College Student Stress: Who Is Resilient? Who Is Vulnerable?

This study explored and described the pervasive stress on college campuses. It focused on what it is that distinguished those students who did and those who did not develop physical, psychological and/or academic sequelae in response to exposure to stressors during their college experience. A comprehensive model of stress and coping, based on a review of the literature, was presented. The model was affirmed by the data analysis. To conduct the research, 672 participants were randomly selected from those attending a Christian liberal-arts college in south central Pennsylvania. Of those who were selected and participated, 317 completed usable questionnaires. Data collection occurred over a one week period, using a self-report questionnaire. Subjects were categorized into Resilient (n = 43, 13.6%), Average (n = 96, 30.3%) and Vulnerable (n = 178, 56.1%) groups prior to data analysis. Incorporated into the 192 item questionnaire was the Brief Personal Survey (Webb, 1988). It contains 88 items on nine subscales: denial, health distress, pressure-overload, anger-frustration, anxiety, depression, social support, philosophical-spiritual resources and coping confidence. Subjects also indicated their magnitude of stress on 78 items. The remaining items focused on demographics. The data showed that Resilient subjects experienced less pressure-overload, anger-frustration, anxiety and depression than either Average or Vulnerable groups. Males and females were not found to differ with regard to pressure-overload, anger-frustration or depression. Females experienced higher levels of anxiety, stressor magnitude, health distress, social support and philosophical-spiritual resources. Correlations between stressors were also reported, as were the rankings of stressors. These were presented on the basis of variables such as gender, academic year and academic major. Because of the nature of the stressors identified, this study has shown the mutual importance of the curricular and cocurricular in the lives of college students. The findings of this research pointed out the clear and urgent need for various types of prevention and intervention programs. These were discussed from the perspective of institutional concerns, for curricular and cocurricular faculty, as well as for health educators

Healthâ Related Quality of Life Components in Children With Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy: A Qualitative Study

BackgroundCurrently, no published, validated patientâ reported outcome (PRO) measures of healthâ related quality of life (HRQOL) exist for use with neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP). NBPP is a debilitating condition that occurs during the perinatal period, resulting in paralysis/paresis and loss of sensation in the affected arm. Commonly used NBPP measures are not comprehensive and do not fully account for clinically meaningful changes in function or progression of the disorder.ObjectiveTo evaluate important components of HRQOL for children with NBPP and identify where new PRO measures are needed.DesignEleven focus groups comprising children with NBPP (4), family members (6), and professional providers (1) to assess HRQOL.SettingBrachial plexus clinic.ParticipantsChildren with NBPP, their parents, and professional providers.Inclusion CriteriaChildren 7â 17 years old with NBPP; parents/caregivers at least 18 years of age; professionals with â ¥2 years’ experience providing NBPP clinical care; ability to read and speak English fluently.MethodsFocus group sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and deidentified. Qualitative frequency analysis identified different aspects of HRQOL relevant to NBPP. This analysis expands on the groundedâ theory approach to qualitative analysis, including development of a domain framework, open and axial coding, selective coding, and descriptive analysis. The resulting HRQOL domain framework (and frequency analysis) was then compared to the domain framework for existing PRO measures (PROMIS and Neuroâ QoL) to identify components of HRQOL where new PRO measures are needed for NBPP.Main Outcome MeasuresNot applicable.ResultsAlthough many physical, social, and emotional health domains were captured by existing PRO measures, some significant NBPPâ specific topics emerged from qualitative analysisâ functionality, sensory, physical appearance, arm/hand compensation and preference, explaining functionality/appearance to others, and selfâ esteem and body image concerns.ConclusionsDevelopment of sensitive and specific measures capturing arm/hand function and body image would improve the clinical care of patients with NBPP.Level of EvidenceNot applicable.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146831/1/pmr2383.pd