47 research outputs found
Mandated Leave Policies in the Context of Student Mental Health Challenges at Canadian Universities: A Framework Analysis
Although there is increased attention to the mental health needs of university students, far less attention has been given to mental health-related university policies. Many Canadian public universities have mandated leave policies that specify the conditions under which a student may be required to take a leave of absence from university. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of current mandated leave policies in public Canadian English-speaking universities. Applied framework analysis methodology was used to examine the approaches to balancing the needs of students experiencing mental health challenges and providing a safe environment on campus. Three primary themes regarding mandated leave policies were identified, including (a) approaches for addressing mental health concerns, (b) balancing the needs of the student with the needs of the institution, and (c) guidelines, standards, and quality assurance. Implications for mandated leave policies and approaches to students experiencing mental health challenges are discussed.Bien que l’on s’intéresse de plus en plus aux besoins des étudiants universitaires en matière de santé mentale, on a accordé moins d’attention aux politiques universitaires relatives à la santé mentale. De nombreuses universités publiques canadiennes ont des politiques de congé obligatoire qui précisent les conditions dans lesquelles un étudiant doit prendre un congé de l’université. L’ob-jectif de la présente étude est d’analyser les politiques actuelles de congé obligatoire dans les universités publiques canadiennes anglophones. Une méthodologie d’analyse de cadre appliquée a été utilisée pour examiner les approches visant à trouver un équilibre entre les besoins des étudiants ayant des problèmes de santé mentale et la nécessité de fournir un environnement sûr sur le campus. Trois thèmes principaux ressortent concernant les politiques en matière de congés obligatoires, soit (a) les approches pour répondre aux problèmes de santé mentale, (b) l’équilibre entre les besoins de l’étudiant et les besoins de l’université, et (c) les lignes directrices, les normes et l’assurance de la qualité. Les implications pour les politiques de congé obligatoire et les approches auprès des étudiants ayant des problèmes de santé mentale sont discutées
Mood, motives, and money: An examination of factors that differentiate online and non-online young adult gamblers
Background and aims To date, there is a lack of research on psychological factors associated with young adult online gambling. The current study examined differences between young adult online and non-online gamblers, using information gathered at baseline and over 30 days during which participants reported on their moods, gambling behaviors, and reasons for initiating and discontinuing gambling. Methods Participants were 108 young adult regular gamblers (i.e., gambling four or more times in the past month) who participated in a 30-day daily diary study. Results Male gender, baseline coping motives for gambling and negative affect averaged across the 30 days emerged as significant correlates of online gambling, over and above other background variables. Online gamblers also scored higher on a baseline measure of pathological gambling. Over the 30 days of self-monitoring, online gamblers spent more time gambling, and won more money gambling, whereas non-online gamblers consumed more alcohol while gambling. Online gambling was more often initiated to make money, because of boredom and to demonstrate skills, whereas non-online gambling was more often initiated for social reasons and for excitement. Online gambling was more often discontinued because of boredom, fatigue or distress, whereas non-online gambling was discontinued because friends stopped gambling or mood was improved. Discussion and conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence that coping strategies may be particularly important to reduce risks for online gamblers, whereas strategies for non-online gamblers should focus on the social aspects of gambling
Quality assurance and assessment frameworks of biosystems engineering studies
Regulatory instruments at the national level to ensure high quality are crucial to
achieve and maintain a regional hub of higher education in Malta. While The Malta
Qualifications Council and the National Commission for Higher Education are
established and operational, the legal framework to set up a quality assurance
agency and a quality assurance and licensing framework is in place, but the
legislations is still awaiting approval. The University of Malta has set up internal
quality assurance structures, The Programme Validation Committee monitors,
reviews and recommends programmes for approval by Senate, The formation of the
INSTITUTE OF EARTH SYSTEMS will facilitate the means through which a Bio
Systems Engineering course could be offered, Furthermore the recent establishment
of a Maltese Chamber of Agrologists could in theory eventually take up the role to
grant professional accreditation,peer-reviewe
Three-month Follow-up of Brief Computerized and Therapist Interventions for Alcohol and Violence Among Teens
Alcohol use and violent behaviors are well documented among adolescents and have enormous effects on morbidity and mortality. The authors hypothesized that universal computer screening of teens in an inner-city emergency department (ED), followed by a brief intervention (BI), would be 1) feasible (as measured by participation and completion of BI during the ED visit) and well received by teens (as measured by posttest process measures of intervention acceptability) and 2) effective at changing known precursors to behavior change such as attitudes, self-efficacy, and readiness to change alcohol use and violence.Adolescent patients (ages 14–18 years) at an urban ED were approached to complete a computerized survey. The survey was conducted daily from 12 noon to 11  pm from September 2006 through November 2008. Adolescents reporting both alcohol use and violence in the past year were randomized to a control group or a 35-minute BI delivered by a computer or therapist as part of the SafERteens study. Validated measures were administered, including demographics, alcohol use, attitudes toward alcohol and violence, self-efficacy for alcohol and violence, readiness to change alcohol and violence, and process questions, including likeability of intervention.A total of 2,423 adolescents were screened. Thirteen percent of those approached refused. The population was 45% male, 58% African American, and 6.2% Hispanic. Of those screened, 637 adolescents (26%) screened positive; 533 were randomized to participate, and 515 completed the BI prior to discharge. The BIs were well received by the adolescents overall; 97% of those randomized to a BI self-reported that they found one intervention section “very helpful.” At posttest, significant reductions in positive attitudes for alcohol use and violence and significant increases in self-efficacy related to alcohol/violence were found for both therapist and computer interventions. At 3-month follow-up there was 81% retention, and generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis showed that participants in both interventions had significant reductions in positive attitudes for alcohol use (therapist p = 0.002, computer p = 0.0001) and violence (therapist p = 0.012, computer p = 0.007) and significant increases in self-efficacy related to violence (therapist p = 0.0.04, computer p = 0.002); alcohol self-efficacy improved in the therapist BI condition only (therapist p = 0.050, computer p = 0.083). Readiness to change was not significantly improved.This initial evaluation of the SafERteens study shows that universal computerized screening and BI for multiple risk behaviors among adolescents is feasible, well received, and effective at altering attitudes and self-efficacy. Future evaluations of the SafERteens study will evaluate the interventions’ effects on behavioral change (alcohol use and violence) over the year following the ED visit.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78665/1/j.1553-2712.2009.00513.x.pd
Retrospective and prospective assessments of gambling-related behaviors across the female menstrual cycle
Background and aims: Despite increases in female gambling, little research investigates female-specific factors affecting gambling behavior (GB). Although research suggests that some addictive behaviors may fluctuate across menstrual cycle phase (MCP), gambling requires further investigation. In two studies, we examined associations between MCP and three risky GBs: time spent gambling, money spent gambling, and the probability of consuming alcohol while gambling. Associations between MCP and negative affect were also examined in Study 2. We predicted that, consistent with self-medication theory, increases in negative affect (Study 2) and risky GBs (Studies 1 and 2) would occur premenstrually/menstrually relative to other phases. Methods: Data were obtained from 33 female gamblers using a retrospective timeline followback procedure (Study 1) and from 20 female gamblers using a prospective 32-day, daily diary method (Study 2). In Study 2, salivary progesterone levels verified self-reported MCP validity. Results: Findings revealed significant, but somewhat inconsistent, MCP effects on GBs across studies. The self-medication hypothesis was partially supported. Increases relative to another MCP(s) were found for alcohol consumption while gambling premenstrually, time spent gambling menstrually/premenstrually, money spent gambling menstrually, and negative affect premenstrually. Unexpectedly, findings more consistently indicated that GBs increased during ovulation, suggestive of enhanced reward sensitivity. Progesterone assays validated self-reported MCP (Study 2). Discussion and conclusions: The results suggest a role of ovarian hormones on negative affect and GBs in females. This research could lead to the identification of female-specific factors affecting gambling and the development of more effective interventions for females with, or at risk for, problematic gambling
Iterative development of Vegethon: a theory-based mobile app intervention to increase vegetable consumption
Optimists and Realists: A Latent Class Analysis of Students Graduating from High School during COVID-19 and Impacts on Affect and Well-Being
The Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound effects on physical and mental health worldwide. Students transitioning out of high school were uniquely impacted at the onset of the pandemic, having missed the opportunity to properly mark the end of their final year in the K-12 school system. The adverse effects of this loss on this population are still unknown. The purpose of the current study was to examine stress, wellbeing, and affect in a sample of 168 students (N = 168; Mage = 17.0, SD = 0.46; 60% female; 40% male) who were completing their final year of high school during the early stages of the pandemic when emergency stay-at-home orders were in place. Participants completed an online survey assessing the impact of COVID-19 on their life satisfaction (pre-COVID19, during COVID-19, and anticipated five years from now), stress, positive affect, and negative affect. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to create classes of participants based on their responses to the pandemic. A two-subgroup solution provided the best model for the life satisfaction outcome variable. Subgroup 1, optimists, comprised 24% (N = 40) of the sample and reported high life satisfaction ratings one year prior to COVID-19 and a slight decrease in life satisfaction during COVID-19, and they anticipated an increase in life satisfaction 5 years from now. This group was characterized by low stress, low negative affect, and high positive affect during the pandemic. Subgroup 2, realists, comprised 76% of the population (N = 128) and experienced similarly high retrospective ratings of pre-COVID life satisfaction but a larger decrease in life satisfaction during the pandemic and a smaller increase in five years. The realist group was characterized by low positive affect, high stress, and high negative affect during the pandemic. The findings suggest that during the pandemic, certain subsamples of adolescents had greater difficulty in managing this transitional period and experienced changes in mood and well-being (i.e., affect, stress) as compared to other adolescents (i.e., optimists). Future research should investigate the characteristics and coping mechanisms that are instrumental for increasing life satisfaction and positive affect while lowering stress in this population
Gender Moderates the Relationship Between Substance-Free Activity Enjoyment and Alcohol Use
Laboratory research suggests that there is an inverse relationship between substance use and substance-free reinforcement, but the relevance of this relationship to the prevention of human substance abuse remains somewhat unclear. The present study evaluated the relationship between alcohol use and enjoyment from substance-free activities in a sample of college students who had previously completed an alcohol intervention (N = 107; 55% women; 45% men). The authors used a modified 30-day timeline follow-back interview to collect data on enjoyment from specific substance-free activities that occurred in the evening. Regression analyses revealed that there was a negative association between alcohol consumption and substance-free activity enjoyment for women but not for men. Women who reported greater enjoyment on abstinent evenings reported lower past-month alcohol consumption. Greater average enjoyment from substance-free activities was associated with greater motivation to change drinking among men and women. Although further research is required to determine procedures for increasing participation in substance-free activities and to explicate possible gender differences, these results suggest that increasing enjoyable substance-free activities may be an important prevention component. © 2007 American Psychological Association