Predictors of Salvia divinorum Use Among a National Sample of Entering First-year U.S. College Students

Objective: Past epidemiological studies have revealed that 18- to 25-year-olds have the highest rate of Salvia divinorum (salvia) use. This study examines predictors of salvia use among a large national sample of incoming first-year college students attending 144 academic institutions.Method: Each institution instructed their entering first-year students to complete an online alcohol course. A total of 7,314 randomly selected students completed a version of the course’s baseline survey that included questions about salvia use.Results: Salvia use in the past two weeks was reported by 3.5%. In a multivariate model, past-two-week salvia use was more common among students who were male, non-White, and had an absent father; this study did not correct for multiple statistical tests, and therefore, these results may be spurious. Salvia use and use of cigarettes and marijuana were strongly related in bivariate analyses. Current drinkers were approximately two times more likely to use salvia in the past two weeks. More than a third of those reporting past-two-week salvia use reported using salvia while under the influence of marijuana in the past month.Discussion: This study is the first to examine salvia and other substance use over the past two weeks and explores the use of salvia under the influence of marijuana. Students being disciplined for marijuana-related offenses should be questioned about the concomitant use of salvia.

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Do First-Year College Students' Expectations Align with their First-Year Experiences?

NASPA Journal ◽

10.2202/0027-6014.1470 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Joshua S. Smith ◽

Ellen C Wertlieb

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Transition To College ◽

First Year ◽

Academic Expectations ◽

Social Expectations ◽

First Year Students ◽

Grade Point ◽

First Year College ◽

First Year College Students ◽

First Year Experiences

First-year college students expectations about "what college is like" do not always align with their actual experiences. This study examined 31 first-year students social and academic expectations and compared those expectations with students' experiences at the middle and end of their first year of college. Paired t tests revealed that students' academic and social expectations did not align with their first-year experiences. Academic and social expectations/experiences were not statistically significant predictors of first-year academic achievement. However, students with unrealistic high social or academic expectations had lower first-year grade point averages (GPAs) than students with average or below-average expectations. Recommendations for increasing high school and college collaboration to assist students with the transition to college are included.

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Prevalence of Binge Drinking Episodes Among Male and Female College Students (P18-008-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz039.p18-008-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Vanessa Croteau ◽

Jesse Stabile Morrell

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

University Students ◽

Binge Drinking ◽

Drinking Behavior ◽

First Year ◽

Drinking Patterns ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

First Year Students ◽

The Past

Abstract Objectives To examine binge-drinking trends among undergraduate university students (18–24 years) over a five-year span. Methods Data were collected between 2012–17 through an ongoing, cross-sectional health survey at a midsize, northeastern university. Students (n = 2759; 69% female; 59% first-year) self-reported binge-drinking activity over the past 30 days through an online questionnaire. Binge drinking was defined as consumption of ≥4 or 5 drinks on a single occasion for females and males, respectively. Heavy binge drinking behavior was defined as ≥4 episodes of binge drinking in the past 30 days. Proportional differences were analyzed through chi-square analyses. Results Between 2012–17, binge drinking prevalence ranged from 65.1–75.4% among men and 53.9–65.9% among women. Overall, men reported higher rates of binge drinking compared to females (73.2% vs. 59.2%, P < 0.01). Collectively, 35.7% reported heavy binge drinking in the past 30 days. More males report heavy binge drinking over the past 30 days compared to females (49.1% vs. 29.6%, P < 0.01). Upperclass students reported a higher prevalence of binge drinking in the past 30 days compared to first-year students (68.3 vs. 60.3%, P < 0.01). Between 2012–17, binge drinking prevalence ranged from 65.1–75.4% among men and 53.9–65.9% among women. Overall, men reported higher rates of binge drinking compared to females (73.2% vs. 59.2%, P < 0.01). Collectively, 35.7% reported heavy binge drinking in the past 30 days. More males report heavy binge drinking over the past 30 days compared to females (49.1% vs. 29.6%, P < 0.01). Upperclass students reported a higher prevalence of binge drinking in the past 30 days compared to first-year students (68.3 vs. 60.3%, P < 0.01). Conclusions Our findings are consistent with other studies in showing high rates of binge drinking among college students, especially among male students. Monitoring binge-drinking patterns on college campuses assists administrators and health educators to address the severity of the problem to identify and monitor prevention and intervention efforts. Funding Sources New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Project 1010738.

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Factors that predict weight gain among first-year college students

Health Education Journal ◽

10.1177/0017896919865758 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

pp. 94-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zi Yan ◽

Alexandra Harrington

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Weight Gain ◽

Body Weight Gain ◽

Self Report ◽

Baseline Survey ◽

First Year ◽

Environmental Barriers ◽

First Year College ◽

First Year College Students

Aim and objectives: In the USA, undergraduate students gain more weight in the first year in college than at any other point in their lives. However, the factors that predict their weight gain are unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore the predictors of weight gain among first-year college students at a US college over a 3-month period. Design: Correlational longitudinal study using baseline and follow-up self-report survey data. Setting: A private college in the Northeastern USA. Methods: A total of 110 first-year college students were invited to complete both baseline and follow-up surveys 3 months apart. The baseline survey examined participants’ knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, intentions and practices regarding physical activity, diet and stress management. The follow-up survey evaluated barriers to diet and exercise practices. Results: Knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behavioural practices did not predict weight change. However, students who gained weight perceived significantly more personal and environmental barriers than those who did not change weight on the following variables: lack of motivation to exercise, no time to eat healthily, perception of lack of healthy food options and impact of bad weather on exercise. Conclusion: Even living in the same college environment, students perceive environmental barriers differently, which was associated with body weight gain. Health education and promotion professionals should guide students to overcome barriers to healthy eating and exercise, as well as making the campus environment more conducive to healthy behaviour.

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Psychological and Pedagogical Support of Educational Adaptation of College Students

Общество социология психология педагогика ◽

10.24158/spp.2020.8.10 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 61-66

Author(s):

Yulia Ivanovna Popova ◽

Konstantin Viktorovitch Yulia Ivanovna ◽

Tamara Sergeevna Avetisian

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Practical Significance ◽

First Year ◽

Study Group ◽

Educational Activities ◽

First Year Students ◽

Before And After ◽

First Year College Students ◽

The Individual

The research is based on the need to update the understanding of the adaptive potential of the indi-vidual at the stage of professionalization of college students. The study was conducted to analyse the dynamics of educational adaptation on the example of indicators of adaptation in the study group and adaptation to educational activities, using the meth-odology of T.D. Dubovitskaya and A.V. Krylova. The authors tested the assumption that the result of specially organized psychological and pedagogical support might be an increase in the indicators of educational adaptation of first-year students. The dynamics of educational adaptation was assessed by comparing the indicators of students’ adaptation to educational activities and in the study group, obtained before and after the implementation of psychological and pedagogical support aimed at strengthening the components of self-regulation, developing social communication and skills and skills of working with information. Statistical analy-sis using the Wilcoxon T-test was used to assess the significance of differences. As a result of the research, based on qualitative and statistical analy-sis, it can be concluded that as a result of psycho-logical and pedagogical support, students have a positive dynamics of educational adaptation, in par-ticular, indicating that the girls’ adaptation to educa-tional activities is more successful than adaptation in a group. The practical significance of the research is to justify the applicability of the system of psy-chological and pedagogical support for first-year College students to maintain adaptation to the so-cio-cultural environment of the university by creat-ing conditions for strengthening the subjective component of educational motivation. It contributes to a better understanding of the effectiveness of their own efforts to work with educational material; creating conditions for strengthening self-regulation skills in the course of psychological counselling of students (as a direction of psychological and peda-gogical support), for developing the cognitive po-tential of the individual and strengthening commu-nication skills in the course of general support. Moreover, the study confirms the possibility of us-ing the methodology for evaluating students’ educa-tional motivation to track its dynamics using both qualitative and quantitative indicators.

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Three-Wave Longitudinal Survey on the Relationship between Neuroticism and Depressive Symptoms of First-Year College Students: Addictive Use of Social Media as a Moderated Mediator

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17176074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (17) ◽

pp. 6074

Author(s):

Weiqi Mu ◽

Dongyun Zhu ◽

Yanhong Wang ◽

Fugui Li ◽

Liyuan Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Social Media ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

First Year ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

First Year Students ◽

First Year College ◽

First Year College Students ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

The Relationship

First-year college students’ adaptation problems and related mental health have attracted researchers’ attention. The current research focuses on the depressive symptoms of first-year college students and aims to explore the relationship between the neuroticism trait and depressive symptoms, the mediating effect of addictive use of social media, and the moderating effect of psychological resilience. Three-wave longitudinal data from 1128 first-year students at a university in Fujian Province, China, were collected within three months of their enrollment. PROCESS macro for SPSS with bootstrapping was used to test the model. Results showed that the prevalence of moderate to severe severity of depressive symptoms in first-year students was 10.28% (T1) and 11.17% (T3). Addictive use of social media (T2) plays a moderated mediator role in the relationship between neuroticism (T1) and depressive symptoms (T3) of first-year students. Specifically, a low neuroticism individual does not necessarily have a less addictive use of social media. Psychological resilience (T1) moderated the above mediation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Female First-Year Students Preceptions of Orientation Programs

Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention ◽

10.24926/jcotr.v8i1.2516 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Beverly G. Dyer ◽

Daniel P. Nadler ◽

Michael T. Miller

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Transition To College ◽

Female College Students ◽

First Year ◽

Orientation Programs ◽

First Year Students ◽

First Year College ◽

Cas Standards ◽

First Year College Students

Female college students experience unique dimensions to their transition to college. Traditional orientation programming has begun to address the needs of female students, but these efforts have typically not provided the holistic attention deserving of this population. The current report was a case study of 605 female first-year college students, their perceptions of an orientation program based on the CAS Standards, and the differences between Multi-Ethnic and Caucasian females.

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Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their First-Year College Experiences

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182211822 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (22) ◽

pp. 11822

Author(s):

Stefania D. Petcu ◽

Dalun Zhang ◽

Yi-Fan Li

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Students ◽

First Year College ◽

Students With Autism ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

First Year College Students ◽

Using Data

Using data from the 2019 CIRP Freshman Survey and the Your First College Year (YFCY) from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, this study explores the differences between the characteristics and behaviors of the first-year students with autism spectrum disorders (17) and those of students with learning disabilities (102). The findings indicate that the characteristics of these two groups of first-year college students were similar except for gender, ethnicity, first college generation, and parents’ income. Compared with first-year college students with LD, students with ASD were less likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors, use health services and the writing center.

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Exploring First-Year College Students’ Cultural Competence

Journal of Transformative Education ◽

10.1177/1541344616686552 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 241-263 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Scott Tharp

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Cultural Competence ◽

Transformational Learning ◽

Lesson Plan ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Students ◽

First Year College ◽

Core Concepts ◽

Diverse World ◽

First Year College Students

The development of college students’ cultural competence is important in an increasingly diverse world. This exploratory, qualitative, action research study examined how 158 first-year students understood and applied core concepts after participating in a standardized diversity and social justice lesson plan designed using transformative education principles. Three student affairs staff conducted content analysis on credit-bearing reflection papers submitted after participation in the lesson plan. Data were manually coded and collectively analyzed revealing themes regarding students’ abilities to accurately discuss multiple core concepts, demonstrate internalized responsibility, and indicate self-growth, all of which were related to students’ conceptual understanding and intrapersonal application of concepts. Implications are discussed for designing curricular and cocurricular diversity initiatives that utilize a multiplicity of concepts and social identities, promote intrapersonal development, and explore systems of privilege and oppression as part of the transformational learning process.

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Student Characteristics Related to Persistence for First-Year Community College Students

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.2190/e99d-v4nt-71vf-83dc ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 117-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Tamela H. Hawley ◽

Tracy A. Harris

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Community College ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Student Characteristics ◽

First Year ◽

Orientation Factor ◽

First Year Students ◽

Discriminant Model ◽

First Year College Students ◽

Cooperative Institutional Research Program

This study analyzed student characteristics that impact persistence among first-year students attending a large, metropolitan community college. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshmen Survey was administered to first-time students during orientation. Factor analysis was used to classify students' personality and behavioral characteristics and discriminant function analysis was used to predict retention or attrition. The discriminant model accurately predicted retention in 78.8% of the cases. Findings suggested that student characteristics impacting persistence can be classified into three categories: barriers, motivations and aspirations, and expectations. Among the strongest predictors of attrition were the number of developmental classes required, the intention to transfer to a four-year institution, and the expectation that English as a second language could be a problem for college students. Among the strongest predictors of persistence were being African American or Latino, cumulative GPA, and the length of time students plan to spend at the college. Recommendations are shared for how community college administration, faculty, and staff can work with students and the community to raise student expectations, motivation, and preparation long before they become first-year college students.

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