Marijuana use, craving, and academic motivation and performance among college students: An in-the-moment study

College students are sleeping less during the week than reported a few years ago. Lack of sleep among college students has been identified as one of the top three healthrelated impediments to academic performance by the American College Health Associations National College Health Assessment survey; and it is associated with lower grades, incompletion of courses, as well as negative moods. This research examines the underlying dynamics of lack of sleep on academic motivation, a key predictor of academic performance. Specifically, the relationship of sleep habits with self-efficacy, performance versus mastery goal orientation, persistence, and tendency to procrastinate were investigated. Findings indicate that 42% of the participants (159 students out of a total of 377) experience excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS); and those identified with EDS tend: (1) to be motivated by performance goals rather than mastery goals; (2) to engage in procrastination (a self-handicapping strategy) to a greater extent than students who are rested; and (3) to have decreased self-efficacy, as compared to students not reporting EDS. Several recommendations for campus health professionals to consider for a Healthy Campus Initiative are made based on the findings.

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“Spending all this time stressing and worrying and calculating”: Marginal Food Security and Student Life at a Diverse Urban University

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021001300 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

Ryan J Gamba ◽

Michael T Schmeltz ◽

Nancy Ortiz ◽

Alina Engelman ◽

Juleen Lam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Food Security ◽

Quantitative Research ◽

Academic Motivation ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Healthy Food ◽

High Food ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Future Health ◽

Food Security Status

Abstract Objective: Food security status is a continuum ranging from high to very low food security. While marginal food security falls next to high food security on the spectrum, new quantitative research indicates marginal food security status is associated with negative health outcomes and poor academic performance among college students. Qualitative research focusing on college students experiencing marginal food security has not been conducted. This study aims to qualitatively explore experiences of college students with marginal food security and to identify themes to better understand and provide context regarding how marginal food security impacts students. Design: Students were recruited for semi-structured interviews with questions designed to study the challenges associated with students’ food situations. All interviews were recorded and transcribed with themes identified via an inductive approach. Setting: A large public university on the US west coast. Participants: Thirty college students. Results: Key themes that emerged: purchasing cheap unhealthy foods; insufficient time to prepare and eat meals on a regular basis; stress and anxiety around the inability to eat healthy food and future health issues; self-perception of health when eating poorly along with physical symptoms; and low academic motivation by not fully participating in their courses due to few healthy food options or missing meals. Conclusion: Marginal food security can potentially diminish students’ health and their capacity to learn and succeed in their coursework. The results emphasize that students experiencing marginal food security should not be grouped with students experiencing high food security.

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Relationships between Learning Styles and Performance on Problem-Solving Tasks

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1986.59.3.1135 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 1135-1138 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Penny Armstrong ◽

Ernest McDaniel

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Learning Styles ◽

Learning Style ◽

Choice Point ◽

Relevant Information ◽

And Performance ◽

Problem Solving Task

A computerized problem-solving task was employed to study the relationships among problem-solving behaviors and learning styles. College students made choices to find their way home in a simulated “lost in the woods” task and wrote their. reasons at each choice point. Time to read relevant information and time to make decisions were measured by the computer clock. These variables were correlated with learning style variables from Schmeck's (1977) questionnaire. The findings indicated that subjects who perceived themselves as competent learners take more time on the problem-solving task, use more information and make fewer wrong choices.

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303 Sleep Midpoint and Efficiency Moderate the Link Between Stress and Academic Cognitions in Latinx College Students

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsab072.302 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. A121-A121

Author(s):

Jeri Sasser ◽

Emma Lecarie ◽

Michaela Gusman ◽

HyeJung Park ◽

Leah Doane

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Academic Motivation ◽

Minority Group ◽

Well Being ◽

Sleep Efficiency ◽

First Year ◽

T1 And T2 ◽

College Stress ◽

The Impact

Abstract Introduction Latinx students are the largest ethnic/racial minority group in higher education, but are also the group least likely to graduate from a four-year institution. Research suggests that heightened stress perceptions may impede college students’ ability to perform well academically. Poorer sleep may compound the impact of stress on academic functioning. The present study examined the multiplicative effect of college-stress and actigraphy-measured sleep on academic cognitions within-and-across semesters. Methods 209 Latinx college students (Mage=18.95; 64.4% female, 85.1% Mexican descent) were assessed in the spring of the first year of college (T1) and fall of the second year (T2). At T1, participants wore an actigraph watch for 7 nights to measure total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and sleep midpoint. College-stress was assessed at T1 using the College Stress Scale. At T1 and T2, participants completed the Behavioral-Emotional-Cognitive School Engagement Scale, the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, and a scale assessing academic motivation. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the model fit of a two-factor model representing academic cognitions (engagement, self-efficacy, motivation) at T1 and T2. Latent variable path analysis models testing for moderation were conducted using Mplus. Results The CFA indicated excellent fit (χ2(5)= 2.91, p=.71, RMSEA=.00, CFI=1.00, TLI=1.01, SRMR=.02). College-stress was concurrently (β=-.19, p=.02), but not longitudinally, associated with academic cognitions. Sleep midpoint predicted academic cognitions at T1 (β=-.24, p<.01) and T2 (β=-.18, p=.03). Sleep efficiency (β=.18, p=.01) and sleep midpoint (β=-.17, p=.02) moderated associations between college-stress and T2 academic cognitions. Higher college-stress was longitudinally linked with lower academic cognitions for students with lower sleep efficiency (b=-.12, p=.01) and later sleep midpoints (b=-.14, p=.01). Conclusion Greater college-stress is concurrently linked with lower academic cognitions, whereas later sleep timing has both immediate and enduring consequences on students’ academic mindsets. The impact of college-stress on academic cognitions may depend on the quality and timing of sleep at the time of these stress perceptions. Programs that address stress reduction and sleep health may be promising interventions for improving academic well-being among first-year Latinx college students. Support (if any) This work was supported by a William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Award (184370) to L.D. Doane.

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