The Kids Are Alright—Right? Physical Activity and Mental Health in College Students

The status of physical activity in higher education has changed dramatically over the past 100 years. In this paper, we aim to (a) provide a brief history of physical activity on campus; (b) describe how that activity has changed from a requirement to an elective; (c) illustrate how mental health (particularly stress, anxiety, and depression) has changed in college students over the past few decades; and (d) describe the relationships between physical activity and mental health, particularly in college students. The paper culminates with recommendations for how colleges and universities might facilitate better student mental health through physical activity. There is room to improve the physical activity and mental health of college students, realigning higher education with the promotion of mens sana in corpore sano.

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Position Description Analysis: A Method for Describing Academic Roles and Functions

Canadian Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.47678/cjhe.v20i1.183666 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 43-56

Author(s):

K. Edward Renner ◽

Ronald J. Skibbens

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Status Quo ◽

The Past ◽

The Future ◽

The Status ◽

The 1960S ◽

Year 2000

Similar to the 1960s, higher education is once again in a period of rapid social chance in which new demands and expectations are being made on colleges and universities. This time, however, new money is not available for the transition to be achieved though additional growth. In this paper, the methodology of Position Description Analysis is presented using Dalhousie University as a case study. Position Description Analysis is a tool for assessing the discrepancy between the status quo and the specializations needed for colleges and universities to meet the new demands and expectations which are being made of them. It is concluded that there is a need for dramatic realignement of fields of specialization in order to shift from the emphases of the past to those of the future. However, because the faculty higher in the 1960s are now tenure, but no due to retire until after the year 2000, higher education must find internal strategies for chance or face externally imposed solution to their current lack of flexibility.

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Relationship of Physical Activity With Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Chinese College Students During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.582436 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Ming-Qiang Xiang ◽

Xian-Ming Tan ◽

Jian Sun ◽

Hai-Yan Yang ◽

Xue-Ping Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

College Students ◽

Depression Scale ◽

The Self ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Chinese College Students ◽

Self Rating ◽

Relationship Of

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, many citizens were asked to stay at home in self-quarantine, which can pose a significant challenge with respect to remaining physically active and maintaining mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of inadequate physical activity, anxiety, and depression and to explore the relationship of physical activity with anxiety and depression symptoms among Chinese college students during quarantine.MethodUsing a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 1,396 Chinese college students. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively. The data on physical activity were collected by types of physical activity and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF).ResultsDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, about 52.3% of Chinese college students had inadequate physical activity. The rates of anxiety and depression symptoms were 31.0 and 41.8%, respectively. A high level of physical activity (β = −0.121, P < 0.001) was significantly closely associated with low anxiety, while a moderate (β = −0.095, P = 0.001), or high (β = −0.179, P < 0.001) level of physical activity was significantly closely associated with reduced depression after adjusting confounding demographic factors. Moreover, specific types of physical activity, such as stretching and resistance training, were negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression; doing household chores was negatively correlated with depression.ConclusionOur findings highlight specific levels and types of home-based physical activities that need to be taken into consideration to protect the mental health of college students during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Where Does College and University Funding Come From? Where Does It Go?

The Insider's Guide to Working with Universities ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469653419.003.0009 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 126-136

Author(s):

James W. Dean ◽

Deborah Y. Clarke

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Higher Education ◽

Career Counseling ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

College And University ◽

University Funding ◽

Revenue Streams ◽

Innovative Approaches

It’s important to understand the finances of colleges and universities, budgeting, and sources and uses of funding. Costs at colleges and universities are increasing for a variety of reasons. Some costs involve facilities intended to attract talent, both in terms of faculty and students. Many costs involve people who do not teach, such as administrators. These individuals are doing work that is either required (government compliance) or expected (student mental health or career counseling). So, it is a stretch to sustain the argument that rising costs in higher education are singularly a function of unnecessary layers of administration. Many universities are using innovative approaches to cut costs and improve revenue streams to their institutions.

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Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182312737 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

pp. 12737

Author(s):

Emilijus Žilinskas ◽

Giedrė Žulpaitė ◽

Kristijonas Puteikis ◽

Rima Viliūnienė

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Higher Education ◽

Health Status ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Health Issues ◽

Education Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Past ◽

Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues—anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and behavior—are prevalent among students of higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic further affected students’ daily life through academic and socioeconomic disturbances. We set out to investigate students’ mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted a cross-sectional online survey at higher education institutions in Lithuania in 2021. The questionnaire consisted of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-3) questionnaires, evaluation of suicidal risk, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-rated health status (SRHS). Among 1001 students who completed the survey, the prevalence of clinically relevant anxiety was high (46.6%) and contrasted with the lower prevalence of depression (11.1%). 37.5% of all students admitted that they had thought about suicide at least once during their lifetime and a similar number of students thought about suicide during the previous year. High levels of anxiety and depression were statistically significant predictors of suicidal ideation and planning during the past year in binary regression models. High SRHS (higher score refers to more positive health status) was the only significant independent variable associated with less frequent suicidal attempts in the past year (p < 0.01, OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.66). Our study highlights anxiety and suicidality to be burdensome mental health issues among higher education students in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Prevalence and demographic, substance use, and mental health correlates of fasting among U.S. college students

Journal of Eating Disorders ◽

10.1186/s40337-021-00443-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kyle T. Ganson ◽

Rachel F. Rodgers ◽

Stuart B. Murray ◽

Jason M. Nagata

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Substance Use ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Drug Use ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Men And Women ◽

The Past ◽

Self Injury

Abstract Background Fasting is an unhealthy behavior that has been frequently used as part of weight loss attempts. To date, little research has been conducted to determine the prevalence and substance use and mental health correlates of fasting among college students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and associations between any (≥ 1 time) and regular (≥ 13 times) occurrences of fasting in the past 4 weeks and substance use and mental health correlates among a large sample of college students from 2016 to 2020. Methods Data from four academic survey years (2016–2020; N = 8255) of the national (USA) Healthy Minds Study were analyzed. Unadjusted prevalence of any and regular fasting by survey year and gender was estimated. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the associations between any and regular fasting and the demographic (age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, highest parental education), substance use (cigarette use, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, alcohol use), and mental health (depression, anxiety, eating disorder symptoms, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury) correlates. Results Any fasting in the past 4 weeks was common among both men (14.77%) and women (18.12%) and significantly increased from 2016 (10.30%) to 2020 (19.81%) only among men. Regular fasting significantly increased among both men and women from 2016 (men: 1.46%; women: 1.79%) to 2020 (men: 3.53%; women: 6.19%). Among men and women, both any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of all mental health symptoms, including a positive depression, anxiety, and eating disorder screen, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-injury. Among women, but not men, any and regular fasting in the past 4 weeks were associated with higher odds of marijuana use and other illicit drug use (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy). Conclusions The results from this study underscore both the high and increasing prevalence of fasting among a national sample of college students, as well as the substance use and mental health symptoms associated with this behavior. Healthcare professionals both on and off campus should consider screening for fasting behaviors among college students and provide appropriate intervention when needed.

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EuroPACE: The Lessons Learned So Far

Industry and Higher Education ◽

10.1177/095042229400800103 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 19-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

William A. Weimer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Continuing Education ◽

Planning Process ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

The Past ◽

History Of ◽

Education Projects ◽

European Programme

One of the most significant cooperative industry–higher education projects in Europe during the past decade has been EuroPACE, the European Programme of Advanced Continuing Education. In January 1993, EuroPACE ceased its broadcasts and re-entered the planning process. By the time this article has been published, EuroPACE should again be broadcasting, but with a somewhat different format and content. In this article, Bill Weimer presents a brief history of the first five years of EuroPACE and analyses the project. He examines key assumptions and decisions made, points out those which now appear to have been in error, and lists the lessons learned. Many of the assumptions and decisions made were correct; some of these are also discussed. This article will contribute the experience and lessons learned by EuroPACE to other joint industry–higher education projects. It may help them to avoid making some of the same mistakes.

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Aristocratic libraries in Slovakia – status, research, history

Z Badań nad Książką i Księgozbiorami Historycznymi ◽

10.33077/uw.25448730.zbkh.2021.671 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 427-441

Author(s):

Michaela Sibylová

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Adverse Impact ◽

World War ◽

The Past ◽

Research History ◽

The Enlightenment ◽

The Status ◽

History Of ◽

The Times

The author has divided her article into two parts. The first part describes the status and research of aristocratic libraries in Slovakia. For a certain period of time, these libraries occupied an underappreciated place in the history of book culture in Slovakia. The socialist ideology of the ruling regime allowed their collections (with a few exceptions) to be merged with those of public libraries and archives. The author describes the events that affected these libraries during and particularly after the end of World War II and which had an adverse impact on the current disarrayed state and level of research. Over the past decades, there has been increased interest in the history of aristocratic libraries, as evidenced by multiple scientific conferences, exhibitions and publications. The second part of the article is devoted to a brief history of the best-known aristocratic libraries that were founded and operated in the territory of today’s Slovakia. From the times of humanism, there are the book collections of the Thurzó family and the Zay family, leading Austro-Hungarian noble families and the library of the bishop of Nitra, Zakariás Mossóczy. An example of a Baroque library is the Pálffy Library at Červený Kameň Castle. The Enlightenment period is represented by the Andrássy family libraries in the Betliar manor and the Apponyi family in Oponice.

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Historical aspects of studying the influence of physical activity on the mental health of people

Fizicko vaspitanje i sport kroz vekove ◽

10.5937/spes2101039i ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 39-48

Author(s):

Sergii Ivashchenko

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Higher Education ◽

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Physiological State ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Teaching Staff ◽

Historical Process ◽

Joint Activities

This article presents the main results of work on the study of the issue of the historical process of improving knowledge about the influence of physical activity of a person on the level of his mental health. Based on the results of the analysis of scientific information presented in modern domestic and foreign literary sources, the conclusion was substantiated that the historical process of improving knowledge about human nature and his mental activity in recent years has reached the highest level of development. The study of the long-term experience of scientists in many countries of the world gives grounds to assert that the beginning of the process of targeted study of the effect of physical activity on human mental functions was laid back in the last century. However, scientists have achieved the most outstanding results in this area of scientific research in recent decades. The historical need for in-depth research in this scientific direction was maturing gradually and was due to the peculiarities of the course of scientific and technological progress in general. Due to the fact that it was in recent decades that many discoveries were made, which formed the basis of modern methods for studying the physiological state of a person and his intellectual functions, there was obvious progress in the study of the mental health of persons whose central nervous system works under conditions of extreme intellectual and psycho-emotional stress. Scientists working in the field of physical education and sports, in collaboration with scientists in the field of education and health, have significantly intensified their joint activities and developed modern complexes of measures aimed at studying the mental health of students and representatives of the teaching staff of state institutions of higher education. This contingent of the subjects was not chosen by chance. The fact is that the learning process in higher education institutions is associated with intense loads on the central nervous system of both students and teachers, as well as on some of their senses (in particular, on the visual and auditory analyzers).

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