The purpose of this study was to assess male college students’ use of condoms, reasons for using condoms, their attitudes toward sexuality, and their attitudes toward condoms. The sample consisted of 305 male students who completed a questionnaire consisting of informational items (assessing class standing, marital status, reasons for using condoms, number of recent sexual partners, and intention to use condoms), the Sexual Opinion Survey, and the Attitude Toward Condoms Scale. The scores on the Attitude Toward Condoms Scale ranged from extremely negative to extremely positive, but the mean was close to the middle of the scale. The item correlation between the Attitude Toward Condoms Scale and the Sexual Opinion Survey was calculated to be .07 or no correlation, this implies there is no relationship between attitude toward sexuality and attitude toward condoms. A mild negative correlation (-.42) was noted between the Attitude Toward Condoms Scale and the item that stated "If you have intercourse in the next month, do you intend to use condoms?" The implications of these findings for increasing condom usage and recommendations for future research were discussed. / Master of Science

Factors that affect perceived social support in gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) college students, including expectations concerning disclosure of sexual minority orientation, perceived family support, and perceived supportiveness of school environment are discussed. GLB identity formation and stigmatization are reviewed. Perceived social support, counselor support/working alliance, and sexual orientation were assessed with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Working Alliance Inventory — Short Form (WAI-S) and a modified Kinsey Scale respectively. The implications that variation in each of these factors may have in relation to perceived social support and mental health counseling of GLB college students were considered after data were collected and analyzed. Findings indicate that little difference in perceived social support exist between GLB and heterosexual college students, in perceived social support in counseling relationships, or between genders in the GLB student population. Findings indicate that a significant difference in perceived social support exists between those GLB students who have disclosed their sexual orientation status one year or longer ago and those GLB students who had not disclosed their sexual orientation at all or less than one year ago. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

"Since 'religious adjustment is part of the person's total adjustment,' the writer believes that an investigation of the nature of the religious problems which trouble college students might be of some value to those who are concerned with the satisfactory life relationships of undergraduates. The writer also believes that a knowledge of the sources which students seek for help with their religious problems might contribute to a better understanding of students as they attempt to adjust to encountered difficulties. Consequently, the present investigation was undertaken to discover the nature of the religious problems of undergraduate students at Florida State University and to determine the sources sought by students for help with such problems. No attempt was made to find the cause of any problem nor the reason for the absence of problems. No evaluation of the effectiveness of the counseling which students indicated they had received was attempted"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "March, 1952." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: H. F. Cottingham, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-75).

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Background: The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of Chiropractic students towards research at Durban University of Technology (DUT). The Chiropractic profession has made significant progress with regard to the production of high quality and clinically relevant research (Newell and Cunliffe, 2003; Hawk et al, 2008) and the continuation of this research effort will be the responsibility of the graduates that constitute the future profession (Newell and Cunliffe, 2003). Furthermore Cull, Yudkowsky, Schonfeld, Berkowitz and Pan (2003) state that the greatest predictor of this is a positive attitude, therefore it is essential to establish the present attitudes amongst the students. Method: The study was a quantitative questionnaire based, self administered, attitudinal survey. The sample group included all the Chiropractic students registered at DUT (n=185). Results: There was a response rate of 74,59%. The results indicated that on average students thought that the research subjects and courses taught at DUT were not interesting and that they did not adequately prepare them to perform research. The majority of the students felt that the research process was completely vague to them and that they felt insecure about their knowledge of research methodology. It was evident that students thought that DUT staff members placed a great emphasis on research and that they were easy to approach with regards to research. The area of greatest concern was that although students thought that the student researcher relationship was of great importance, they indicated that it was difficult to find a supervisor and they also indicated that inadequate supervision had delayed their research progression. For the most part students thought that research was important and they enjoyed listening to and reading research. However, only slightly positive scores were recorded when students were asked if they wanted to do research in the future, as they felt it was difficult and time consuming. Conclusion: Many factors were significantly associated with positive attitudes towards research at DUT and the strongest correlation between scales was between the importance of research and positive feelings towards research (r=0.713). Most students felt research was important and that it made them more knowledgeable however, if given the choice they would study at an institute where research was not mandatory. / Durban University of Technology

This cross-cultural study used the "Attitudes Toward Rape Victims Survey" (ARVS), designed by Ward (1984), to examine the attitudes of college students in New Zealand and the United States. The instrument (ARVS) is the first of its kind to test for victim blame, and the first to be limited to the assessment of attitudes toward the rape victim specifically. Subjects were 205 students from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, and 508 students from the University of Arizona, Tucson. The survey responses were analyzed to determine cultural differences in attitudes, according to gender and age. Findings would suggest that the United States students were more sympathetic toward the rape victim, less likely to believe traditional rape myths, and more ready to assign male responsibility for the assault than were New Zealand students. New Zealand women appeared less aware of the implications of sexual assault than both United States men and women, and New Zealand men. New Zealand men demonstrated greater awareness than United States men. Older students in both countries tended to be more conservative in their responses than were the younger students. Although there was a significant cultural difference according to age and gender, scores were consistently low for each sample, indicating a general acceptance of traditional rape myths and a continuing tendency to assign to women the responsibility for sexual assault. Several conclusions were drawn from the data analysis. There is a significant cultural difference in attitudes toward the female victim of rape, between New Zealand and United States college students, according to age and gender. However, both cultures retain a strong belief in traditional rape myths. Responses to the ARVS seem to support the views of current theorists: that attitudes toward rape and incidence of rape are culturally predisposed by factors such as domination and aggression in men, passivity and submission in women, fear of the "feminine," and stereotypic sex roles. It is recommended that more research be undertaken on cross-cultural attitudes toward rape victims.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify college students' visual perceptions of obese individuals and to identify any differences that may exist due to gender or body build of the subject. The subjects who participated in this study were students randomly chosen from a beginning counseling psychology course at Ball State University. One hundred subjects volunteered to complete the necessary testing for this thesis. A cross tabulation and Chi Square analysis of gender and somatotype preference found significant differences in that female subjects chose to interact less often with endomorphs than did the male subjects. The differences between the subject's somatotype and somatotype preference were found to be insignificant. / Institute for Wellness

This study has presented insights into emotional perceptions surrounding ethical practices in the public relations field. The evidence resulting from the Q-sort process alluded to the grouping of practitioners as Truth Seers and students as Pragmatists. The Truth Seers revealed complete, balanced and consistent feelings identifying truth as the primary motivation for personal decision making. The Pragmatists were conversely found to believe that while truth was the basis of decision making, it was often necessary to make decisions or be confronted with moral choices that were not the most ethical out of necessity of circumstance. These groupings were general and did not apply toward all of the students or practitioners who participated. No definitive partition was established only a general theory. / Department of Journalism

The literature surrounding individual trade policy preference has traditionally relied on economic self-interest as the impetus for opinion formation. However, every survey-based study has observed a significant and baffling gender bias, with women being consistently more likely to oppose international trade than their male counterparts. One explanation for this phenomenon focuses on the specialized, economic training required to understand the complex subject of international trade. This study uses a unique sample of undergraduate students from Ball State University, stratified by academic department. The survey instrument is aimed at comparing departments that emphasize economic training with those that do not and how this effects the individuals trade policy preferences. The results show that controlling for economic training eliminates the significance of gender in predicting trade policy preference. / Department of Sociology

As funding cuts increase (Field, 2011), there are more large lecture classes. One challenge faced by instructors of large lectures is formatively assessing all students in a timely manner. Student Response Systems, also known as “clickers,” provide a way for instructors to gather formative feedback from their students efficiently and effectively. The present study, guided by the General Model of Instructional Communication (Katt et al., 2009), examines the effect of clickers on instructor communicative traits in a large lecture setting. Using Structural Equation Modeling, analysis shows that perceptions of learning and engagement through clickers are related to perceptions of instructor communicative traits of socio-communicative style, caring, and nonverbal immediacy, as well as student affective and cognitive learning. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Department of Communication Studies

The purpose of this qualitative, in-depth interview, study was to understand the experiences of heterosexual male Resident Assistants (RAs) from a gendered perspective taking into account their leadership position and identity development. The significance of this particular topic is underrepresented in literature. Heterosexual male RAs have not been subjects for most masculinity studies and little research actually has considered the identities of heterosexual men as gendered individuals. Therefore, heterosexual males in a compassionate leadership position may suffer from being ignored and dismissed as not having developmental situations imposed upon them directly by this position. The results of this study include an understanding of how heterosexual male RAs identify their masculinities and the pressures they feel from societal gender norms. Implications include suggestions for how to advocate for male RAs and improve training to promote greater success for heterosexual men. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community. / Department of Educational Studies