Showing papers in "Journal of American College Health in 1995"
TL;DR: Results from this pilot study indicate the need for stage-matched interventions to increase activity levels in young adults.
Abstract: This study examined self-reports of physical activity behavior among college students from a stages of change perspective. A questionnaire on health needs was administered to a random sample of 800 students at a private university; 217 completed questionnaires were analyzed, using chi-square statistics. In addition to examining activity behavior from a stages of change approach, the authors explored the relationship of demographic variables to activity behavior. Forty-six percent of the students were inactive or were exercising irregularly. Gender and year in school were unrelated to stage of exercise adoption. Results from this pilot study indicate the need for stage-matched interventions to increase activity levels in young adults.
119 citations
TL;DR: Mental health providers at university counseling and health centers should be alert to the possibility that college students with previously unrecognized attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may present for initial evaluation at their centers.
Abstract: Mental health providers at university counseling and health centers should be alert to the possibility that college students with previously unrecognized attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may present for initial evaluation at their centers. This study was a systematic chart review of 42 students at an Upper Midwest university who were diagnosed with ADHD during calendar year 1993. Diagnoses were made by the treating psychiatrist, who reviewed records for presenting problems; recent associated problems; previous evaluations as a child, adolescent, or adult; and associated problems in childhood. Presenting problems included ADHD symptoms, mood symptoms, nonspecific learning disability, and academic underachievement. Associated problems were depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, drug and alcohol abuse or both, dependency, legal problems, learning disabilities, and eating disorders. Thirty-three percent had been evaluated for academic or behavior problems as children, and 36% had sou...
113 citations
TL;DR: The relation of exercise habits of 113 female college students to their knowledge about osteoporosis and their health beliefs was investigated, using the health belief model to determine why some people participate in self-care preventive actions but others do not.
Abstract: The relation of exercise habits of 113 female college students to their knowledge about osteoporosis and their health beliefs was investigated, using the health belief model to determine why some people participate in self-care preventive actions but others do not. Age was positively correlated with the level of osteoporosis knowledge, awareness of personal susceptibility, and motivation for general health behaviors. Older participants, however, perceived more barriers to exercise as an osteoporosis-prevention measure than did the younger respondents. The authors' conclusions support the importance of early osteoporosis education and lifetime physical activities to prevent osteoporosis.
51 citations
TL;DR: In college students, ADD is amenable to treatment in a multimodal program combining medication; individual, family, and group psychotherapy; career counseling; and cognitive control, together with electronic prostheses and special accommodations in the college classroom.
Abstract: Attention deficit disorder (ADD), with or without hyperactivity, is a common but highly misunderstood and frequently underdiagnosed condition in college students. It affects students' academic and social success and emotional development. ADD is an invisible impairment of cortical regulation of activity and impulse control that is often hereditary, is as common in women as in men, and does not subside or disappear at puberty. ADD increases the risk of drug abuse, delinquency, incarceration, job failure, marital discord, and divorce. In college students, ADD is amenable to treatment in a multimodal program combining medication; individual, family, and group psychotherapy; career counseling; and cognitive control, together with electronic prostheses and special accommodations in the college classroom.
51 citations
TL;DR: Male and female participants who were nonusers, in a current monogamous relationship, and using oral contraceptives were more likely to report a low perceived need to use condoms, which was the most powerful predictor of condom use for both genders.
Abstract: The authors used a questionnaire to assess gender differences in barriers to condom use among 198 female and 89 male heterosexual undergraduate college students. Participants were divided into three groups—consistent users, inconsistent users, and nonusers—based on their reported condom use. Factor analyses on each gender revealed similar barrier factor structures, but the barriers explained more of the variance in condom use among women than among men. Of the 9 or 10 predictors assessed, the low perceived need barrier was the most powerful predictor of condom use for both genders. Male and female participants who were nonusers, in a current monogamous relationship, and using oral contraceptives were more likely to report a low perceived need to use condoms. Implications for future research are discussed.
46 citations
TL;DR: A significantly higher percentage of steroid users reported using tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, and designer drugs, and a greater percentage of the steroids users reported family histories of abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
Abstract: The extremely low prevalence of steroid use among college students makes it virtually impossible to conduct analyses on any single college campus. By studying a cohort of 58,625 college students from 78 institutions that administered the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey in 1990 and 1991, a critical mass of 175 users on which it was possible to conduct statistical analyses was identified. Compared with a randomly selected group of nonusers, the steroid users reported consuming dramatically more alcohol and demonstrated higher rates of binge drinking. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of steroid users reported using tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, and designer drugs. A higher percentage of steroid users than nonusers also reported experiencing negative consequences as a result of substance abuse, and a greater percentage of the steroid users reported family histories of abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Implications from the standpoi...
38 citations
TL;DR: No significant changes were found in the number of students who were sexually active or in their attitudes about such issues as abortion and premarital, casual, or oral sex, but Statistically significant changes did occur in human sexuality students' attitudes and behaviors about safer sex, having fewer sex partners, and using condoms and spermicides.
Abstract: This study of sexual attitudes and behaviors of students in a large northeastern community college was undertaken in partial response to an outspoken community group's claims that the sexuality education courses being taught at the school were undermining the morality of its young adults and encouraging early sexual activity. Findings from 1,825 pretest respondents in human sexuality and general health courses indicated that more than 80% of the students had experienced sexual intercourse before they took the courses. In a posttest comparison with 1,456 of the same students, the authors found no significant changes in the number of students who were sexually active or in their attitudes about such issues as abortion and premarital, casual, or oral sex. Statistically significant changes did occur in human sexuality students' attitudes and behaviors about safer sex, having fewer sex partners, and using condoms and spermicides.
37 citations
TL;DR: A campus-wide Eating Concerns Committee undertook to understand the needs of these students and to advise them on appropriate services and used the college's computer bulletin board system to create a forum for students to discuss political, social, and personal issues about body image, food, and eating.
Abstract: In response to the relative lack of success in reaching students with eating disorders, a campus-wide Eating Concerns Committee undertook to understand the needs of these students and to advise them on appropriate services. Because social pressure to be thin is one important precursor to eating disorders and because sharing concerns is so difficult and so important, the committee used the college's computer bulletin board system to create a forum for students to discuss political, social, and personal issues about body image, food, and eating. After a cautious start, the dialogue developed intensity and became a lively tool for asking and receiving support and for sharing feelings, ideas, and concerns.
32 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the article "The Yesterday and Today of College Health: Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 287-288" with a focus on the day-to-day issues.
Abstract: (1995). Yesterday and Today. Journal of American College Health: Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 287-288.
27 citations
TL;DR: A questionnaire administered immediately before students visited the physician or family nurse practitioner led to the practitioner's discovery of a condition requiring treatment or explaining a problem the student had not discussed in previous visits.
Abstract: In a pilot study, the authors distributed a brief questionnaire dealing with psychosocial concerns to 200 students awaiting treatment in the student health service at a large urban university. They hypothesized that a questionnaire administered immediately before students visited the physician or family nurse practitioner would encourage the students to discuss problems such as anxiety and depression during the medical session. Using the questionnaire, they found, led to the practitioner's discovery of a condition requiring treatment or explaining a problem the student had not discussed in previous visits. Such a questionnaire, the authors suggest, could be a valuable means for identifying psychosocial concerns significant enough to require treatment or further evaluation.
25 citations
TL;DR: The authors used the somaticization scale of the Brief Symptom Inventory to study Asian and American college students' propensity for seeking counseling at an American university and found that the Asian students were more likely than the American students to report that they would seek counseling services when they experience somatic discomfort.
Abstract: The authors used the somaticization scale of the Brief Symptom Inventory to study Asian and American college students' propensity for seeking counseling at an American university. They found that the Asian students were more likely than the American students were to report that they would seek counseling services when they experience somatic discomfort. The Asian students scored significantly higher on inclination for seeking counseling than did the American students.
TL;DR: It is found that a significant number of medical students harbor attitudes that have a negative impact on their willingness to care for persons who are HIV positive or have AIDS; effective educational interventions must take these findings into account.
Abstract: Researchers have found that a significant number of medical students harbor attitudes that have a negative impact on their willingness to care for persons who are HIV positive or have AIDS. To assess current HIV and AIDS knowledge and attitudes, the authors administered a 25-item survey tailored for medical professionals to 63 preclinical medical students. Respondents' mean score on the knowledge scale was 6.25 (SD 1.63) out of a possible score of 10. Factor analysis suggested three major groupings of medical students with regard to attitudes. The largest group had generally positive attitudes about patients with HIV and AIDS; two subgroups, however, would tend to refer such patients to another physician. One subgroup reported feeling more uncomfortable with homosexual behavior and with HIV-seropositive patients than they did with patients with other infectious diseases. This group also expressed discomfort with physically touching HIV-seropositive clients. The other group expressed discomfort wi...
TL;DR: Over time, students' self-reported knowledge about AIDS increased, as did personal worry about HIV infection and high fear of AIDS was associated with being less informed, having greater concern about infection, and being more homophobic.
Abstract: The authors studied changes in personal concerns and fears about AIDS and homophobia from 1985 to 1992 among four samples of heterosexual undergraduate students on a university campus. Over time, students' self-reported knowledge about AIDS increased, as did personal worry about HIV infection. Interest in attending an educational program increased initially, then leveled off, and fear of casual contact with people with AIDS decreased. The study findings showed no changes in homophobia. High fear of AIDS was associated with being less informed, having greater concern about infection, and being more homophobic.
TL;DR: The author concludes that although the resources available and the particular challenges that are faced may have changed, the traditional goals of a campus mental health program remain valid, even if they are difficult to attain.
Abstract: The author briefly reviews Mental Health on the Campus: A Field Study, published in 1973, noting areas of consensus and points of tension or disagreement that were reported in that study. He then assesses the extent to which the current state of mental health on the campus is an echo of that report. These comparisons form the basis for anticipating the probable direction of future developments in campus mental health. The areas and issues considered include the increased diversity of the student body, the stable incidence of psychotic disorders, the increased prevalence of gender-related diagnoses such as sexual abuse and eating disorders, the continuing financial pressures bearing on campus mental health programs, and the forms of care and treatment that fiscal and other circumstances are imposing. The author concludes that although the resources available and the particular challenges that are faced may have changed, the traditional goals of a campus mental health program, as articulated 75 yea...
TL;DR: Unmarried heterosexual college students' HIV knowledge, attitudes, risk perception, and sexual behavior were assessed before and after "Magic" Johnson revealed his HIV-positive serostatus and it is suggested that such students continue to engage in behaviors that may put them at risk for HIV infection.
Abstract: Unmarried heterosexual college students' HIV knowledge, attitudes, risk perception, and sexual behavior were assessed before and after “Magic” Johnson revealed his HIV-positive serostatus. Students examined after the disclosure showed a small, though statistically significant, increase in scores on HIV knowledge. Analyses did not reveal any other differences between the pre- and postdisclosure samples. Several differences between men's and women's scores were found, however. In addition, participants in both groups demonstrated generally positive attitudes toward HIV and people with HIV disease; rated their risk of future HIV infection as none to minimal; and reported frequently engaging in vaginal, oral, and anal intercourse without the use of condoms. These results suggest that Magic's disclosure did not significantly affect these students' attitudes, risk perception, or sexual behavior and that such students continue to engage in behaviors that may put them at risk for HIV infection.
TL;DR: Although both groups lifted weights regularly, the crew team members were less likely to use protective gloves; they sustained additional trauma to their hands from almost daily exercise on rowing machines and river practice.
Abstract: Forty-nine members of a university track team and 80 members of the crew team were surveyed about warts on their hands. They were also questioned about the nature and extent of their exercise, the types of equipment they used, and whether they wore protective gloves. Common hand warts were significantly more prevalent in members of the crew team than in members of the track team (25% v 10%; p < .05). Although both groups lifted weights regularly, the crew team members were less likely to use protective gloves; they sustained additional trauma to their hands from almost daily exercise on rowing machines and river practice. College health providers should question patients with hand warts about types of athletic activity and should suggest that they protect their hands by wearing weight-lifter's gloves.
TL;DR: Type II carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency is the most common cause of exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, myoglobinuria, and proximal muscle weakness and pain in young adults, and the disorder is compared with defective myophosphorylation in McArdle's disease.
Abstract: Type II carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency is the most common cause of exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, myoglobinuria, and proximal muscle weakness and pain in young adults. A lack of this enzyme impairs mitochondrial oxidation of long-chain fatty acids and can lead to rhabdomyolysis, myoglobinuria, and renal failure. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency, unusual but not rare, is often detected by finding elevated creatine phosphokinase level in a routine blood chemistry panel. A case of carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency in a college athlete is presented, and the disorder is compared with defective myophosphorylation in McArdle's disease, the next most frequent cause of similar symptoms.
TL;DR: The results showed that, among men, the AIDS opinion leaders tended to have a larger number of sexual partners than their nonleader counterparts and that they were no more likely to practice safer sex or be more knowledgeable about safer sex.
Abstract: This research applied the construct of opinion leadership to the health area of AIDS. Approximately 290 college students completed a questionnaire that identified individuals whom peers tended to use as sources of information about AIDS. The results showed that, among men, the AIDS opinion leaders tended to have a larger number of sexual partners than their nonleader counterparts and that they were no more likely to practice safer sex or be more knowledgeable about safer sex. Female AIDS opinion leaders tended to engage in less sexual activity than their nonleader counterparts, but showed a greater reluctance to communicate with men about condom use. In addition, female AIDS opinion leaders were neither more knowledgeable about safer sex nor more likely to engage in safer sex than were their nonleader counterparts.
TL;DR: The majority of students using unreliable methods of contraception during follow-up did not report unreliable contraceptive use at the baseline observation, and cross-sectional studies will fail to detect important transitions in contraceptive use.
Abstract: The authors evaluated the longitudinal consistency of use of contraceptive and barrier methods among female college students attending a student health clinic. The majority of students using unreliable methods of contraception during follow-up did not report unreliable contraceptive use at the baseline observation. Of 213 women who participated, 33% used unreliable contraception; 9% only at baseline, 14% only during 6-month follow-up, and 9% at both. Selection of a contraceptive method varied considerably over time. Of those using the oral contraceptive pill at baseline, 31% did not use this method during follow-up, and 43% of those using condoms at baseline had intercourse without a condom during follow-up. Single observations are inadequate to detect unreliable contraceptive use in this population; cross-sectional studies will fail to detect important transitions in contraceptive use. Interventions to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease among female college students should includ...
TL;DR: An assessment of the probable impact of current healthcare reform proposals on the future of college health programs and on campus-controlled health centers is concluded.
Abstract: Factors contributing to the establishment of the earliest college health programs are reviewed. The author considers the evolution of these programs for two periods: the first 100 years (1860-1960) and the next 30 years (1960-1990). The changing emphases in college health programs during these two periods are seen as responses to contemporaneous events, including the development of vaccines and other advances in science and medicine, the emergence of intercollegiate athletics--first as a significant element in the college experience and subsequently as a major business--and the expansion of higher education in response to the arrival of the baby boomers in the mid-1960s. Contemporary healthcare reform is briefly reviewed, and the author concludes with an assessment of the probable impact of current healthcare reform proposals on the future of college health programs and on campus-controlled health centers.
TL;DR: The task force worked closely with federal agencies in identifying relevant issues and focusing on the higher education community's commitment to disease promotion and positive health behaviors.
Abstract: Beginning in 1985, an ACHA task force studied national health objectives to determine how well colleges and universities were achieving nationally defined health goals. The task force found that the college-aged population was not specifically recognized as a concern among health planners and that little consistent data on the health status of students existed. The task force worked closely with federal agencies in identifying relevant issues and focusing on the higher education community's commitment to disease promotion and positive health behaviors.
TL;DR: Comparisons of experimental and control groups, using one-way analyses of variance, revealed significant differences on four variables: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol/HDL ratio, triglycerides, and body weight in pounds.
Abstract: The authors developed, implemented, and evaluated a health promotion program for employees at a state college in New Jersey on the basis of a campus health survey. The resulting physical fitness and exercise program with educational components was assessed twice. Comparisons of experimental and control groups, using one-way analyses of variance, revealed significant differences on four variables: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol/HDL ratio, triglycerides, and body weight in pounds.
TL;DR: The author recommends that college health center medical and counseling providers who must deal with this issue help the woman validate her loss by revisiting the site of her abortion to reflect upon the experience and to hold a Gestalt dialogue with the fetus to end the relationship.
Abstract: This article focuses on a therapeutic approach to help women deal with the feelings of grief and guilt they may feel as a result of a voluntary termination of a pregnancy. Available medical and psychological literature indicates that, from a public health perspective, significant psychological problems related to an abortion are "minuscule." Several women the author saw during the 1992/93 academic year who considered themselves to be extremely religious and profile had undergone elective abortion. They experienced tremendous guilt and grief 4 to 6 months after the procedure. The author recommends that college health center medical and counseling providers who must deal with this issue help the woman validate her loss by revisiting the site of her abortion to reflect upon the experience and to hold a Gestalt dialogue with the fetus to end the relationship. The provider or someone else should accompany the woman to the site because of the increasing potentiality for violence on the part of prolife protesters.
TL;DR: The author describes a culture-centered approach, using a cultural grid that matches same/ different behaviors with same/different expectations, for more accurate and more appropriate healthcare guidance in such multicultural settings as those met on the college campus.
Abstract: All learning occurs in a cultural context. Successful counseling can be achieved by training healthcare providers to interpret behaviors in their cultural context. The author describes a culture-centered approach, using a cultural grid that matches same/different behaviors with same/different expectations. Clients with shared positive expectations may display dissonant and apparently negative behaviors. Culturally accurate knowledge and culturally appropriate skills provide a three-level developmental sequence for more accurate and more appropriate healthcare guidance in such multicultural settings as those met on the college campus.
TL;DR: The authors' retrospective survey assessed the incidence and causes of sport- and exercise-related injuries in college students participating in intramural, recreational, and club sports to suggest a need for programs in sport-injury prevention for college students.
Abstract: The authors' retrospective survey assessed the incidence and causes of sport- and exercise-related injuries in college students participating in intramural, recreational, and club sports. For their survey, they examined clinical screening forms and medical charts of 300 students (160 men and 140 women) to determine the type of injury, the body part affected, loading behavior of tissues involved, and mechanism of the injuries. Sprains resulting from tensile forces accounted for most of the injuries, with the knee the most frequently injured body part. The occurrence of injuries was equally divided between injuries from overuse, caused primarily by improper body mechanics, and acute injuries resulting from collisions with the ground or floor or from falls. The study suggests a need for programs in sport-injury prevention for college students.
TL;DR: The authors draw upon counseling literature and college health practice to identify the central elements of preventive programs, highlight specific intervention formats used in preventive work, and describe how interventions are assembled into coherent programs of prevention.
Abstract: Such problems as sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol and other drug use, and acquaintance rape require college health professionals to function in primary and secondary preventive roles. In this article, the authors draw upon counseling literature and college health practice to identify the central elements of preventive programs, highlight specific intervention formats used in preventive work, and describe how interventions are assembled into coherent programs of prevention. To illustrate the structure and process of long-range, institutionalized preventive efforts, the authors describe an initiative addressing the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of substance use at a health sciences campus.
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TL;DR: By the 5th century BC, when Hippocrates was born on the Isle of Cos off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, the followers of Asclepius had for generations been the sole possessors of the knowledge of healing, using both diet and drugs.
Abstract: pollo the physician, the sun god, drove the chariot of sun. He was the son of Zeus and Leto and the ,brother of Artemis, goddess of the moon. Apollo’s son was Asclepius, who was taught healing by the centaur Chauron; so skilled in medicine was he that he could restore the dead to life. This talent angered Pluto, god of the underworld, who persuaded Zeus to destroy Asclepius with a thunderbolt.’ The staff of Asclepius, always pictured with one serpent, is the symbol of the American Medical Association. The caduceus, the staff of Hermes, has two snakes and is surmounted by two wings; it also is sometimes used as a medical insignia. The daughters of Asclepius were Hygiea and Panaceia, whose names have been immortalized in the English language. By the 5th century BC, when Hippocrates was born on the Isle of Cos off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, the followers of Asclepius had for generations been the sole possessors of the knowledge of healing, using both diet and drugs.? I t seems likely that Hippocrates belonged to the school founded a century earlier by Pythagoras in Crotona, on the Italian peninsula. This philosophical school held that the human soul was immortal, that reincarnation existed, and that the works one did in this life determined his destination in the life to come. To Pythagoreans, medical skill was the greatest wisdom attainable, and medical standards could not be set too high. In addition to the wisdom of his oath, Pythagoras also left medicine many other familiar passages: “Life is short and
TL;DR: Higher levels of physical symptom reporting were associated with complaints of more overt psychological distress, a finding that was consistent with a continuum perspective, and the implications for understanding somatization in college student populations and for university-based healthcare are discussed.
Abstract: The developmental transition between adolescence and early adulthood represents a high-risk period for the onset of somatization. Although research has lagged clinical work in this area, it has long been believed that, for somatizing youth, physical complaints are best conceptualized as a defense against negative affect. Recent adult-oriented research, however, suggests that somatic complaints may be better conceptualized on a continuum, with physical complaints covarying with overt psychological symptomatology. To explore these hypotheses systematically, the authors studied the relationship between multiple dimensions of psychological distress and somatic complaints in undergraduate students. Higher levels of physical symptom reporting were associated with complaints of more overt psychological distress, a finding that was consistent with a continuum perspective. The implications of these results for understanding somatization in college student populations and for university-based healthcare ar...
TL;DR: The author recommends that students at secondary schools and postsecondary education institutions in Hong Kong be offered serological screening and vaccination for hepatitis B.
Abstract: A campaign to promote screening and vaccination for hepatitis B in students at the University of Hong Kong is described. Students entering the program appeared to have been highly motivated and responded well to a mailed recall. Ninety-eight percent of those eligible had the first dose of vaccine, and more than 96% completed the full course of three vaccinations. The prevalence of hepatitis B antigen was 3.59%; male students showed significantly higher prevalence (4.48%) than female students (2.97%). Hepatitis B surface antibody prevalence was the same in both sexes (11.8%). These levels are about one third the prevalence levels found in the same age group in the general population in Hong Kong. The author recommends that students at secondary schools and postsecondary education institutions in Hong Kong be offered serological screening and vaccination for hepatitis B. A similar policy is recommended for students from Southeast Asia who attend overseas colleges and universities, including those i...