The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship of-hardiness, a personality characteristic composed of the elements control, challenge, and commitment, to health behavior practices among a midwestern university faculty and staff. The hypothesis of the study was there is a negative correlation between scores on the Health Related Hardiness Scale (HRHS) and the HealthPromoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) among university faculty and staff. Prior to conducting the study, approval of the university internal review board was obtained. Using a random numbers table and the university faculty and staff phone directory, a random sample of 100 participants was obtained. The participants were sent the Health Related Hardiness Scale (HRHS) to measure hardiness, the HealthPromoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) to measure health behaviors, a demographic questionnaire, and an addressed return envelope. Confidentiality of the participants was assured. Returned questionnaires implied consent to participate. The completed forms were returned to the researcher by campus mail in the envelope provided. Seventy-three questionnaires were returned; 50 could be used for analysis. The Pearson's r was used to analyze the data and tested at the 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed r = - 0.5473 with.R<0.001. The hypothesis of the study was supported. Post hoc analysis using the Pearson's r revealed negative correlations with varying degrees of significance between the three subscales of the HRHS and the six subscales of the HPLP. The information obtained from the study is valuable to nursing in planning educational and supportive strategies for a variety of clients in various settings. / School of Nursing

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between comfort food preferences of college faculty when under normal (non-stressful) and stressful conditions. Thirty-four percent (n=63) of the participants were males and 66 percent (n=121) were females. Sixty-seven percent (n=123) experienced a change in appetite when stressed, with 69 percent (n=85) experiencing an increase and 31 percent (n=38) experiencing a decrease in appetite. Participants chose a significantly wider variety of foods when under stressful conditions for both sweet (p=<.001) and salty/crunchy food categories (p=.004). High restrained eaters chose significantly more types of sweet foods (p=.031) and beverages (p=.020) than low restrained eaters when comparing stressful and normal conditions. These findings suggest the majority of adults may experience changes in appetite with stress, specifically an increased appetite, and may choose more types of sweet and salty/crunchy foods. An individual's restraint level, gender, and age may also play a role in comfort food choice. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences