Quantity and quality of motivational regulation among university students

Background: Online education became mandatory for many students during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and blurred the distinction between settings where processes of stress and restoration used to take place. The lockdown also likely changed perceptions of the indoor acoustic environment (i.e., soundscape) and raised its importance. In the present study, we seek to understand how indoor soundscape related to university students’ self-rated health in Bulgaria around the time that the country was under a state of emergency declaration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Between 17 May and 10 June 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among 323 students (median age 21 years; 31% male) from two universities in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Self-rated health (SRH) was measured with a single-item. Participants were asked how frequently they heard different types of sounds while at home and how pleasant they considered each of those sounds to be. Restorative quality of the home (the “being away” dimension of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale) was measured with a single-item. A priori confounders and effect modifiers included sociodemographics, house-related characteristics, general sensitivity to environmental influences, and mental health. Our analysis strategy involved sequential exploratory factor analysis (EFA), multivariate linear and ordinal regressions, effect modification tests, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: EFA supported grouping perceived sounds into three distinct factors—mechanical, human, and nature sounds. Regression analyses revealed that greater exposure to mechanical sounds was consistently associated with worse SRH, whereas no significant associations were found for human and nature sounds. In SEM, exposure to mechanical sounds related to lower restorative quality of the home, and then to poorer SRH, whereas nature sounds correlated with higher restorative quality, and in turn with better SRH. Conclusions: These findings suggest a role of positive indoor soundscape and restorative quality for promoting self-rated health in times of social distancing.

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The Mediating Role of Engagement on the Achievement and Quality of Life of University Students

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18126586 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 6586

Author(s):

Inmaculada García-Martínez ◽

José María Augusto Landa ◽

Samuel P. León

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Academic Achievement ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Emotional Intelligence ◽

Academic Performance ◽

University Students ◽

Mediational Role ◽

The Relationship

(1) Background: Academic engagement has been reported in the literature as an important factor in the academic achievement of university students. Other factors such as emotional intelligence (EI) and resilience have also been related to students’ performance and quality of life. The present study has two clearly delimited and interrelated objectives. First, to study the mediational role that engagement plays in the relationship between EI and resilience on quality of life. Secondly, and similarly, to study the mediational role of engagement in the relationship between EI and resilience, but in this case on academic achievement. (2) Methods: For this purpose, four scales frequently used in the literature to measure emotional intelligence, resilience, academic engagement and quality of life were administered to 427 students of the University of Jaén undertaking education degrees. In addition, students were asked to indicate their current average mark as a measure of academic performance. Two mediational models based on structural equations were proposed to analyse the relationships between the proposed variables. (3) Results: The results obtained showed that emotional intelligence and resilience directly predicted students’ life satisfaction, but this direct relationship did not result in academic performance. In addition, and assuming a finding not found so far, engagement was shown to exert an indirect mediational role for both life satisfaction and academic performance of students. (4) Conclusions: The findings of the study support the importance of engagement in the design and development of instructional processes, as well as in the implementation of any initiative.

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The Psychological Impact of Strict and Prolonged Confinement on Business Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Spanish University

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041710 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1710 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anne Marie Garvey ◽

Inmaculada Jimeno García ◽

Sara Helena Otal Franco ◽

Carlos Mir Fernández

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Personal Development ◽

Business Students ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Web Based ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

Severe Anxiety

The study was carried out to examine the situation of university students from one month after the beginning of a very strict confinement process in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students responded to a survey which included the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) together with other questions relating to their general well-being from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). A total of 198 university students answered the web-based survey. The questionnaire was generated using Microsoft Forms and was explained and distributed online. The results indicated that around 18.7% of students were suffering from severe anxiety and 70.2% were suffering either mild or moderate anxiety at this point of the strict confinement process. The findings show that when emotional well-being (quality of sleep, the perception of feeling fear, death of a relative) is reduced and material well-being is negatively affected (income level) anxiety levels are increased. On the other hand, the results show that having good interpersonal relationships with family members and taking care of personal development (routines and habits that make them feel good) help reduce anxiety levels. The female students in the sample also suffered higher levels of anxiety than males during strict confinement.

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The interaction between knowledge and quality of contact to predict Saudi university students’ attitudes toward people with intellectual disability

International Journal of Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1080/20473869.2019.1638582 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ghaleb Hamad Alnahdi

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Disability ◽

University Students ◽

Students Attitudes ◽

Quality Of Contact

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Exploring Quality of Life, Stress, and Risk Factors Associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome for Female University Students in Taiwan

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18083888 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 3888

Author(s):

Huan-Hwa Chen ◽

Chich-Hsiu Hung ◽

Ai-Wen Kao ◽

Hsiu-Fen Hsieh

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽

University Students ◽

Life Stress ◽

Female Students ◽

World Health ◽

World Health Organization Quality ◽

Irritable Bowel

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common recurrent functional gastrointestinal disorder that impacts on patients physically and mentally. Studies on IBS have focused on adults, yet few studies have examined IBS among female university students. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of IBS for female university students and its related factors. Using a cross-sectional study design, a total of 2520 female university students were recruited in southern Taiwan. The structured questionnaires, including the Rome III IBS diagnostic questionnaire, IBS symptom severity scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) were used for data collection. A total of 1894 female students complete the questionnaires. The response rate was 75.15%. The results indicated 193 female students with IBS and the prevalence of IBS was 10.1%. IBS female students had higher levels of stress and lower QOL than non-IBS female students. The risk factors for female university students developing IBS were dysmenorrhea, food avoidance, class absenteeism, and the lower physical domain of QOL. It is advised to consider these factors when providing students with counselling and relevant services in the expectation of alleviating their IBS symptoms, reducing the incidence rate of IBS, and further improving their QOL.

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