of Universities (AAU) from 2014 to 2020. Methods: We determined annual differences between rates of sexual misconduct reported in public Clery Act data and those reported by institutional Title IX coordinator offices (which are not required to be public). Results: Clery Act data offer a considerable undercount relative to Title IX Office sexual misconduct data. The magnitude of the differences was similar in both the institutions that published Title IX data and those that did not. Conclusions: Clery Act data are not appropriate for evaluating campus sexual misconduct, necessitating policy steps that require standardization and publication of Title IX Office data.

Objective:  To determine whether learning about growth mindset toward mental health (GMMH) influences college students' retention, GMMH and resilience beliefs, and participation in activities associated with mental health (AMH).

Participants:  258 first-year students at a small, private liberal arts college.

Methods:  A between-subjects design (students had or had not participated in a GMMH intervention) compared student retention, GMMH using Dwecks' Growth Mindset Scale, resilience via the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and participation in AMH.

Results:  Learning about GMMH impacted retention (p = .026), particularly among first-generation students (p = .031). Learning about GMMH improved first-year students' engagement in AMH (p = . 045), particularly among non-White and International students (p = .015).

Conclusions:  Learning about GMMH positively impacts vulnerable students' retention and engagement in AMH, even when self-reported beliefs in GMMH and resilience are not impacted. Tracking behavior provides an informative way to measure the potential success of GMMH interventions.

Objective: Optimizing sexual history intake is crucial for effective STI screening and diagnosis. This study, conducted at a university health center, investigated whether implementing a self-administered electronic questionnaire focused on organ contact, compared to the conventional verbal intake method used previously, would increase the number and diversity of screening tests, and subsequently improve detection rates for chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (GC).

Methods: The number and types of CT and GC tests ordered, along with diagnosis rates, were analyzed during the implementation of the electronic questionnaire and compared with data from the preceding four years.

Results: There was a significant increase in both testing frequency and CT and GC diagnoses after initiation of the new sexual history intake compared to previous years.

Conclusion: Implementing a self-administered electronic questionnaire for sexual history intake focusing on organ contact may enhance STI screening strategies and improve diagnostic yield for CT and GC infections.