Empowering and Motivating Undergraduate Students Through the Process of Developing Publishable Research

Mentoring undergraduates in research is a truly rewarding endeavor. There are immense benefits for both students and faculty mentors who engage in high-quality undergraduate research mentorship (Bowman and Stage, 2002; Osborn and Karukstis, 2009). For students, the experience allows them to expand their skills and knowledge, increase self-efficacy and self-confidence, increase learning gains, and connect classroom learning to real-world settings (Palmer et al., 2015). Becoming part of a research lab can inspire future graduate studies or job paths in a certain field, and provide a competitive edge over peers (Shellito et al., 2001; Davis and Jones, 2017). For faculty, mentorship can promote the transfer of academic “DNA” and generate meaningful scholarship (Lancy, 2003). The focus of this paper is to discuss principles that I have found effective in guiding undergraduates to produce publishable research. These principles are largely informed by learner-centered practices (Cornelius-White, 2007) including rapport building, facilitating motivation, empowering students by honoring their ideas and opinions, encouraging problem solving, scaffolding, and internal and external self-reflection

Daytime Impairment due to College Student Technology Use during Sleep: A First Step toward Exploring Similarities to Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Similar to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), technology use after sleep onset causes fragmented sleep, as well as daytime impairment to functioning. Young adults are at increased risk for sleep disruption due to technological interruptions during sleep. The purpose of this study was to explore sleep disruption caused by technology use after sleep onset, using three quantitative measures that are regularly used to assess sleep disruption in OSA. Our aim was to determine the most robust measure of daytime impairment among college-aged technology users. In a sample of 60 college students, findings revealed that students who attended to technology after sleep onset reported increased sleep disruption and daytime impairment as compared to non-technology users. Technology use after sleep onset also predicted general ratings of fatigue upon waking and increased scores on Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), but not on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. General ratings of fatigue and the ESS may be the most valid measures of functional impairment in college students

Adolescent Sleep and Cellular Phone Use: Recent Trends and Implications for Research

Adolescent sleep needs range from 8.5–10 hours per night, with older adolescents requiring less sleep than younger adolescents. On average, however, American adolescents receive between 7.5–8.5 hours of sleep per night, with many sleeping fewer than 6.5 hours on school nights. Cellular phone use is emerging as an important factor that interferes with both sleep quality and quantity, particularly as smartphones become more widely available to teens. This review paper has three objectives. First, we will describe adolescent sleep patterns and the effects of sleep deprivation on adolescent physical and mental health. Second, we will describe current trends in technology use among adolescents, making associations to how technology impacts sleep. Lastly, we will discuss some of the methodological barriers of conducting sleep and technology research with adolescents and young adults and offer suggestions for overcoming those barriers. We will also discuss implications for healthcare providers

Sleep in the Social World of College Students: Bridging Interpersonal Stress and Fear of Missing Out with Mental Health

Introduction: The college years are characterized by psychosocial and biological phenomena that may impact mental health, such as heightened sensitivity to social stressors and compromises in sleep quantity and quality. The current study uses a biopsychosocial approach to examine the associations among interpersonal stress, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), insomnia, and mental health. Methods: Survey data were collected from 283 undergraduate students (90% female) with a mean age of 21.4 years. A path analysis was utilized to test a mediational model linking interpersonal stress and FoMO with mental health through a mediator of insomnia. We hypothesized that higher levels of interpersonal stress and FoMO would be associated with higher levels of insomnia symptoms, which would in turn be associated with poorer mental health. Results: As predicted, insomnia partially mediated significant associations of interpersonal stress and FoMO with mental health. The association of interpersonal stress with insomnia and mental health was more robust than the association of FoMO with these variables. Conclusions: The pathway from interpersonal stress and/or FoMO, through insomnia, to compromises in mental health may be modifiable through behavioral interventions focusing on coping skills, sleep hygiene, and even technology-related habit changes. Recommendations to help disrupt this pathway, particularly among college students, are discussed

The Role of Professional Development in Bridging High-Quality Social-Emotional Learning in Laboratory and Community Preschools

The current study presents an exploratory model of comprehensive professional development that provides early childhood education and care teachers with opportunities to enhance their skills in social-emotional learning (SEL). Skills development strategies include a combination of workshops, observations of high-quality university laboratory preschool classrooms, consultation with master educators, on-site coaching, and communities of practice. The study found statistically significant improvements in content knowledge, knowledge of evidence-based strategies, and self-efficacy to implement new strategies in the classroom for participants of the Promoting Prosocial Behavior workshop. Teachers and administrators who participated in observations, coaching, and/or communities of practice reported value in each component of professional development. Results of this project suggest that a multipronged approach of supporting SEL in the classroom has a positive impact on teachers’ self-regulation and modeling skills

Two approaches to tailoring treatment for cultural minority adolescents

At this time, compared with mainstream (Caucasian) youth, cultural minority adolescents experience more severe substance-related consequences and are less likely to receive treatment. Although several empirically supported interventions (ESIs), such as motivational interviewing (MI), have been evaluated with mainstream adolescents, fewer published studies have investigated the fit and efficacy of these interventions with cultural minority adolescents. In addition, many empirical evaluations of ESIs have not explicitly attended to issues of culture, race, and socioeconomic background in their analyses. As a result, there is some question about the external validity of ESIs, particularly in disadvantaged cultural minority populations. This review seeks to take a step toward filling this gap, by addressing how to improve the fit and efficacy of ESIs like MI with cultural minority youth. Specifically, this review presents the existing literature on MI with cultural minority groups (adult and adolescent), proposes two approaches for evaluating and adapting this (or other) behavioral interventions, and elucidates the rationale, strengths, and potential liabilities of each tailoring approach

The Role of Parents\u27 Medication Beliefs, Religious Problem-Solving, and Risks for Treatment Nonadherence in Urban Families with Asthma

Childhood asthma is highly prevalent, affecting approximately nine million children in the United States. Negative effects of pediatric asthma are disproportionately experienced by ethnic minorities living in low-income, urban settings. Given the great diversity in families\u27 ways of addressing children\u27s asthma symptoms, sociocultural factors underlying asthma disparities must be examined. The current study investigated associations among parents\u27 beliefs about conventional and holistic/alternative medications, parents\u27 religious problem-solving strategies and childrens\u27 risks for asthma treatment nonadherence. The sample included 66 parents of ethnically diverse children with asthma living in urban settings. Factor analysis of the Religious Problem Solving Questionnaire yielded two factors, self-directed (ie, solving problems independently of God) and God-involved problem solving. Parents\u27 strong positive beliefs about conventional and alternative medications were associated with greater self-directed problem solving and with more risks for nonadherence. Higher levels of self-directed problem solving also were associated with more risks for nonadherence. Self-directed problem solving mediated the associations of conventional and alternative medication beliefs with risks for nonadherence. Possible explanations for findings are discussed

Nighttime notifications and compulsivity illuminate the link between emerging adults’ cellphone use and sleep-related problems

Although higher levels of cellphone use have been correlated with sleep problems, few studies have investigated specific qualities of cellphone use that may account for this relationship. Recently, significant associations among nighttime cellphone use, compulsive orientation toward cellphone use, and multiple characteristics of compromised sleep were found in a sample of undergraduate students enrolled at a small liberal arts college (Murdock, Horissian, & Crichlow-Ball, 2016). The current study expands upon these findings. Data were collected from 2 samples of undergraduates: 273 students enrolled at a midsized state university and 152 self-identified students recruited through Mechanical Turk. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses that nighttime cellphone notifications and qualities of compulsive cellphone use would predict sleep problems and daytime sleepiness, even after taking into account the overall frequency of cellphone use. Full support for hypotheses was found for both domains of sleep-related functioning in both samples. Findings suggest that contextual aspects of cellphone use, such as its timing and compulsivity, may be more important to emerging adults’ sleep than aspects of cellphone use such as the number of texts or time spent on calls. Sleep promotion programs for emerging adults should target specific cellphone use qualities—that is, the when, where, and how of cellphone use—to promote behavior change and improved sleep

The puzzle of problem-solving efficacy: understanding anxiety among urban children coping with asthma-related and life stress

Children with asthma living in urban environments are at risk for experiencing anxiety by virtue of both social context and health-related stressors. Although the use of active coping strategies is generally associated with more optimal psychosocial functioning, there is evidence that active coping is less helpful in response to uncontrollable or severe stress. Expectations that one can fix a problem that is uncontrollable or insurmountable may create distress. Problem-solving efficacy was examined as a moderator of the association between stress and anxiety among children residing in inner-city neighborhoods. It was hypothesized that children\u27s perceptions of high problem-solving efficacy would exacerbate their vulnerability to stress. Forty-five parent–child dyads were recruited from urban community health centers. Most participants were members of ethnic minority groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed main effects of asthma-related stress and life stress on children\u27s anxiety. However, these effects were moderated by problem-solving efficacy. Asthma-related stress and life stress were positively associated with anxiety only for children who had the highest levels of problem-solving efficacy. In other words, positive expectations about the ability to solve problems functioned as a liability for highly stressed children. Implications for psychosocial interventions with at-risk children are discussed

Healthy Sleep Leads to Improved Nutrition and Exercise in College Females

Diet, sleep quality, and exercise are important determinants of physical, mental, and emotional health. College students are particularly vulnerable to impaired health, as they experience multiple unique stressors associated with college life that impact their ability to engage in healthy sleep, diet, and exercise habits. Our results found that exercise significantly mediated the association between sleep quality and diet. Improved sleep habits may increase a young woman\u27s ability and desire to exercise, thus impacting her diet and nutrition. Findings suggest that clinicians can use a person\u27s motivation in any one domain, or multiple domains, to impact other health domains