This study examined the role of stress in the persistence intentions of nontraditional community college students by surveying 244 students and interviewing 22 students at a single campus of an urban community college in the Southwest. All participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), and the Intention to Leave Questionnaire (DeLuca, 2004). From the survey group, 10 students reporting high levels of perceived stress and high intent to leave college, and 12 students reporting high perceived stress and low intent to leave college were selected for in-depth interviews. Interviews explored the stressors of traditional (ages 18-24) and nontraditional (ages 25 and older) students, compared ways high and low intent to leave college students differentially perceived and coped with stress, and examined participant knowledge and utilization of institutional support services.Survey results revealed significant differences in perceived stress between high and low intent to leave college students, and between female and male students. No significant differences were found between traditional and nontraditional students on the measure of perceived stress. Stressors for traditional and nontraditional community college students were found to be largely similar and related to external demands. Interviews revealed differences in the ways high and low intent students perceived and managed stress; with low intent students appraising stress as more of a challenge and coping through greater utilization of social support and problem-focused coping strategies, while high intent participants perceived stress as more of a threat and were more likely to report coping deficiencies and greater use of maladaptive strategies. Low intent students were highly committed to completing college despite their stress, whereas high intent students had weak goal commitment and considered leaving college to reduce stress and attend to external demands. Most participants had little knowledge of, or desire to utilize stress support services offered by the community college. The findings suggest the importance of considering appraisals of stress and ways of coping in research on the role of stress in persistence decisions. This study led to the development of eight propositions designed for further testing by community college researchers and practitioners.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 1997. / Thesis advisor(s):Terasawa, Katsuaki. "December 1997." Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-38). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 1998. / "March 1998." Thesis advisor(s): Crawford, Alice ; Ulozas, Benard. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-93). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 1998. / Thesis advisor(s): Buttrey, Samuel E. "June 1998." Includes bibliographical references (p. 55). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 1998. / "September 1998." Thesis advisor(s): Sridhar, Suresh ; Nissen, Mark E. Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-242). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 1999. / "June 1999". Includes bibliographical references (p. 93). Also available online.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Moving to a new country often involves exposing oneself to new languages and cultures. Many individuals who move to another country and acquire a new language are sometimes at risk of losing the language of their country of origin. Studies in first language (L1) loss aim to describe what happens in an individual’s L1 when he/she moves away or disconnects from its source as well as to explain which linguistic aspects change and why. The aim of this research paper is to investigate lexical proficiency in L1 German bilingual speakers residing in the Western Cape. Lexical data were elicited through a Verbal Fluency Task (VFT) and a Picture Naming Task (PNT). Particularly, the paper assesses the extent to which degree of German L1 contact influences lexical development, alongside other background factors (age of reduced L1 contact, length of residence in the L2, education level) and sociolinguistic factors (attitude towards the L1, language use and contact). Correlational analyses revealed that two types of contact factors were crucial for maintaining L1 lexical proficiency: 1) intense receptive input such as reading German books and other German visual media, and 2) exposure to German as a medium of instruction within an educational setting. Neither of these factors allow nor permit any code-switching or code-mixing and are considered to be a form of German monolingual input, thus cementing L1 knowledge and skills and proving to be beneficial for long-term language development and maintenance. Conclusions drawn from the results of the study are discussed in the final chapter and suggestions for future research are presented. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verhuising na ‘n nuwe land sluit gewoonlik blootstelling van menself aan nuwe tale en kulture in. Baie individue wat na ‘n ander land verhuis en ‘n nuwe taal aanleer, loop soms die risiko om die taal van hulle land van herkoms, te verloor. Studies in eerste taal (L1) verlies het ten doel om te beskryf wat in ‘n individu se L1 gebeur wanneer hy of sy verhuis of wegbreek van die bron asook om te verduidelik watter linguistiese aspekte verander of aanpas en waarom. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om leksikale bevoegdheid in L1 Duitse tweetalige sprekers in die Wes-Kaap, te ondersoek. Leksikale data is deur ‘n Verbale Vlotheid Taak (VFT) en ‘n Prentjie Benaaming Taak (PNT) versamel. Meer spesifiek, assesseer die navorsing die mate van die graad waartoe Duitse L1 kontak leksikale ontwikkeling beïnvloed tesame met ander agtergrondfaktore (ouderdom van verminderde L1 kontak, lengte van verblyf in die L2, onderrigvlak). Korrelatiewe analises dui daarop dat twee tipes kontakfaktore van uiterste belang was vir L1 leksikale bevoegdheid: 1) intense vatbare insette soos die lees van Duitse boeke en ander Duitse visuele media, en 2) blootsteling aan Duits as ‘n medium van instruksie in ‘n onderrigopset. Nie een van hierdie twee faktore laat enige kode-wisseling of kode-vermenging toe nie en is oorwegend ‘n vorm van Duitse eentalige tevoer, dus word L1-kennis en-vaardighede vasgelê en bewys dat dit voordelig is vir langtermyn taalontwikeling en instandhouding. Gevolgtrekkings wat van die resultate van die studie gemaak is, word in die finale hoofstuk bespreek en voorstelle vir toekomstige navorsing word aangedui.