Academic Dishonesty,Self-Control,and General Criminality: A Prospective and Retrospective Study of Academic Dishonesty in a New Zealand University

Academic dishonesty is an insidious problem that besets most tertiary institutions, where considerable resources are expended to prevent and manage students' dishonest actions within academia. Using a mixed retrospective and prospective design this research investigated Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory as a possible explanation for academic dishonesty in 264 university students. The relationship between academic dishonesty and general criminality was also examined. A significant but small to moderate relationship between academic dishonesty and general criminality was present, including correlations with general dishonesty, violent crime and drug offending subcategories. These findings suggested that a general criminological theory may be of use in explaining academic dishonesty, but the overall ability of self-control variables to explain academic dishonesty was not strong. Controlled logistic regressions indicated that a significant positive association with academic dishonesty was only present for one of 6 self-control subscales (self-centeredness), and even this association was only present in the prospective study component. A strong relationship between past and future academic dishonesty was present. Implications of the study for institutions are discussed.     

Thinking Styles and Cognitive Development

Using R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of thinking styles and W. G. Perry's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the author investigated the nature of thinking styles as they relate to cognitive development. Eighty-two Hong Kong university students (44 male, 38 female) responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory (L. F. Zhang, 1997). Statistical analyses provided varying degrees of support for the prediction of an overlap between the thinking style and cognitive development constructs. In general, students who reasoned at a higher cognitive developmental level tended to use a wider range of thinking styles than students who reasoned at a lower cognitive developmental level. Implications of results are discussed in relation to education and research.     

Depression, anxiety, and perceived hassles among entering medical students

This study investigated depression and anxiety among students who were entering medical school prior to the onset of their medical curriculum. Entering students reported financial, day-to-day, academic, and time hassles as concerns. Interestingly, the population characteristics of gender, marital status, and ethnicity impacted the type of self-reported hassles indicated by the students. Measurements of depression and anxiety indicated that entering medical school students' emotional status resembles that of the general population. The results suggest that it is the rigors of the medical curriculum that may play an important role in the increased prevalence of depression and anxiety for students during their medical education. Further, students who are entering medical field already have concerns about medical school and are in the process of anticipating the necessary adjustment to the challenges ahead of them. Preventative programming efforts should begin early in medical education and address a wide variety of concerns from academic, to interpersonal relationships and financial worries.     

Causality Orientations, Failure, and Achievement

ABSTRACT Two studies examined similarities between Deci and Ryan's (1985) causality orientations theory and Dweck and Leggett's (1988) social-cognitive theory of achievement. Study 1 examined the conceptual similarity between the individual difference measures central to the two theories. It was shown that autonomous college students are likely to adopt learning goals and report high confidence in their academic abilities; controlled students are likely to adopt performance goals and to report high levels of confidence in their ability; and impersonal students are likely to possess the classic helpless pattern of performance goals and low confidence in their academic abilities. Study 2 examined whether causality orientations, like Dweck's measures of goals and confidence, moderate the impact of failure feedback on motivation as measured in persistence and performance. The results suggested that autonomous individuals respond to failure in a mastery-oriented fashion, whereas impersonal individuals respond in a helpless manner. The response of controlled individuals to failure parallels that of people described as ego-involved or reactive.     

Creative Self-Efficacy: Correlates in Middle and Secondary Students

ABSTRACT: This study examined correlates of creative self-efficacy (i.e., self-judgments of creative ability) in middle and secondary students (N = 1,322). Results indicate that students' mastery- and performance-approach beliefs and teacher feedback on creative ability were positively related to students' creative self-efficacy. Creative self-efficacy was also linked to student reports of their teachers not listening to them and sometimes feeling that their teachers had given up on them. Students with higher levels of creative self-efficacy were significantly more likely to hold more positive beliefs about their academic abilities in all subject areas and were significantly more likely to indicate that they planned to attend college than students with lower levels of creative self-efficacy. Finally, students with higher levels of creative self-efficacy were significantly more likely to report higher levels of participation in after-school academics and after- school group activities. Implications for creativity research and practice are discussed.     

Depression Mixed with Anxiety,Somatization, and Disordered Eating: Relationship with Gender-Role-Related Limitations Experienced by Females

In several previous studies, females who reported that they felt limited by responses to their gender, or viewed their mothers as having been limited in this way, exhibited higher prevalence compared to other females or to males of depression accompanied by anxiety, somatic symptoms such as headaches, disordered eating, and poor body image/preference for thinness (“anxious somatic depression”), but not higher prevalence of depression unaccompanied by these other symptoms (“pure depression”). In this study of high school students, females whose mothers scored high on a scale measuring their feelings of having been limited by traditional gender roles reported much higher prevalence than other females of anxious somatic depression, but not higher prevalence of pure depression. Mothers' reports of depression were not related to daughters' anxious somatic depression.     

Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students’ Well-Being

Parental involvement is related to many positive child outcomes, but if not developmentally appropriate, it can be associated with higher levels of child anxiety and depression. Few studies have examined the effects of over-controlling parenting, or “helicopter parenting,” in college students. Some studies have found that college students of over-controlling parents report feeling less satisfied with family life and have lower levels of psychological well-being. This study examined self-determination theory as the potential underlying mechanism explaining this relationship. College students (N = 297) completed measures of helicopter parenting, autonomy supportive parenting, depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Students who reported having over-controlling parents reported significantly higher levels of depression and less satisfaction with life. Furthermore, the negative effects of helicopter parenting on college students’ well-being were largely explained by the perceived violation of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence.     

Epidemiology of Insomnia in College Students: Relationship With Mental Health,Quality of Life,and Substance Use Difficulties

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of insomnia using rigorous diagnostic criteria and a comprehensive assessment battery. In a large sample (N = 1,074) of college students (mean age 20.39 years), participants were asked to complete a week-long sleep diary and comprehensive questionnaire packet assessing recommended daytime functioning domains (i.e., fatigue, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress, academic performance, substance use) during the academic year. A significant portion of this sample of college students met proposed DSM-5 criteria for chronic insomnia (9.5%). The chronic insomnia group reported significantly worse sleep, fatigue, depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life, and greater hypnotic and stimulant use for sleep problems. There were no differences between groups on excessive daytime sleepiness, academic performance, or substance use. This was a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of insomnia. Insomnia is a significant problem in college students and should be regularly assessed. More research is also needed to guide treatment in this population.     

Prevalence of mental health problems in Australian university health services

General practice patients report greater mental health problems than the general population, and students attending one university health service have reported greater prevalence rates at the end of the academic year. This study assessed the overall prevalence rate of mental health problems in university students using a cross‐sectional survey design of 1,168 students from three large, predominantly urban, Australian university health services. Approximately half of the students attending university health services reported elevated levels of psychological distress. The majority of severely distressed students had not sought any professional assistance for mental health problems. While there is scope for general practitioners to take a lead role in the identification of mental health problems in tertiary students, adequate treatment pathways need to be available. Implications for the role of universities in prevention work are discussed.     

Role of Religiosity in Psychological Well-Being Among Medical and Non-medical Students

Religion has been generally considered as a protective factor for the psychological health of the people. As many studies have publicized a high prevalence of psychological morbidities among the medical students during their academic stages of medical schools, it is significant to investigate whether religiosity functions as a protective factor, to explore religiosity as a predictor of psychological well-being in a sample of medical students, and to compare the results of medical students as well as non-medical students with respect to religiosity and psychological well-being. The study is carried out in Federal Medical and Dental College and International Islamic University, Islamabad. The present study examined a sample of 120 medical students from Federal Medical and Dental College and 120 non-medical students from International Islamic University, Islamabad. Purposive sampling was used. The respondents completed religious orientation scale and scale of psychological well-being scale along with a demographic data sheet. In order to measure the study variables, linear regression and t test were used. The findings revealed that religiosity is a strong predictor of psychological well-being. Extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity predicts psychological well-being among the students. The results indicated a significant difference in psychological well-being between medical and non-medical students. No significant difference was found in religiosity of medical and non-medical students. The gender differences in religiosity and psychological well-being were found to be insignificant. The results emphasize that psychological well-being is prophesied by religiosity. The present research suggests further investigations and also endows with trends for psychological evaluation, development of religious beliefs, and interventions for augmenting psychological well-being among the medical students.     

Winning or Losing Against an Opposite-Sex Peer on a Gender-Based Competitive Task

Two studies with heterosexual female and malecollege students explored the effects on mood and bodyimage resulting from a negative versus a positiveoutcome in a competitive interaction. In study 1,participants either succeeded or failed in comparison to anopposite-sex confederate on a gender-neutral task ofanagram solution. Study 2 added the dimension of thegender stereotypicality of the task by creatingempirically derived feminine (beauty aid knowledge) andmasculine (tool construction knowledge) conditions. Theresults indicated that women's anger significantlyincreased following the masculine task, regardless of the outcome. A marginally significantthree-way interaction resulted for the depressionmeasure: Females who won at the masculine task hadhigher levels of depression than males in thiscondition, and higher levels than both males and females inthe masculine-lose condition. In contrast, males who“won” on the feminine task had higher levelsof depression than females in this condition, and higher levels than both males and females who lost onthe feminine task. Discussion centers on the potentialusefulness of the gender-stereotypicality measure forfuture research and the need for followup work to replicate the current findings.