While insulin omission has been found to be a common behavior in those with type I diabetes, it has been primarily studied within the context of disordered eating behavior. Previous research supports medical providers and patients lack of comfort in discussing insulin omission. This study was designed to answer two questions. Why do young adult college students with type I diabetes omit insulin? and what factors facilitate and act as barriers to open communication regarding insulin omission in the patient-provider interaction. A total 13 (10 females, 3 males) college students completed a qualitative interview focused on insulin omission and communication of this behavior to medical providers, and 11 of the 13 completed a modified EAT-26. Using consensual qualitative research methods CQR (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997), domains that emerged were reasons for insulin, predominant reason for insulin omission, motivators to give insulin as prescribed (i.e., adhere), overall communication of insulin omission to medical providers, and factors facilitating and barriers inhibiting communication regarding insulin omission to medical providers. Typical reasons for insulin omission included forgetting or delaying and forgetting, worrying about hypoglycemia and its social implications, being in situations where limited access to food/medical supplies, planning to be physically active, or being unsure of carbohydrate count in food. Insulin omission as a weight loss behavior was not reported by any of the participants during the interviews and all denied using insulin as a way to control their weight or shape on the EAT-26. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study analyzes the nature of pre-service teachers’ conceptual models of various electromagnetic phenomena, specifically electrical current, electrical resistance, and light/matter interactions. This is achieved through the students answering the three questions on electromagnetism using a free response approach including both verbal and pictorial representation. The student responses are then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively utilizing a multi-tiered approach. These analyses include epistemological representation, misconceptions, correct conceptions, and the impact of high school physics exposure on student conceptions. This study is unique in three primary respects; the free response questionnaire approach, a subject group that consists of pre-service teachers, and a primarily female demographic. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

Although growing evidence suggests that relational victimization is harmful to children as it occurs and shortly after, less is known about the potential long-term effects. The present study develops and validates a retrospective measure of childhood relational victimization experiences. A model is tested of the relations between childhood relational victimization experiences and early parental attachment quality on early adult psychological and social adjustment factors such as peer attachment quality, loneliness, and social anxiety, as mediated by rejection sensitivity. It has been proposed that early parental attachment quality, mediated by rejection sensitivity, may largely impact adult functioning (Downey, Khouri, & Feldman, 1997), but childhood relational victimization may also affect this psychosocial functioning. The Retrospective Relational Victimization Questionnaire (RRVQ) was developed and validated for this study to measure past relational victimization experiences. The primary study used structural equation modeling to assess a primary model of how both childhood parental attachment quality and relational victimization contribute to the experience of rejection sensitivity and in turn affects early adult functioning. A comparison is made with an alternative model which included only early parental attachment as a predictor of early adult adjustment. The RRVQ was found to be a reliable and valid measure of college students’ retrospectively recalled childhood relational victimization experiences. Neither the primary nor the alternative model was found to be well-fitting; however, additional exploratory results suggest that both early parental attachment and relational victimization experiences are significantly associated with current rejection sensitivity, while early relational victimization is somewhat more associated with current adult peer attachment, loneliness, and social anxiety than is early parental attachment. Educational, clinical, and research implications are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a study abroad experience on levels of ethnocultural empathy and global-mindedness. Now more than ever, universities are being asked to provide concrete evidence about the effectiveness and outcomes of studying abroad. Participation in study abroad programs has continued to substantially increase over the past decade, resulting in a higher demand of such international programs at universities (IIE, 2004). A sample of 76 university students completed the following measures: demographics questionnaire, Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy, and Global-Mindedness Scale. It was hypothesized that students who study abroad would exhibit higher levels of both pre- and post-test ethnocultural empathy and global-mindedness. It was also expected that participants with previous experience abroad would have higher levels of both pre- and post-test ethnocultural empathy and global-mindedness. Results indicated that levels of ethnocultural empathy and global-mindedness did not differ based on the study abroad, diversity class, or control group, but that scores on both measures increased from the pre- to post-test for both the diversity class and the control group. Results for the study abroad group remained the same between the pre- and post-test for both measures. Despite the fact that this study had no significant findings, it has provided groundwork for future research regarding study abroad experiences, ethnocultural empathy, and global-mindedness. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-206). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-206). Also available on the Internet.

Although student enrolment at South African universities has significantly increased over recent years; student retention and graduation rates remain low, while student dropout rates are high, especially among historically disadvantaged students. One reason for the low student academic success is poor academic performance which is, in part, influenced by a variety of psychosocial constructs. The present study examined the influence and predictability of the psychosocial constructs of help-seeking, academic motivation, self~ esteem, academic overload, perceived-stress, test~anxiety, self~efficacy and perceived social support on students' adjustment and academic performance at university. The current study had four distinctive aims seeking to aid in addressing the current situation: firstly, to identify the relationship between psychosocial constructs, adjustment and academic performance. Secondly, to replicate an earlier model with psychosocial constructs proposing that a partially mediated model is preferred in explaining students' adjustment and academic performance at university- compared to a direct or totally mediated model. Thirdly, to theoretically and empirically extend and test an extended model of psychosocial constructs to explain students' adjustment and academic performance at university. Fourthly, to test for and identify possible group differences among the psychosocial constructs; as well as to establish if students' gender, age and residence status functioned as moderator variables. The present study was conducted at the historically disadvantaged University of Fort Hare. The number of participants was 280 and included first and second-year undergraduate students. Path analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses of the present study. Results partially supported previous findings with regard to relationships between psychosocial constructs, adjustment and academic performance; they also confirmed that a partially mediated model is preferred to explaining students' adjustments and academic performance at university; results showed that the additional constructs oftest-anxiety and self-efficacy increased the explained variance of an extended model to predict students' success at university; and identified some path differences between psychosocial constructs, adjustment and academic performance. It is recommended that universities focus on psychosocial factors as well as students' overall adjustment and well-being as it impacts on their academic performance capabilities. It is further recommended that psychosocial factors are incorporated into existing, or at least considered for, new or enhanced student development, support and intervention initiatives. These university services could be administered and implemented by training existing academic staff along with help from university counselling centres or psychology departments. An integral part of any intervention or support program should be the teaching of coping skills or strategies as well as the incorporation of graduate students to assist and help students adjust to university in order to perform well academically. / Psychology / Ph.D (Psychology)

M.Ed. / Die algemene daling in nasionale slaagsyfer van matrikulante oor die laaste paar jaar was 'n bron van kommer vir die navorser. Die uitslae van sekondêre skole in die Newcastle-distrik van KwaZulu-Natal was besonder kommerwekkend. Daar is skole met gereelde goeie prestasies, maar ook skole wat swak presteer. Dit was dus nodig om die faktore wat die akademiese uitslae van die graad 12 leerders van hierdie distrik beinvloed, na te vors. `n Literatuurstudie het getoon dat daar (hie kategoriee faktore is wat akademiese prestasie in graad 12 beinvloed: • individuele eienskappe (kenmerkende eienskappe); • skoolverwante faktore; en • nie-skoolverwante faktore. Na aanleiding van hierdie opname is 'n gestruktureerde vraelys met 58 gerigte items opgestel. Die persepsies van prinsipale en senior-leerkragte is gepeil ten opsigte van die mate waartoe elke item die akademiese prestasies van graad 12 leerders in hul skole kan beivloed. Goeie terugvoering is ontvang naamtik 79,22% van die vraetyste was vir analises bruikbaar. Hierdie data is deur die Statistiese Konsultasiediens van die Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit verwerk. Die eerste faktor analitiese prosedure van die data het agt faktore geidentifiseer. 'n Tweede faktor analitiese prosedure het net twee faktore gelewer: die Versterkers (53 items) van akademiese prestasie en die Inhibeerders (stremmende invloed) (5 items) op akademiese prestasie.

M.Ed. (Tertiary and Adult Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

The problem in this investigation is retention of nursing students. The purpose is to identify, describe, and analyze existing relationships between satisfaction with college, academic achievement, and goal commitment for nursing majors in a baccalaureate nursing program that has high retention. Data were collected using two survey instruments and student grade-point averages.