The role of resilience, emotion regulation, and perceived stress on college academic performance

Stress is a common problem for college students. The goal of this thesis was to examine the relationships between protective and risk factors to experiencing stress and how these factors may predict academic performance in college students. 125 college students were surveyed twice over the course of a semester on emotion regulation strategies, trait resilience, and perceived stress. The relationships between these variables and semester GPA were analyzed using correlational, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression analyses. It was determined that trait resilience scores do predict use of emotion regulation strategies but change in stress and trait resilience do not significantly predict variation in academic performance during the semester. Limitations and future directions are further discussed

Gravitational Force and the Cardiovascular System

Cardiovascular responses to changes in gravitational force are considered. Man is ideally suited to his 1-g environment. Although cardiovascular adjustments are required to accommodate to postural changes and exercise, these are fully accomplished for short periods (min). More challenging stresses are those of short-term microgravity (h) and long-term microgravity (days) and of gravitational forces greater than that of Earth. The latter can be simulated in the laboratory and quantitative studies can be conducted

Brief report: how implicit attitudes toward emotion regulation influence partner-directed aggression

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetration involves many risk factors related to cognitions and emotions, such as insufficient emotion regulation. Those who inadequately regulate negative emotions have been shown to be more likely to have a history of partner violence. However, during routine activities, such as dealing with an intimate partner, emotions are regulated without effortful processing or monitoring. Because this unmonitored emotion regulation process takes place, implicit, or indirect measures of emotion regulation may be better suited to assess unconscious attitudes toward regulating negative emotions. We examined if implicit attitudes toward emotion regulation are related to the frequency of aggressive reactions and if the frequency differs based on a previous history of IPV. A history of IPV predicted some aggressive responding, but the implicit measure unexpected predicted aggression negatively. Possible explanations, clinical implications of inadequate emotion regulation, and intervention suggestions are discussed

Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Belonging During Practicum Placements

Original acceptance date 1/2/2021Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Enhancing the foreign language classroom through experiential learning: Connecting and reflecting

This paper highlights examples of the various ways students in beginner Russian, intermediate Spanish and advanced French engage with the local and regional community in educational and noneducational settings. It explains the history of these engagements and provides instructor impressions as well as impressions from student participants and community partners concerning learning outcomes and the benefits to both students and the community. In all three examples, the majority of students were taking the course to fulfill a core requirement. The number of students who participated in each experiential learning initiative varied from as few as ten to as many as 120 at a given time.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/books/1063/thumbnail.jp

Walk Your Life to Health—Motivating Young Adolescents to Engage in a Brisk Walking Program

Increasing numbers of overweight and obese children resulting from sedentary and abundant lifestyles are a health concern in Hong Kong and other affluent communities around the globe. The importance of physical activity is well documented for health and wellbeing, with sedentary behavior emerging as an independent risk factor for chronic diseases and mortality. In this study, Pender's Health-Promotion Model informed the development of an intervention program aimed to engage junior high school students in increased physical activity, specifically brisk-walking. The model set out to motivate participants to engage in behaviors to enhance their health across the life span, including developing self-efficacy with regard to brisk walking. The intervention featured four stages. First, participants were provided with information about the benefits and in stage two were trained in the technique of brisk walking. Next they engaged in the brisk walking program and in stage four were encouraged to serve as health ambassadors by introducing brisk walking and its associated benefits to others, thereby exercising peer influence to diffuse the practice of brisk walking more widely among members of the community. Motivational strategies were used as incentives in the program, including the involvement of a popular singing band to award certificates at the completion of the program. This 7-week intervention program including a 4-week brisk walking component was conducted in a high school context with 71 participants. Data were collected to enable paired-sample t-tests to be conducted to statistically analyze the data at pre- and post-intervention. Findings indicate significant differences among the mean Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR), knowledge and attitudes of the participants at pre- and post-intervention. These findings suggest that the intervention was effective as a strategy to reduce sedentary behavior with the concomitant effect of positive shifts in measurable indicators and attitudes.Full Tex

Eating occasion situational factors and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in young adults

Background: Young adulthood represents an influential transitional period marked by poor dietary habits and excess weight gain. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) are a major source of excess caloric intake among young adults, yet little is known about the correlates of SSB consumption. This study examines the individual and situational correlates of SSB consumption, using real-time assessment of Australian young adults&rsquo; eating occasions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Methods: Dietary, sociodemographic and health behaviour data were collected during the Measuring EAting in Everyday Life (MEALS) study (n =&thinsp;675 adults, 18&ndash;30 y). Participants reported all foods and beverages consumed over 3&ndash;4 non-consecutive days using a real-time Smartphone food diary application (&ldquo;FoodNow&rdquo;). For every eating occasion, food and beverage intake was recorded along with situational characteristics (eating location, purchase location, presence of others and activities while eating). A beverage occasion was defined as any eating occasion where a beverage was consumed and a SSB occasion was defined as any eating occasion where a SSB was consumed. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine individual and situational characteristics with SSB intake at beverage occasions (i.e. factors associated with choosing a SSB over other non-alcoholic beverages) and to examine factors associated with consuming a SSB at any occasion where food and/or beverages were consumed. &nbsp;Results: Thirty-five percent of participants consumed SSBs during the recording period (n =&thinsp;237). Of the 2185 beverage eating occasions reported by SSB consumers, 481 (20%) contained a SSB. SSB were rarely consumed on their own (i.e. other foods were present). Having a lower than tertiary education (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.53 [1.16, 2.01]; p &lt;&thinsp;0.01); eating in a caf&eacute;/restaurant, compared to at home (3.02 [1.58, 5.78]; p &lt;&thinsp;0.001), and purchasing beverages from a convenience outlet, compared to a supermarket/grocery store (4.58 [2.85, 7.38]; p &lt;&thinsp;0.001) were associated with SSB intake at beverage eating occasions. Similar associations were also found when all food and/or beverage eating occasions were examined. &nbsp;Conclusion: In this study, SSB were often consumed with other foods and intake was associated with individual and situational factors. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore how SSB are consumed in relation to their accompanying foods.</div

Expressive Art to Facilitate the Development of the Occupational Profile: A Scoping Review

Background. The American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Medical Association have changed CPT codes to require a completed occupational profile at every evaluation and re-evaluation session for reimbursement as of January 1, 2017. A revitalization of art in occupational therapy has led to a recent increase in the evidence supporting the use of expressive art in practice. The benefits of expressive art can directly enhance the occupational profile required by these changing reimbursement requirements. Methods. A scoping review method was applied in the current study. Out of 347 initial articles, 12 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed through critical appraisal of topics and use of a matrix. Results. Analysis of the data elucidated emergent themes of expressive art’s positive effects on verbal communication, the client’s therapeutic reflection, the accuracy of information, the clinician’s use of prompting, the therapeutic relationship, and client engagement. Conclusion. Expressive art can strengthen the occupational profile and information-gathering process. The benefits related to using art in occupational therapy may enhance the complexity of the overall evaluation process, as described by newly changing CPT codes. Expressive art techniques can facilitate the development of client-centered goals and individualized intervention planning, creating an overall positive service delivery process

Circadian Disruption with Constant Light Exposure Exacerbates Atherosclerosis in Male \u3cem\u3eApolipoproteinE\u3c/em\u3e-Deficient Mice

Disruption of the circadian system caused by disordered exposure to light is pervasive in modern society and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms by which this happens are largely unknown. ApolipoproteinE-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice are studied commonly to elucidate mechanisms of atherosclerosis. In this study, we determined the effects of light-induced circadian disruption on atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice. We first characterized circadian rhythms of behavior, light responsiveness, and molecular timekeeping in tissues from ApoE−/− mice that were indistinguishable from rhythms in ApoE+/+ mice. These data showed that ApoE−/− mice had no inherent circadian disruption and therefore were an appropriate model for our study. We next induced severe disruption of circadian rhythms by exposing ApoE−/− mice to constant light for 12 weeks. Constant light exposure exacerbated atherosclerosis in male, but not female, ApoE−/− mice. Male ApoE−/− mice exposed to constant light had increased serum cholesterol concentrations due to increased VLDL/LDL fractions. Taken together, these data suggest that ApoE−/− mice are an appropriate model for studying light-induced circadian disruption and that exacerbated dyslipidemia may mediate atherosclerotic lesion formation caused by constant light exposure