This study examined the reciprocal relationship between the age of first sexual intercourse and academic goals and achievement. It was hypothesized that lower educational goals and achievement were likely to be associated with an adolescent who initiated sexual intercourse at a younger age than those with higher educational goals and achievement. It was also hypothesized that initiating sexual activity early would be associated with a decrease in subsequent academic achievement and goals. Possible explanations are that the costs of engaging in sexual intercourse (pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases) may deter adolescents from initiating intercourse. Weak attachment to parents and future goals may increase the influence of negative peer associations as well. It is also possible that adolescents who engage in sexual intercourse experience a change in mind set against community standards, one being high academic achievement and goals. This project analyzed data from the National Survey of Children (NSC), which is a national longitudinal sample of children aged 7 to 11 beginning in 1976, with additional data collection points in 1981 and 1987. A regression analysis examined the correlation of selected educational variables with the age of first sexual intercourse. The sample was then divided into two groups: those who had experienced voluntary sexual intercourse prior to the time of a data collection point and those who had not. I tests were performed examine the difference in educational variables for virgins and nonvirgins in 1981 and 1987. To examine the change in educational goals and achievement that could have resulted due to the onset of sexual activity, an analysis of covariance was performed on educational variables that were measured at two points in time. The results of this research confirm that reciprocal relationships exist between adolescent sexual activity and educational achievement and goals. Lower educational achievement and goals, measured at an earlier point in time, were related to a younger age of first sexual intercourse. Also, engaging in sexual intercourse was related to a decrease in subsequent educational goals and achievement. The relationship between lower academic achievement and goals and the age of first sex varied by race and gender. Black females showed the strongest association with educational variables and black males the least association. White females and white males both showed significant relationships between education and sexual activity. Sexual activity had the most impact on subsequent academic achievement, followed by educational goals.

The well-being of first-year students in higher education institutions needs particular attention as their level form the foundation for future graduates, and subsequent employees. It is an important focus area for research and intervention. First-year higher education institutions’ student drop-out rate in South Africa is said to be alarmingly high and therefore a cause for concern. An overload of tasks and related time pressure associated with studies is often a reality for first-year students. The problem is compounded when such students are academically and socially unprepared to participate in higher education. The attraction to higher education institutions is that graduates enjoy a higher status in our society as they are seen to play a particularly important role in managing the knowledge-driven economy. The significance of this status relates to the extent of the application of knowledge to the economy, a status which provides competitiveness among nations. Students need to be physically healthy, psychologically well, engaged and satisfied with their lives for their well-being, and subsequently achieve their academic goals. If appropriate and timely, support and resources provided by higher education institutions can play a positive role in the first-year student transition into higher education and thereby minimise the possibilities of student burnout and ill health, whilst increasing the experience of engagement and satisfaction with life. The study aimed to assess the relationship between demands, resources, burnout, engagement, health and satisfaction with life for first-year students at higher education institutions in South Africa and to test a model of well-being for these students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding the burnout, engagement, ill health, and life satisfaction experienced by students. A convenience sample (N = 936) of first-year students at three campuses of two higher education institutions participated in the study. The measuring instruments used were the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, a biographical questionnaire (including questions about available resources), Study Demands-Resources Questionnaire, Health Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results of study 1 showed that the students obtained somewhat higher mean scores on engagement compared to burnout. Significant effects on burnout and engagement were made by influences that included whom the student lived with, the distance between home and university campus during studies, frequency of visits to home, employment status of parents, frequency of library use, and gender. No relationship was established for place of residence with burnout and engagement. Study 2 showed that a measure of study demands and resources for students was sufficiently reliable and valid to be used for assessment. Results showed a statistically significant relationship between each observed variable and its respective construct. A positive relationship between study resources and satisfaction with life, as well as a negative relationship between study demands and satisfaction with life were found, which provides additional evidence for the construct validity of a measure of study demands and resources. Age was significantly related to study resources and satisfaction with life. The results of study 3 showed that study demands and a lack of study resources (including the intrinsic nature of study tasks, relationships with lecturers and social support of peers) were positively associated with burnout. The availability of study resources was positively associated with psychological well-being and engagement. Burnout predicted psychological unwell-being symptoms, while engagement predicted satisfaction with life. Burnout partially mediated the relationship between a lack of study resources and psychological unwell-being, while engagement partially mediated the relationship between the availability of study resources and satisfaction with life. / PhD (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The well-being of first-year students in higher education institutions needs particular attention as their level form the foundation for future graduates, and subsequent employees. It is an important focus area for research and intervention. First-year higher education institutions’ student drop-out rate in South Africa is said to be alarmingly high and therefore a cause for concern. An overload of tasks and related time pressure associated with studies is often a reality for first-year students. The problem is compounded when such students are academically and socially unprepared to participate in higher education. The attraction to higher education institutions is that graduates enjoy a higher status in our society as they are seen to play a particularly important role in managing the knowledge-driven economy. The significance of this status relates to the extent of the application of knowledge to the economy, a status which provides competitiveness among nations. Students need to be physically healthy, psychologically well, engaged and satisfied with their lives for their well-being, and subsequently achieve their academic goals. If appropriate and timely, support and resources provided by higher education institutions can play a positive role in the first-year student transition into higher education and thereby minimise the possibilities of student burnout and ill health, whilst increasing the experience of engagement and satisfaction with life. The study aimed to assess the relationship between demands, resources, burnout, engagement, health and satisfaction with life for first-year students at higher education institutions in South Africa and to test a model of well-being for these students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data regarding the burnout, engagement, ill health, and life satisfaction experienced by students. A convenience sample (N = 936) of first-year students at three campuses of two higher education institutions participated in the study. The measuring instruments used were the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, a biographical questionnaire (including questions about available resources), Study Demands-Resources Questionnaire, Health Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results of study 1 showed that the students obtained somewhat higher mean scores on engagement compared to burnout. Significant effects on burnout and engagement were made by influences that included whom the student lived with, the distance between home and university campus during studies, frequency of visits to home, employment status of parents, frequency of library use, and gender. No relationship was established for place of residence with burnout and engagement. Study 2 showed that a measure of study demands and resources for students was sufficiently reliable and valid to be used for assessment. Results showed a statistically significant relationship between each observed variable and its respective construct. A positive relationship between study resources and satisfaction with life, as well as a negative relationship between study demands and satisfaction with life were found, which provides additional evidence for the construct validity of a measure of study demands and resources. Age was significantly related to study resources and satisfaction with life. The results of study 3 showed that study demands and a lack of study resources (including the intrinsic nature of study tasks, relationships with lecturers and social support of peers) were positively associated with burnout. The availability of study resources was positively associated with psychological well-being and engagement. Burnout predicted psychological unwell-being symptoms, while engagement predicted satisfaction with life. Burnout partially mediated the relationship between a lack of study resources and psychological unwell-being, while engagement partially mediated the relationship between the availability of study resources and satisfaction with life. / PhD (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue analizar la relación entre metas académicas (de aprendizaje, reconocimiento y logro) y el cansancio emocional e identificar diferencias según sexo en 214 estudiantes (M=53% y H=47%), pertenecientes a primer (23%), segundo (21%), tercer (25%) y cuarto (31%) ciclo de universidades privadas de Lima, pertenecientes a, de la facultad de ingeniería (42%), comunicaciones (25%), ciencias de la salud (13%) y negocios (20%). Es una investigación empírica de carácter cuantitativo con una estrategia asociativa específicamente correlacional simple y otra estrategia comparativa. Los instrumentos que se utilizaron fueron el Cuestionario de Metas Académicas (CMA) y Escala de Cansancio Emocional (ECE). Los resultados mostraron relación estadísticamente significativa y directa entre las metas de reconocimiento y cansancio emocional (r = .21**, p< .05) en una magnitud débil (.10<rs<.29), por otra parte, las mujeres presentaron mayores puntajes en comparación a los hombres, siendo estas diferencias moderadas (rbis=.37) para cansancio emocional y pequeñas para metas de logro (rbis=.19). Se dedujo la importancia de educar a los estudiantes en función a la orientación de sus motivaciones con el fin de reducir la sensación de cansancio emocional, asimismo fortalecer el ámbito emocional en las mujeres para evitar el cansancio emocional que perciben. / The objective of this research was to analyze the relationship between academic goals (of learning, recognition and achievement) and emotional stress and to identify differences according to sex in 214 students (M = 53% and H = 47%), belonging to the first (23 %), second (21%), third (25%) and fourth (31%) semester of private universities in Lima, belonging to engineering (42%), communications (25%), health sciences (13%) and businesses (20%). It is an empirical investigation of a quantitative nature with a specifically correlational simple associative strategy and another comparative strategy. The instruments used were the “Cuestionario de Metas Académicas” (CMA) and the “Esacala de Cansancio Emocional” (ECE). The results showed a statistically significant and direct relationship between the goals of recognition and emotional stress (r= .21 **, p<.05) in a weak magnitude (.10 <rs <.29), on the other hand, women presented higher scores compared to men, these differences being moderate (rbis= .37) for emotional stress and small for achievement goals (rbis= .19). The importance of educating students based on the orientation of their motivations in order to reduce the feeling of emotional fatigue was deduced, as well as strengthening the emotional environment in women to avoid the emotional fatigue they perceive. / Tesis