Master of Science

thesisThis thesis aims to measure th e difference in sea ted normal and sh e a r stre sse s based upon different types of wheelchair propulsion types. Previous studies have me asured biomechanical influence of wheelchair propulsion a t the u p p e r extremities. This study intends to measure the biomechanical differences a t the seating surface where wheelchair users are vulnerable to deep tissue and skin breakdowns. P ressure ulcers have been studied to form based upon a num b e r of factors, specifically: too much pressure, friction, shear, and h e a t/m o is tu re buildup. However, very little re se a rch has been performed me asuring seating stre sse s in vivo based upon wheelchair propulsion. Multiple metrics w ere used to measure the normal and sh e a r stre sse s in 10 ambulatory subjects (5 male and 5 female). To me asure normal p re ssure, p re ssu re mapping w as used. To measure the sh e a r stresses, a Molten Predia was used to measure shear. Two dramatically different wheelchair cushions w ere used: an air adjustable cushion and an HR-42 Foam block of similar size. Two different types of manual wheelchair propulsion w ere used: the traditional hand-rim wheelchair and the developmental lever-arm wheelchair. It was hypothesized th a t th e combination of the lever-arm wheelchair and the pro p e rly adjusted air cushion would significantly reduce the normal p re ssu re and sh e a r stre sse s associated with chair propulsion. The data showed a significant difference for the normal p re s su re for 9 of the 10 subjects in favor of th e air cushion over th e foam cushion. However, the sh e a r data did n o t show a significant difference for a reduction of sh e a r for any configuration of testing

Reasons for Drinking in the College Student Context: The Differential Role and Risk of the Social Motivator

Objective The present study examines the relationships among reasons for drinking, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences in two college-aged samples. Personal motivators such as mood enhancement and coping (tension reduction) have consistently been shown to predict problematic alcohol use, but because of the salient nature of social drinking in college, we hypothesized that social reasons for drinking would be most frequently endorsed and, in turn, predict negative consequences. Method Two distinct samples—119 coed adjudicated students sanctioned by the university for violating campus alcohol policy and 106 co-ed volunteer students—completed measures assessing alcohol consumption, reasons for drinking, and consequences. Differential effects between genders were examined. Results Social camaraderie (SC) was the most frequently endorsed reason for drinking. Regression analyses controlling for previous drinking revealed that social reasons for drinking predicted alcohol-related problems among female students in both samples. Additionally, SC was significantly correlated with every drinking measure and problem measure at 1 month for females in both the adjudicated and the volunteer groups. Total drinks, drinking days, and heavy episodic drinking events correlated with SC for males in the adjudicated sample. Conclusions For females, these results suggest a relationship between social reasons for drinking and alcohol-related consequences, which previous research has not identified. More research is needed to explore females’ reasons for drinking, accompanying problems, and the underlying psychosocial traits associated with these reasons

Factors Associated With General and Sexual Alcohol-Related Consequences: An Examination of College Students Studying Abroad

This study contributes to the scarce research on U.S. college students studying abroad by documenting general and sexual negative alcohol-related risks and factors associated with such risk. The manner of drinking (quantity vs. frequency), predeparture expectations surrounding alcohol use while abroad, culture-related social anxiety, and perceived disparity between home and host cultures differentially predicted consequences abroad. The findings include important implications for student affairs professionals in developing study abroad–specific interventions and resources to maintain student well-being while abroad

The Role of Self-Consciousness in the Experience of Alcohol-Related Consequences among College Students

Heavy drinking among college students is a well-established national concern. An in-depth look at the characteristics and traits of heavy drinking students is an essential precursor to the development of successful targeted interventions with at-risk students. The current study examines the role self-consciousness (private, public, social anxiety) plays in the experience of alcohol-related consequences among a sample of 1,168 student members of campus organizations. Male gender predicted drinking in the sample, while both private self-consciousness and social anxiety predicted less drinking. Public self-consciousness predicted alcohol-related consequences over and above the variance explained by drinking for both males and females. Additionally, both gender and social anxiety moderated the effect of drinking on problems. Heavier drinking female students and heavier drinking students high in social anxiety appear more susceptible to the experience of negative consequences. These results highlight the direct and indirect impact that self-consciousness and gender have on college students’ experience of alcohol-related negative consequences

Live Interactive Group-Specific Normative Feedback Reduces Misperceptions and Drinking in College Students: A Randomized Cluster Trial

This research evaluated the efficacy of a live and interactive group-specific normative feedback intervention designed to correct misperceptions of alcohol-related group norms and subsequently reduce drinking behavior. Campus organizations (N = 20) containing 1,162 college students were randomly assigned to intervention or assessment-only control conditions. Participants in the intervention condition attended an intervention during their organization’s regular standing meeting. Data were gathered in vivo using computerized handheld keypads into which participants entered personal responses to a series of alcohol-related questions assessing perceptions of normative group behavior as well as actual individual behavior. These data were then immediately presented in graphical form to illustrate discrepancies between perceived and actual behavioral group norms. Results indicated that compared with the control group, the intervention group reduced drinking behavior and misperceptions of group norms at 1-month and 2-month follow-ups. Changes in perceived norms mediated the reductions in drinking. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel, technologically advanced, group-based, brief alcohol intervention that can be implemented with entire groups at relatively low cost

Identifying Factors That Increase the Likelihood for Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in the Prepartying Context

The present study examined risk factors related to “blacking out” (e.g., temporary periods of memory loss during drinking) during preparty drinking events (i.e., pregaming, predrinking). Participants were students from two universities on the West Coast who reported past month prepartying (N = 2,546) in online surveys administered in the fall of 2008. Among these students, 25% (n = 636) reported blacking out during at least one occasion in which they prepartied in the past month. A logistic regression model underscored that Greek student affiliation, family history of alcohol abuse, frequency of prepartying, and both playing drinking games and consuming shots of liquor while prepartying increased the likelihood of blacking out. Limitations and implications for future research and collegiate prevention strategies are discussed

Examining the Relationships Between Acculturation Orientations, Perceived and Actual Norms, and Drinking Behaviors of Short-Term American Sojourners in Foreign Environments

As little research has examined factors influencing increased and heavy drinking behavior among American sojourners abroad, this study was designed to examine how acculturation orientations (i.e., separation versus assimilation), host country per capita drinking rates, and perceptions about the drinking behavior among other sojourners and natives in the host country predicted alcohol risk abroad. A sample of 216 American college students completing study abroad programs completed a pre-abroad questionnaire to document their pre-abroad drinking levels, followed by a post-return questionnaire to assess drinking while abroad, acculturation orientations and perceived norms of drinking behavior within the foreign environment. A dichotomous variable was created to compare United States (U.S.) per capita drinking rates with those of the host country. Hierarchical repeated-measures ANOVAs examined the changes in drinking from pre-abroad to abroad levels. Participants studying in countries with higher drinking rates than the U.S. and those with higher perceptions about the drinking behavior in the country increased their drinking to a greater extent. Those with higher separation acculturation orientations and greater perceptions drank at heavier levels while abroad. Participants with a greater assimilation orientation and higher perceptions about native drinking, as well as those with a greater separation orientation and higher perceptions about other students’ alcohol use drank the heaviest while abroad. These findings have implications for future preventive work with American students and other sojourning groups to promote pre-abroad knowledge of more accurate drinking norms and greater engagement in the culture to potentially prevent increased and heavier drinking

Measuring College Students’ Motives behind Prepartying Drinking: Development and Validation of the Prepartying Motivations Inventory

Drinking motives are vital in identifying risk factors and better understanding alcohol-related outcomes. However, context-specific motivations could provide greater motivational perspective on high-risk context-specific alcohol use behaviors such as prepartying (consuming alcohol prior to attending one’s intended destination) than general alcohol motivations. In the current study, students’ open-ended responses to reasons for prepartying were collected from a large diverse sample (n = 2497), and the most commonly offered reasons were used to create a prepartying motivations inventory (PMI) that was then administered to a different sample (n = 1085). A split-half validation procedure was used for the purpose of evaluating the PMI’s factor structure. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded a final 12-item measure consisting of four distinct, but inter-related, factors: Interpersonal Enhancement, Situational Control, Intimate Pursuit, and Barriers to Consumption. Internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity were empirically demonstrated. Results support the notion that individuals preparty for a variety of reasons that are distinct from general motives. Researchers are encouraged to use the PMI in future research with young adults to provide further understanding of prepartying behavior and its psychosocial correlates

Hunting for ecological indicators: are large herbivore skeleton measures from harvest data useful proxies for monitoring?

Hunter-collected data and samples are used as indices of population performance, and monitoring programs often take advantage of such data as ecological indicators. Here, we establish the relationships between measures of skeleton size (lower jawbone length and hind-leg length) and autumn carcass mass of slaughtered individuals of known age and sex of the high Arctic and endemic Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus). We assess these relationships using a long-term monitoring dataset derived from hunted or culled reindeer. The two skeleton measures were generally strongly correlated within age class. Both jaw length (R2 = 0.78) and hind-leg length (R2 = 0.74) represented good proxies of carcass mass. These relationships were primarily due to an age effect (i.e. due to growth) as the skeleton measures reached an asymptotic size at 4–6 years of age. Accordingly, strong positive correlations between skeleton measures and carcass mass were mainly evident at the young age classes (range r [0.45–0.84] for calves and yearlings). For the adults, these relationships weakened due to skeletal growth ceasing in mature animals causing increased variance in mass with age—potentially due to the expected substantial impacts of annual environmental fluctuations. As proxies for carcass mass, skeleton measurements should therefore be limited to young individuals. Although body mass is the ‘gold standard’ in monitoring large herbivores, our results indicate that skeleton measures collected by hunters only provide similar valuable information for young age classes, particularly calves and yearlings. In sum, jaw length and hind-leg length function as proxies identical to body mass when documenting the impacts of changing environmental conditions on important state variables for reindeer and other herbivores inhabiting highly variable environments. Arctic · Citizen science · Hunter-collected data · Life history · Terrestrial large herbivoreHunting for ecological indicators: are large herbivore skeleton measures from harvest data useful proxies for monitoring?publishedVersio