Prior studies indicate a link between poor academic performance and e-cigarette use in high school students (18 years and below). However, the effect of post high school education on e-cigarette use is poorly summarized in literature. The objective of the current study was to determine if there was a difference in prevalence of past 30-day e-cigarette use in a national sample of young adults due to different educational levels. Four groups of young adults were studied based on their level of education: High School Dropouts, High School Graduates/GED, Current College Students, and College Graduates. Data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study was used to assess the association between educational attainment and e-cigarette use in young adults (ages 18-24). Relative e-cigarette use was measured via a survey, along with other control variables, across the four groups. Common factors affecting use across each educational attainment group were also analyzed. It was found that e-cigarette use tended to decrease as educational attainment increased among young adults. That is, higher levels of education seemed to be a protective factor against e-cigarette use when controlled for other factors. This study expands past research on this topic to include young adults as they transition from adolescents to adults. Prior studies established a link between academic performance at the same educational level (high school). This study indicates a difference in e-cigarette use between different educational levels. This study also differentiates between e-cigarette use among High School Dropouts and High School Graduates/GED.

The purposeof this study is to determine the effect of the socio-economic status of the homes of sixth-grade pupils on their arithmatic attainment. It also aims to point out the effect of social and economic factors of home environment on each of the four arithmatical abilities through a critical analysis and interpretation of the data.

A growing body of research has addressed the relationship between religiousness and spirituality. In addition, recent research focuses on the variations in definition and operationalization of the two concepts. Most of this literature examines spirituality as a construct under religion. Conceptualizing those who are spiritual but non-religious has received far less attention. This study uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to assess the relationship of those who are spiritual but not religious with education and a number of socio-demographic variables. The analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between one identifying as someone who is spiritual but secular and educational attainment. Directions for future research are discussed.

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Using the perspectives of social capital theory (Coleman, 1988) and life course theory (Elder et al., 2003), this study examined how economic capital and particular dimensions of the parent-adolescent relationship predicted educational outcomes. The economic capital variables were family income, parent education, and parent occupational prestige. Relationship capital variables included: closeness to parents, expectations for schooling, parental values, and parent trust. The three economic capital variables, expectations for schooling, and parent trust all significantly predicted final GPA and educational attainment. However, parent-adolescent closeness and parental values did not predict educational outcomes in the overall model. This study extended research in the field by examining both final GPA and educational attainment as educational outcomes. By using a nationally representative sample and four time points of data collection, this research was able to explore how various forms of capital predict early adulthood educational outcomes. / Master of Science

The general aim of this thesis was to extend knowledge of the interplay between self-regulation (SR) skills during childhood in relation to academic achievement and later adult educational and occupational attainment. Previous research has shown that cool SR (i.e., cognitive) is more closely linked to academic achievement than hot SR (i.e., motivational/emotional). However, studies investigating both cool and hot SR in relation to academic achievement have been restricted to young children. Therefore, Study I assessed cool and hot SR in relation to academic achievement over a longer time period. The results showed that cool SR at age 3 was related to achievement already at age 6. Hot SR at age 3 did not predict achievement until later on in elementary school. Study II investigated the contribution of interference control and attention skills at age 6 to concurrent and later academic achievement at age 10. As the learning material becomes increasingly more complex throughout elementary school and teachers may give less support, interference control was expected to have a delayed effect on academic achievement relative to attention skills. Results showed that attention skills were related to academic achievement at age 6, whereas interference control only predicted academic achievement at age 10. Study III investigated task persistence in young adolescence in relation to academic achievement later in school and educational and occupational attainment in midlife. Results showed that task persistence contributed to change in grades between ages 13 and 16. Further, task persistence predicted later educational and occupational attainment (men only). Importantly, individual differences in intelligence, motivation, social background, and later educational attainment did not account for these effects. The findings point to a fundamental role of self-regulation in childhood for successful academic achievement and later attainment in adulthood. / At the time of doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript.

There is an increasing interest in the life outcomes of youth that are exposed to community violence. Previous research has found that community violence has a direct effect on youth development. It has also shown that there are economic costs for communities that have high levels of community violence. Thus far, the literature on youth in these areas has focused on protective factors such as school connectedness, family connectedness, religion and positive life outcomes. There is little research on the affects of mentoring on life outcomes for individuals that were exposed to community violence during adolescence. This study explores mentoring as a mediating variable that promotes positive life outcomes by analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health studies. A nested multiple regression model was used to evaluate the data. The results show that individuals with mentors are more likely to be civically engaged during young adulthood.

The primary purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which educational expectations contribute to educational attainment for different subgroups of youth using a model of educational attainment that draws from two theoretical frameworks – status attainment theory and the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. This combined model of educational attainment posits that certain factors contribute to attainment, including SES, achievement, self-concept of ability, educational values, and educational expectations. A within-subject fixed-effects approach is used in all of the models tested to address issues of endogeneity. Empirical findings suggest that expectations may not influence attainment for African American youth and youth from low-SES families. In the present study, the relations of expectations for attending college to the amount of education attained are investigated for African American and White youth and for youth from high and low SES backgrounds. Although there is no evidence suggesting that expectations contribute to attainment differently for males and females, research suggests that the link between achievement and self-concept of ability may differ by gender. Overall, the data support the hypotheses that: a) educational expectations predict educational attainment for each subgroup assessed; and b) educational values and self-concept of ability are precursors of this relation. However, the association between achievement and self-concept of ability is not statistically different for males and females. The results of this study suggest that expectations are important for attainment irrespective of race, socio-economic status, and gender differences. Because such similarities have not previously been reported in the literature, this study makes a unique contribution and may serve as a guide for future investigation. / text