Design of a Conceptual Model for the Study of Education, Health, and Communication: Professional Preparation Issues

The purpose of our paper is to focus on the role of communication in health education, including the ways the three concepts of education, health, and communication are related. A traditional approach would be to study the integration of health and education leading to health education. However, a more progressive approach is to study communication in the context of health education in order to investigate the interdisciplinary nature of these triadic concepts. After naming three professional standards documents in preK-16 health education which highlight communication as both a concept and a skill, we will offer our schematic for how education, health, and communication interact to form the potential transdisciplinary concept of health literacy. We believe that health literacy can be explored as an integrative study of language patterns and information formats that is broader than the printed and spoken word. We conclude our paper with a review of current definitions for health literacy, and then share a description and outline of our graduate course called Health Communication and Education

Not all developmental assets are related to positive health outcomes in college students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this investigation was to model the relationships between developmental assets, life satisfaction, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among a stratified, random sample (<it>n </it>= 765, 56% response rate) of college students.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Structural equation modeling techniques were employed to test the relationships using Mplus v4.21; Model evaluations were based on 1) theoretical salience, 2) global fit indices (chi-square goodness of fit, comparative fit index: CFI and Tucker-Lewis Index: TLI), 3) microfit indices (parameter estimates, root mean squared error of approximation: RMSEA and residuals) and 4) parsimony.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The model fit the data well: χ²(<it>n </it>= 581, 515) = 1252.23, CFI = .94, TLI = .93 and RMSEA = .05. First, participants who reported increased Family Communication also reported higher levels of life satisfaction. Second, as participants reported having more Non-Parental Role Models, life satisfaction decreased and poor mental HRQOL days increased. Finally increased Future Aspirations was related to increased poor mental HRQOL days. Results were variant across gender.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preliminary results suggest not all developmental assets are related to positive health outcomes among college students, particularly mental health outcomes. While the findings for Family Communication were expected, the findings for Non-Parental Role Models suggest interactions with potential role models in college settings may be naturally less supportive. Future Aspirations findings suggest college students may harbor a greater temporal urgency for the rigors of an increasingly competitive work world. In both cases, these assets appear associated with increased poor mental HRQOL days.</p

Using Twitter Post Data to Ascertain the Sentiment of Alcohol-related Blackouts in the United States

Research shows variability in how alcohol-related blackouts (periods of memory loss during/after drinking) are subjectively evaluated. We accessed 3.5 million original Tweets written in the U.S. between July 2009 and February 2020 that referenced blackouts, and coded the sentiment (positive or negative) of those Tweets, using the machine learning function of a Twitter-sponsored commercial platform. The sentiment of Tweets was examined by day of week and compared to the sentiment of blackout Tweets on certain holidays to non-celebration matched days. Tweets were more likely to have a positive (73%) than negative sentiment, and positive Tweets were more common during weekends. Relative to typical non-celebratory weekends, a greater proportion of blackout Tweets were positive around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, though differences were not observed relative to several other celebratory periods (e.g., Superbowl). Results have implications for online interventions, which can use social networking sites to target alcohol during high-risk periods

A Longitudinal Examination of Multiple Forms of Stigma on Minority Stress, Belongingness, and Problematic Alcohol Use

College students who experience stigma report problematic alcohol use. However, the stigma-health link focuses on one form of stigma, thereby excluding the intersectional oppression of experiencing multiple forms of stigma. The present work has two primary aims: 1) evaluating whether additive intersectional minority stress confers greater problematic alcohol use among multiply-stigmatized college students one year later, and 2) whether that link can be explained by 1) lower belongingness and 2) greater drinking to cope motives. Students (N=427) ranging in stigmatized identities (14.3% zero; 46.4% one; 29.5% two; 9.8% three or more), participated in an annual health survey at two subsequent fall semesters (2020 to 2021). Structural equation modeling tested the hypothesized model on relations between number of stigmatized identities, minority stressors, belongingness, and coping motive on problematic drinking (risky and problem drinking) one year later. As hypothesized, holding more stigmatized identities predicted higher minority stress, which in turn predicted less belonging. Partially consistent with expectations, lower belonging predicted more problem drinking, but less risky drinking. As expected, higher minority stress predicted higher drinking to cope motives, which in turn, predicted more problem drinking, and risky drinking. In conclusion, belongingness and drinking to cope may be potential mechanisms through which multiply-stigmatized students experience future problem drinking, but that may not always confer to more risky drinking. Implications for universities include implementation of 1) campus-wide belonging interventions for students facing stigma, and 2) initiatives to teach alternative coping strategies that reduce drinking to cope as a strategy to reduce the impact of minority stressors

Sexual Assault Campus Climate Surveys: Insights from the First Wave

One tool to help institutions of higher education (IHEs) to address campus sexual assault is the campus climate survey (CCS); yet little is known about the CCS implementation process. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the implementation process of CCSs deployed during the 2015/16 academic year at 244 IHEs throughout the United States. Quantitative results indicate CCSs were designed primarily by the Title IX officer and campus administration; assessed victimization rates and knowledge about campus resources; and were voluntary. Qualitative findings generate concerns surrounding generalizability, participation rates, validity of data, and suggestions for improvement for future CCSs

The Relationship Between Alcohol-Related Content on Social Media and Alcohol Outcomes in Young Adults: A Scoping Review Protocol

This scoping review will examine the association between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems with alcohol-related social media engagement in young adults

Obliquity of the Galilean satellites: The influence of a global internal liquid layer

The obliquity of the Galilean satellites is small but not yet observed. Studies of cycloidal lineaments and strike-slip fault patterns on Europa suggest that Europa's obliquity is about 1 deg, although theoretical models of the obliquity predict the obliquity to be one order of magnitude smaller for an entirely solid Europa. Here, we investigate the influence of a global liquid layer on the obliquity of the Galilean satellites. Io most likely has a fully liquid core, while Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are thought to have an internal global liquid water ocean beneath an external ice shell. We use a model for the obliquity based on a Cassini state model extended to the presence of an internal liquid layer and the internal gravitational and pressure torques induced by the presence of this layer. We find that the obliquity of Io only weakly depends on the different internal structure models considered, because of the weak influence of the liquid core which is therefore almost impossible to detect through observations of the obliquity. The obliquity of Europa is almost constant in time and its mean value is smaller (0.033-0.044 deg) with an ocean than without (0.055 deg). An accuracy of 0.004 deg (about 100 m on the spin pole location at the surface) would allow detecting the internal ocean. The obliquity of Ganymede and Callisto depends more on their interior structure because of the possibility of resonant amplifications for some periodic terms of the solution. Their ocean may be easily detected if, at the measuring time, the actual internal structure model lead to a very different value of the obliquity than in the solid case. A long-term monitoring of their shell obliquity would be more helpful to infer information on the shell thickness.Comment: 27 pages, 6 tables, 7 figure