scholarly journals Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 542 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Fernanda Páramo ◽  
Fernando Cadaveira ◽  
Carolina Tinajero ◽  
María Soledad Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
University Students ◽  
Binge Drinking ◽  
Academic Adjustment ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
First Year ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Cannabis Consumption ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact

Little is known about how binge drinking or the combination of binge drinking and cannabis consumption affect academic achievement in students during the transition to university, or about the mechanisms that mediate this relationship. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between this pattern of alcohol/cannabis consumption and academic achievement, considering academic adjustment as a possible mediator. A total of 258 Spanish, first-year university students (145 females and 113 males), enrolled in undergraduate degree courses, were categorized into three groups on the basis of their patterns of alcohol/cannabis consumption: control, binge drinkers and co-consumers. The findings showed a significant effect of the combined binge drinking/cannabis consumption, but not of binge drinking alone, upon academic achievement and academic adjustment. Grade point average (GPA) and academic adjustment were lower in the co-consumers than in the other groups. Regarding the mediation effect, 34.33% of the impact of combined alcohol/cannabis use on GPA was mediated by academic adjustment. The combined consumption of alcohol and cannabis led to difficulties in adaptation to academic life, which in turn contributed to poorer performance at university. The implications of the findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Questionnaire-Derived Sleep Habits and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Matthew Driller ◽  
Haresh Suppiah ◽  
Paul B. Gastin ◽  
Christopher M. Beaven
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sleep Habits ◽  
Study Results ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to determine the effect of sleep quantity and quality via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) on students’ academic achievement in their first year of university study. In this cross-sectional study, 193 students (102 female, 91 male, mean ± SD; age = 19.3 ± 2.9 y) from an undergraduate Health degree in New Zealand completed the PSQI four weeks prior to the end of the semester in their first year of university study. Results from three core subjects in the first semester were averaged and correlations between the PSQI and academic success were evaluated using Spearman’s rho (ρ). The group were also trichotomized using a PSQI global score of ≤5 as the threshold for “good” sleepers (n = 62, 32%), a score of 5–8 for “moderate” sleepers (n = 63, 33%) and a score ≥8 to characterize “poor” sleepers (n = 68, 35%). Overall, students averaged 7 h 37 min of self-reported sleep duration with an average bedtime of 22:55 p.m. and wake time of 8:01 a.m. There was a significant, small inverse relationship between academic performance and bedtime (p = 0.03, ρ = −0.14), with those going to bed earlier having superior academic success. The trichotomized data demonstrated no significant differences in academic performance between students with poor, moderate and good sleep quality (p = 0.92). Later bedtimes were associated with lower academic performance in a group of first year university students. However, there were no other relationships observed between academic success and self-reported sleep quality or quantity as determined by the PSQI. Enhancing awareness of the impact of sleep timing on academic success should be prioritized and strategies to improve sleep hygiene should be promoted to university students.

The impact of self-efficacy on first onset and prognosis of major depressive disorder: findings from a longitudinal study in a sample of Chinese first-year university students

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
JianLi Wang ◽  
Debiao Liu ◽  
Guoling Li ◽  
Jin Zhu ◽  
Song Yue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
University Students ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
First Onset ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Self-efficacy is a pivotal factor in the etiology and prognosis of major depression. However, longitudinal studies on the relationship between self-efficacy and major depressive disorder (MDD) are scarce. The objectives were to investigate: (1) the associations between self-efficacy and the 1-year and 2-year risks of first onset of MDD and (2) the associations between self-efficacy and the 1-year and 2-year risks of the persistence/recurrence of MDD, in a sample of first-year university students. Methods We followed 8079 first-year university students for 2 years from April 2018 to October 2020. MDD was ascertained by the Chinese version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-3.0) based on self-report. Self-efficacy was measured by the 10-item General Self-efficacy (GSE) scale. Random effect logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the associations. Results Among participants without a lifetime MDD, the data showed that participants with high baseline GSE scores were associated with a higher risk of first onset of MDD over 2 years [odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.08]. Among those with a lifetime MDD, participants with high baseline GSE scores were less likely to have had a MDD over 2 years (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88–0.99) compared to others. Conclusions A high level of GSE may be protective of the risk of persistent or recurrent MDD. More longitudinal studies in university students are needed to further investigate the impact of GSE on the first onset of MDD.

A social identity perspective on the social-class achievement gap: Academic and social adjustment in the transition to university

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Veldman ◽  
Loes Meeussen ◽  
Colette van Laar
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Achievement Gap ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Adjustment ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
The Social ◽  
First Year University

First-generation students show lower academic performance at university compared to continuing-generation students. Previous research established the value in taking a social identity perspective on this social-class achievement gap, and showed that the gap can partly be explained by lower compatibility between social background and university identities that first- compared to continuing-generation students experience. The present paper aimed to increase insight into the processes through which this low identity compatibility leads to lower academic achievement by examining first-year university students’ adjustment to university in two key domains: the academic and the social domain. These were examined as two routes through which the social-class achievement gap may arise, and hence perpetuate this group-based inequality. Adjustment was examined both through students’ actual integration in the academic and social domains, and their internally experienced concerns about these domains at university. A longitudinal study among 674 first-year university students (13.6% first-generation) showed that first-generation students experienced lower identity compatibility in their first semester, which was in turn related to lower social, but not academic, integration. Lower identity compatibility was also related to more concerns about the social and academic domains at university. Low identity compatibility was directly related to lower academic achievement 1 year later, and this relationship was mediated only by lower social integration at university. These findings show that to understand, and hence reduce, the social-class achievement gap, it is important to examine how low identity compatibility can create difficulties in academic and particularly social adjustment at university with consequences for achievement.

scholarly journals First-year university students’ academic success: the importance of academic adjustment

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 749-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els C. M. van Rooij ◽  
Ellen P. W. A. Jansen ◽  
Wim J. C. M. van de Grift
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
University Students ◽  
Academic Adjustment ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year University

scholarly journals The ‘Double Transition’ for First-Year Students: Understanding the Impact of Covid-19 on South Africa’s First-Year University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Annsilla Nyar
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Double Transition ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Cycle ◽  
Special Category ◽  
First Year Student

While all students are affected by the advent of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the first‑year student population remains a special category of vulnerability for higher education. This is on account of the way the Covid‑19 pandemic has disrupted their transition into university and complicated the nature of their entry into and through the formal academic cycle. This article uses the notion of a ‘double transition’ as a framework for positioning and locating the first‑year student transition within the context of the prevailing Covid‑19 pandemic. ‘Double transition’ refers to an additional transition coupled with that of the first‑year transition, with regard to the extraordinary situation of students navigating their entry into the unfamiliar terrain of academia while simultaneously navigating the Covid‑19 pandemic. The article provides a circumscribed summary of the effects of Covid‑19 on university students and looks to describe and explain the nature and shape of first‑year transitions in relation to the transition necessitated by the Covid‑19 pandemic. It concludes with four key strategies for supporting first‑year students as the pandemic continues.

scholarly journals The Impact of High School Program Reform on First-Year University Students’ Academic Performance. Case Study: Biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Mimoza Milo ◽  
Anila Paparisto ◽  
Flamur Bidaj ◽  
Fatmira Shehu
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
University Students ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Students Success

The student transition from high school to university is a complex process in which various factors operate. One of these factors is the degree of the students’ academic preparation in certain subjects. This article analyzes the impact of this factor on the students’ success in the first year of university studies, in the conditions when the subject program in high school has been reformed. This impact on the students’ success, which is expressed both in the degree of academic preparation and in the students’ attitude in the relevant subject, has been assessed employing statistical analysis. The analysis covers a period of 3 years (2017-2020), and is based on a sample of first year students of the Bachelor degree in Biology. The results of the questionnaire, conducted with first year university students, show the impact of their high school academic preparation on the success they have in the first year of university. This success is measured by assessing the change in average grade and their pass rates. Evidence of the impact of this factor in teaching has helped to know in detail these intermediate phases of this process. The built model makes it possible to analyze the impact of the high school curriculum reform on the students’ success, creating the opportunity for further improvements. Despite the fact that the object of the study is the Biology curriculum and the evaluation of the impact in academic success of students who graduated from high schools where a competence based curriculum was implemented, this methodology can be used for the study in other subjects, especially life sciences.

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