The research in this study examined the nature of college student gambling (N=201) and whether general gaming education can influence meaningful changes in college students’ gambling attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. A group of college students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Casino Management class, received general gaming education while two comparison groups, one from the same university and one from Worcester State College, Massachusetts, did not. Assessment of the participants’ attitudes toward gambling, gambling fallacy perceptions, ability to calculate gambling odds, and gambling behaviors were examined before and after exposure to gaming education. Seventy five percent of the students surveyed as the baseline group reported gambling within the past 12 months, with a minority gambling weekly or more, or gambling large amounts of money. At the semester end, follow-up findings showed that the students who received the gaming education intervention demonstrated significant improvement in their ability to calculate gambling odds and resist common gambling fallacies. Unexpectedly however, this improved knowledge was not associated with any decreases in their gambling attitudes or time and money spent on gambling activities. The implication drawn from this research is that knowledge gained from a general gaming class, including gaining improvements in odds calculations and fallacy perceptions, may not be enough of a factor to effect significant changes in college students’ gambling attitudes and behaviors.

Thesis advisor: David Miele / This dissertation adopts a fundamental needs perspective to examine the associations between first-year students’ reasons for attending college and their well-being. It extends Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), by proposing that (a) meaning, safety, and status (in addition to autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are fundamental needs that students aim to satisfy in college, and (b) the salience of particular needs influences students’ goal-directed behavior and well-being. The first phase of the dissertation involved the development of three novel measures which were used in the second phase to explore different profiles of salient needs and their associations with college students’ experiences of need satisfaction, need conflict, and four outcome variables (GPA, intentions to persist toward graduation, psychological distress, and overall well-being).A latent profile analysis of the first wave of data (N= 512) identified three profiles based on students’ reasons for attending college: Weaker Reasons, Balanced Reasons, and Stronger Reasons. Subsequent analyses examined whether profile membership at Wave 1 predicted need satisfaction, need conflict, and the student outcomes at Wave 2 (n = 219). Results indicated that the Stronger Reasons profile was associated with higher levels of need satisfaction compared to the other two profiles, whereas the Balanced Reasons profile was associated with lower GPA and intentions to persist. Next, structural equation models were estimated to examine the relations between need satisfaction, need conflict, and the four outcomes. Results indicated that need satisfaction was positively associated with intentions to persist and well-being, but negatively related to distress, whereas need conflict positively predicted distress. Contrary to expectations, need conflict and need satisfaction were not significantly associated. Although additional research is needed to examine motivation profiles, findings from this dissertation study suggest that students attend college with different patterns of need-based motivations, and these profiles are related to important student outcomes. The dissertation also adds to the literature examining the association between need satisfaction and well-being, and suggests that need conflict is a construct worthy of additional inquiry. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore how college students reflectively describe their learning failure experiences, along with the major themes of those experiences. Through a series of in-depth interviews, four narrative cases written from the perspective of two college students were developed. These four cases were then carefully analyzed and cross-examined to generate a deeper understanding of college student learning failures. This study explored approximately 78 themes related to these four cases, which led to the development of six key components of college student learning failure experiences: Recognizing Learning Failures, Evaluating Learning Failures, Attributions for Learning Failures, Self-Discovery Through Learning Failure, Past Experience and Future Expectations, and Social Influence. These components helped to define an initial framework for guiding future research into college student learning failure experiences.

The present study examined the effectiveness of personalized alcohol feedback interventions in three different delivery formats on alcohol use and related negative consequences in a sample of mandated college students referred for alcohol-related violations. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions: an individually-delivered face-to-face intervention, a group-delivered face-to-face intervention, or a web-based electronically-delivered intervention. Given that the current study sought to modify factors associated with alcohol use, analyses were conducted using only those participants who reported alcohol use at the baseline assessment. The final sample resulted in 173 participants, 18-years-of-age and over, and consisted of 57% males (n = 98) who ranged in age from 18 to 25 years, with a mean age of 18.77 (SD = 1.08). The sample distributions in the individual, group, and electronic conditions were 53 (35 males), 72 (41 males), and 48 (22 males), respectively. Self-reported participant race was 82% White, 9% "Other", 4% Black, 4% Asian, and 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, with 91% classifying their ethnicity as Non-Latino/a. Participant class standing consisted of 69% freshmen, 21% sophomores, 6% juniors, and 4% seniors. The type of housing participants reported living in was comprised of 51% on-campus residence hall, 24% off-campus without parents, 20% university-affiliated off-campus, 2% off-campus with parents, 2% "other" type of housing, and 1% who reported living in a fraternity/sorority house. Findings revealed statistically significant reductions in alcohol use for the individually-delivered intervention, and statistically significant reductions in alcohol-related harms for the individually- and electronically-delivered interventions. No statistically significant results were found for the group-delivered intervention. This study is the first randomized clinical trial to compare an empirically supported individually-delivered personalized alcohol feedback intervention with more cost-effective group- and electronically-delivered feedback formats within a single research design. This examination also sought to add to the extant literature on mandated college students by expanding the range of participant drinking habits reported at baseline to include all drinking levels (excluding those meeting criteria for alcohol dependence), not solely those classified as 'heavy drinking,' as is the typical research convention. Additionally, given the potential demand characteristics to underreport illegal and/or illicit behaviors, this is the first study to provide mandated college students with anonymity pre- and post-intervention. Suggestions for future research, limitations of the current investigation, and implications for the development and improvement of personalized feedback interventions and of interventions aimed at mandated college students are also discussed.

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First-generation students are individuals whose parents have not attended college. These students often face challenges such as academic pressures, lack of social support, and mental health problems. Research has found that first-generation students experience a culture shock when transitioning from high school to college. These factors can impact academic success and affect overall health. This quantitative, cross-sectional study examined the impact of stress on mental health among first-generation and non-first-generation students. The study also examined if social and emotional support had a buffering effect on levels of depression, anxiety, and academic stress among first-generation college students. A survey measuring these constructs was distributed to 117 students at the University of Central Florida who consented to participate in the study in the Fall of 2023. Findings revealed that first-generation college students reported having higher levels of self-perceived stress (p < .05), anxiety (p < .01), and depressive symptoms (p < .05) than non-first-generation students. Family and peer social and emotional support served as a protective factor for first-generation students; however, family support played a larger role in reducing depressive symptoms (p < .05) and different dimensions of stress (p < .05). Study findings shed light on the need for universities to implement mental health screening and other wellness programs to address the mental health needs of first-generation students.

As a growing number of higher education institutions commit to first-generation student success, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers should aim to better understand how to deliver on promises to first-generation students within institutions and across the higher education landscape. First-generation students are a particularly important population of study due to their heterogeneity and because they comprise a large and growing share of current college-going or college-ready students. It is also important to understand how different types of institutions are supporting first-generation students, as institutional diversity is a hallmark of American higher education. This qualitative multiple case study investigates three diverse institutions—a comprehensive regional public university, a moderately selective private liberal arts college, and an elite historically Black college—and their unique approaches to enacting a stated commitment to first-generation student success. Through document analysis, interviews, and site visits, this study explores how policies and practices relate to this commitment; which institutional stakeholders are engaged in promoting first-generation student success; how institutions define, support, and measure first-generation student success; and whether enacted commitments to first-generation student success inform a broader culture of student success. In addition to investigating institutional perspectives, this study considers how first-generation students experience and perceive their institution’s efforts and explores alignments or misalignments between these two perspectives. Findings offer new insights into how distinct types of institutions—types underrepresented in research on student success—approach first-generation student success and contribute to a growing literature that takes an asset-focused, intersectional approach to understanding the experiences of first-generation students. Findings suggest that the first-generation identity, when understood in concert with students’ other identities, helps students make meaning of their college experiences. Explicitly recognizing first-generation students as a population—including by disaggregating institutional data on first-generation students—helps to ensure that institutions design programs, supports and initiatives that meet the specific needs of this population. Additionally, findings suggest that constituents—including students—across institutional contexts play important roles as cultural navigators for first-generation students and may serve as change agents who can help identify and resolve disconnects between institutional decisions and students’ experiences. Finally, the analysis suggests that approaches to student success can be rooted in an institution’s distinct culture, but institutions must work toward a holistic understanding of students’ identities, needs, and goals and dismantle biased or hegemonic practices that obscure and reinforce inequitable outcomes. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

The purpose of this pilot project was to determine the factors or supports that college graduates perceived as helping them to thrive and attempt higher education, despite having a learning disability, specifically dyslexia. Based on the literature review, this pilot study examined the four main kinds of support that most students receive while growing up; including family support, peer support, teacher support, and support from other programs and resources. The specific research question explored: What encouraged or discouraged these now adults in their pivotal growing years in regards to dyslexia? This pilot study used a mixed-methods research design which included an anonymous online survey and interview. With only one interview completed a single-case study was derived. The results of this pilot study are shared, including implications for educators and suggestions for future research. What was found is that all four highlighted sources of support played a role in the lives of the participants. The common thread that wove them altogether was socioemotional support provided by those sources.