Examining the link between adult attachment style,employment and academic achievement in first semester higher education

Although previous research indicates that both employment and adult attachment style have an influence on academic achievement, the interaction of these two factors has not been clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of adult attachment style on the relationship between employment status and first semester academic achievement in higher education. A sample of 378 freshman college students answered a series of questionnaires (Academic Amotivation Inventory, the Relationship Questionnaire and demographic), and their high school averages and first semester academic results were obtained from the Registrar’s office. The Analysis of covariance showed that employment status (having employment vs. no employment) and adult attachment style of students (secure vs. dismissing) strongly interacted in predicting academic achievement (first semester average adjusted for high school average, perceived financial burden, and amotivation). More specifically, the first semester averages of secure students with or without employment, and that of dismissing students without employment was indistinguishable. However, dismissing students with employment had significantly lower first semester averages than the secure students. This study showed that dismissing students entering postsecondary education who also have employment are at greater risk of academic difficulties than students with a secure attachment style.     

The Double Cohort retention and academic success comparison: are students in the new Ontario secondary school program disadvantaged?

In September 2003, Ontario universities accepted a double cohort of new students resulting from the Ontario government’s decision to eliminate Grade 13. The admission to university of two categories of students distinguished by their age and high school program raised a number of questions, not only in terms of admission infrastructure but mostly in what concerns the sum of student retention, academic success, and graduation. Factors associated with success and with the maintenance of university studies are numerous: stress, socioeconomic status, parents’ education, intellectual capacities, motivation, social abilities, and social support (Olds & Papalia, 2000). Therefore, the objectives of this study were: (1) to test the hypothesis of a double cohort effect on student academic success during the first year of university, (2) to verify the hypothesis that high school academic history, socioeconomic variables related to stress and perceived stress predict academic success and retention at the end of first year university. In September 2003, 300 first year students answered questionnaires inquiring about their high school program and high school GPA, their socioeconomic characteristics, and their perceived stress. These measures were then used to predict drop out, final GPA, number of credits attempted, passed and failed in June 2004. Results showed that school persistence and first year university academic achievement are mostly predicted by gender, high school GPA, type of financial resources, and number of hours worked at a paid job. Although not significant, we have found a higher proportion of Grade 12 students who dropped out during first year at university, suggesting a possible long-term effect of high school program on academic achievement.     

Daily hassles and distress among college students in relation to immigrant and minority status

The study separated acculturation-specific daily hassles (outgroup and ingroup) and non-specific hassles (general and family) in their contribution to distress (depression and physical symptoms). In contrast to earlier work, generic measures of acculturation-specific hassles were developed, without reference to the respondent's specific ethnic group. University students indicated their ethnic/ cultural origins, their place of birth, and the place of birth of both parents. On this basis, eighty-three females and thirteen males were assigned to the immigrant, minority status group. Fifty females and seven males were assigned to the immigrant, non-minority group, and forty-two females and eleven males to the nonimmigrant/non-minority status group. The immigrant/minority status group reported more outgroup hassles compared to the immigrant/non-minority group. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the contribution of general hassles and family hassles to the prediction of depression and physical symptoms depended on the group's immigrant/minority status. In controlling for psychological adjustment, general hassles continued to predict depression only for the immigrant/minority status group. Various aspects of the results and their implications were considered.     

Relationship between first-grade marks and the high school dropout problem

Academic records were obtained for students from two towns in southwestern Ontario who attended their town's major public elementary school from first through eighth grade and then completed their secondary education in each town's only public high school between 1982 and 1986. The evidence showed that students who experienced the most difficulty in mastering the two main areas of the first-grade curriculum (reading and arithmetic) had a much higher probability of leaving high school without graduating and of experiencing serious academic problems while in high school than students who received B to A + marks in first grade.     

Gender differences over time in medical school stressors,anxiety, and the sense of coherence

Gender differences in the perception of medical school stressors, trait anxiety, and the sense of coherence were investigated in a longitudinal study in an Israeli medical school. The overall stressor score increased for both sexes from orientation to the second year of studies. The increase in the stressor score among women was due primarily to their increasing concern about professional status issues; for men, the academic demands factor contributed most to their increased overall stressor score. Trait anxiety increased and the sense of coherence decreased over time for both sexes. The gender difference in anxiety was significant in the first two stages, but disappeared in the third stage, indicating that although men had lower scores at all stages, their scores increased relatively more than women's over time. The findings suggest that the stressors of medical education have a negative effect on two personality resources needed to deal with life's demands.     

Daily hassles and distress among college students in relation to immigrant and minority status

The study separated acculturation-specific daily hassles (outgroup and ingroup) and non-specific hassles (general and family) in their contribution to distress (depression and physical symptoms). In contrast to earlier work, generic measures of acculturation-specific hassles were developed, without reference to the respondent's specific ethnic group. University students indicated their ethnic/ cultural origins, their place of birth, and the place of birth of both parents. On this basis, eighty-three females and thirteen males were assigned to the immigrant, minority status group. Fifty females and seven males were assigned to the immigrant, non-minority group, and forty-two females and eleven males to the nonimmigrant/non-minority status group. The immigrant/minority status group reported more outgroup hassles compared to the immigrant/non-minority group. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the contribution of general hassles and family hassles to the prediction of depression and physical symptoms depended on the group's immigrant/minority status. In controlling for psychological adjustment, general hassles continued to predict depression only for the immigrant/minority status group. Various aspects of the results and their implications were considered.     

Development,Acceptability, and Effectiveness of an Acceptance-Based Behavioral Stress/Anxiety Management Workshop for University Students

College is a critical time in which individuals experience transition and stress, and may experience subthreshold or clinical symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, educational contexts offer a unique opportunity to serve the needs of a diverse group of students who may experience additional stressors related to experiences with discrimination; acculturative stress; financial strain; and balancing family, work, and school demands. Therefore, college appears to be an ideal time for students to learn about evidence-based skills to use in response to anxiety and depression.However, there are multiple barriers that may make it less likely that evidence-based skills and services are available to or utilized by students, including lack of funding and services available on campus, as well as concerns about mental health stigma. This study examines the preliminary acceptability and effectiveness of an acceptance-based behavioral stress/anxiety management workshop for university students on a diverse urban campus. Results indicate that participants found the workshop to be acceptable and helpful. Mixed-effect regression models examining symptom and impairment measures at preworkshop, 1-week follow-up, and 4-week follow-up showed a significant effect for time on anxious arousal, general anxiety symptoms, and social anxiety, but no significant effect for time on impairment. Implications and future directions for mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches in educational contexts are discussed.     

Intrinsic motivation among regular, special, and alternative education high school students.

This study examined motivationally related variables among three types of high school students. In particular, students' perceptions of competence, control, parental autonomy support, teacher autonomy support, peer autonomy support, and academic coping were investigated. Two hundred fifty-one juniors and seniors (104 regular education, 93 alternative education, and 54 special education) from a large Southern California school district participated. Significant group differences were found on measures of perceived competence, academic coping, and parental autonomy support. Specifically, regular education students had a higher level of self-reported academic competence than did special education students. Further, regular education and special education students reported that their parents were more involved in their lives as compared with alternative education students. Finally, regular education students reported a higher level of academic anxiety than did special education and alternative education students; however, regular education students had the highest level of positive coping. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

An assessment of anxiety levels in dyslexic students in higher education

Background. It has long been hypothesized that children with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, may be highly vulnerable to emotional consequences such as anxiety. However, research has centred on school‐aged children. Aims. The present study aimed to clarify these findings with dyslexic students in higher education. Samples. Sixteen students with dyslexia were compared with 16 students with no history of learning difficulties. Methods. Students were asked to complete a written questionnaire concerning trait anxiety levels. They were then told that they would be given a timed reading test and their state anxiety levels were measured using the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1983 ). Finally, their reading was assessed using the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE; Torgesen, Wagner, & Rashotte, 1999 ). Results. Dyslexic students showed slower reading speeds than controls. They also had higher levels of state anxiety and elevated levels of academic and social, but not appearance, anxiety. Conclusions. Dyslexic students in higher education show anxiety levels that are well above what is shown by students without learning difficulties. This anxiety is not limited to academic tasks but extends to many social situations. It is proposed that assessment of emotional well‐being should form part of the assessment of need for dyslexic students entering higher education.     

Family,peer and school connectedness in final year secondary school students

The study aim was to investigate Australian Year 12 students' sense of connectedness to their schools, families, and peers, and examine associations between connectedness and emotional wellbeing. Year 12 students (492 male, 449 female) from 10 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia participated in Phase 1 of the study. of these, 204 participants (82 male, 122 female) returned surveys 1 year later; 175 of these were attending tertiary education institutions. The study found high levels of depression, anxiety and stress among Year 12 students, with higher negative affect associated with lower levels of family, peer and school connectedness. Negative affect 1 year after leaving school was predicted by negative affect and peer connectedness at Year 12. Results suggest there are significant numbers of at‐risk young people in their final year of school, who feel lonely and disconnected from peers, and who maintain concerning levels of depression, anxiety and stress in first year of university.     

The relation of depression and anxiety to life‐stress and achievement in students

Objectives: An apparent increase in seriously disturbed students consulting student health services in the UK has led to concern that increasing financial difficulties and other outside pressures may affect student mental health and academic performance. The current research investigated whether student anxiety and depression increases after college entry, the extent to which adverse life experiences contribute to any increases, and the impact of adversity, anxiety and depression on exam performance. Method: 351 UK‐domiciled undergraduates completed questionnaires one month before university entry and mid‐course. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS: Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) was administered at both time points and a modified List of Threatening Experiences (Brugha, Bebbington, Tennant, & Hurry, 1985) was administered mid‐course. Results: By mid‐course 9% of previously symptom‐free students became depressed and 20% became anxious at a clinically significant level. Of those previously anxious or depressed 36% had recovered. After adjusting for pre‐entry symptoms, financial difficulties made a significant independent contribution to depression and relationship difficulties independently predicted anxiety. Depression and financial difficulties mid‐course predicted a decrease in exam performance from first to second year. Conclusions: This is the first study to confirm empirically that financial and other difficulties can increase British students' levels of anxiety and depression and that financial difficulties and depression can affect academic performance. However, university life may also have a beneficial effect for some students with pre‐existing conditions. With widening participation in higher education, the results have important implications for educational and health policies.     

Childhood Peer Status and Adult Susceptibility to Anxiety and Depression. A 30-Year Hospital Follow-up

This study examined the extent to which sixth grade peer status could predict anxiety and/or depression in 5,242 women and 5,004 men who were born in 1953 and whose hospital records were followed up from 1973–2003. The data used was the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study. While no association could be established for men, results indicated that women who held low peer status positions in childhood were at a considerably higher risk of anxiety and/or depression later in life compared to women in average status positions. Women who held popular positions during childhood did not differ significantly from their average counterparts. These findings persisted after adjusting for family- and child-related problem-load, perceived security at school, family constellation, socioeconomic status as well as the child’s cognitive ability, ninth grade school marks and continuance to upper secondary school.     

Type A behavior, hardiness, and psychological well-being in Japanese women

The effects of Type A behavior and hardiness on depression and physical symptoms in the face of hassles were examined in 107 Japanese female college students. Analysis of variance indicated that Type A females had less depression under low hassles. There were no hardiness main effects or interactions. Neither Type A behavior nor hardiness moderated the adverse effect of hassles for Japanese women. An implication for research is suggested.     

Frustration Intolerance Beliefs as Predictors of Emotional Problems in University Undergraduates

The present study examined the relationship between Frustration Intolerance Beliefs as suggested by the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy framework and emotional problems. Data were collected from 332 university undergraduate students (age 19–26) who completed Demographic Information Sheet, Frustration Discomfort Scale and three subscales of Brief Symptom Inventory including depression, anxiety and hostility. The current findings confirmed the association between frustration intolerance and irrational beliefs and their respective roles in psychological distress among non-clinical student population. Results indicated that FDS subscales were differently related to specific emotions as entitlement and emotional intolerance sub-scales were significantly positively associated with depression, anxiety, and hostility while achievement was significantly negatively associated with hostility. The study has implications for counsellors, school psychologists and policy makers as it highlights the importance of rational group and individual counselling of rational ideas to reduce the emotional problems of students hindering their educational and personal growth.     

Psychological well-being and scholastic achievement among university students in a Canadian Prairie City

This article reports the findings from a questionnaire survey of university students’ scholastic achievement and psychological well-being in a Canadian prairie city. Multiple ordinary least-squares regression analyses revealed that sex, educational aspirations, hours spent on studying, father’s education, physical health, financial stress, and stress due to balancing work, school, and social life were found to be significantly associated with academic performance. More specifically, female students and those who reported higher educational aspirations, indicated better physical health, experienced less financial stress or stress due to finance or to balancing work, school, and social life, spent more time on studying, and those whose father had a higher level of education were found to perform better academically. On the other hand, income, physical health, relationship with significant other, relationship with family, relationships with friends, self image, and academic stress were found to be significantly related to psychological well-being. Put succinctly, respondents who had a higher family income, reported better physical health, expressed a higher degree of satisfaction with their relationships with family, friends, and significant other, indicated a more positive self-image, and experienced less academic stress were found to exhibit a significantly higher level of psychological well-being.     

The Association Between Gender,Ethnicity, and Suicidality Among Vocational Students in Israel

Gender and ethnicity are significant factors when evaluating suicidal risk, especially among ethnically diverse populations. In the current study we explored the association between gender, ethnicity, and suicide ideation and attempts among Arab and Jewish vocational education and training high school students in Israel. Students (N = 3,554) completed a self‐report survey evaluating suicide ideation and attempts, depression, anxiety, somatization, and sense of belonging. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling indicated that female Arab adolescents had elevated levels of suicide ideation, higher rates of suicide attempts, and greater psychological distress than Arab males and Jewish students. Furthermore, female Arab adolescents were found to be more susceptible to suicide ideation when depression levels were high. These results are discussed in the context of the double‐jeopardy Arab young women face, as members of a minority ethnic group in Israel and their status as women within the patriarchal Arab culture.     

In over Our Heads with Financial Anxiety from Student Debt

Many theological students are in over their heads with student debt, as Association of Theological Schools surveys of graduates attest. The phobia-like nature of financial anxiety makes people ignore their financial stress, which is now the top stressor in the United States. Robert Kegan’s In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life is used to understand the financial anxiety generated by the ‘hidden curriculum’ of both our neoliberal market society and the North American academic dream that promises academic and financial success through hard work. In an innovative program at Iliff School of Theology, funded by a Lilly Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers (ECFFM) grant, selected students in a self-care course used compassion-based spiritual practices to become more aware of their financial stress and avoidant coping in the hopes of facilitating more integrated, complex theologies of financial stress grounded in embodied and relational goodness. These students continued this theologically reflexive learning process in courses on financial literacy, leadership, and fundraising (initially for their own scholarships). At the end of their academic year, they demonstrated decreased guilt and shame and increased self-compassion about their student debt along with increased confidence and ability to successfully engage in scholarship fundraising activities.     

Trait anxiety,sense of coherence and medical school stressors: Observations at three stages

Abstract

Changes in personality characteristics during young adulthood were evaluated in a three-stage study of perceptions of stressors, trait anxiety and sense of coherence among students in a six-year medical school. Data were collected during the orientation program prior to the beginning of the first year of studies, and in the middle of the first and second years.

No differences on perceptions of stressors, anxiety and sense of coherence were found between different classes tested during the same stage in their medical school careers. Changes in these variables were found, however, over the stages. Overall stressor scores increased significantly in the second year (third stage), due primarily to students' assessments of two clusters of stressors as more threatening: academic demands and professional status. Only certain groups of stressors correlated with anxiety and sense of coherence. Anxiety scores increased and sense of coherence scores decreased over time. These results indicate that exposure to a stressful environment during young adulthood, such as the early years of medical school, is manifested in significant personality changes.     

Academic buoyancy,academic motivation,and academic achievement among filipino high school students

Academic buoyancy refers to students’ capability of dealing with day-to-day obstacles in the school contexts. Previous studies have demonstrated that academic buoyancy is linked to optimal outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted to explore why academic buoyancy can predict positive academic functioning. This research examined the association of academic buoyancy with academic motivational dimensions and achievement among 393 Filipino high school students. The indirect effects of academic buoyancy on achievement via the intermediate variable - academic motivational orientations were explored. Findings showed that academic buoyancy was associated with higher levels of academic achievement as well as controlled and autonomous motivational orientations. Academic buoyancy had indirect effects on achievement via autonomous motivation. This means that intrinsic motivation serves as a potential mechanism through which academic buoyancy may be associated with perceived academic achievement. Findings of this research emphasize the academic benefits of cultivating students’ capability to deal with daily academic hassles.

     

Tracking stress,depression, and anxiety across the final year of secondary school: A longitudinal study

Levels of distress, which include stress, depression, and anxiety, are often heightened during the final year of secondary school and have been linked to major examinations that occur during this time period. However, relatively little is known about how these symptoms change over the course of the year or what moderates symptom severity. Using a longitudinal survey design, we tracked student outcomes and potential moderators (i.e., gender, test anxiety, self-efficacy, connectedness with peers, school and family, perceived use of fear appeals by teachers) associated with stress, depression, and anxiety once per term (i.e., 4 times total) over the final year of high school in seven Australian high schools. We hypothesised that student symptoms would increase over time and that symptom severity would be moderated by individual and environmental factors. Six hundred and thirty-eight unique students (M age = 16.95 years, SD = 0.56, range = 15–18 years, female = 474 [74.29%]) participated in at least one of the four surveys administered during each term of the final year of high school. Linear mixed models indicated that stress (d = 0.2) and anxiety (d = 1.7) increased over time. When all potential moderators of distress were entered into the full model, gender, test anxiety, emotional self-efficacy, and peer connectedness were all significant unique predictors of stress. Similar patterns were found for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Time 3 stress was predicted by unique variance in baseline stress, higher test anxiety, and academic self-efficacy. Overall distress increased over time and was moderated by gender, as well as by test anxiety, self-efficacy, and peer connectedness, which are areas that can then be targeted by interventions designed to maintain distress at optimum levels for wellbeing and academic performance.