Thesis advisor: Henry Braun / Informed by Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model and Pascarella's general model, this study explored the nature of student-athletes' engagement in educationally purposeful activities, described their engagement patterns, and revealed the relationships between student engagement factors and college outcomes by class and gender for 2596 student-athletes from 30 Division-I institutions. This research demonstrated that the NSEE Five Benchmarks constructed for the general population did not fit student-athletes. Therefore, engagement factors for student-athletes were constructed based on a subset of component items from the Five Benchmarks. Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) were then applied to National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) 2006 and the aggregated school level data from the NCAA. The research results reveal that the association patterns between engagement factors and college outcome variables Satisfaction (SA), General Education and Personal Competence (GEPC), and Personal and Social Development (PSD) across all class and gender subgroups are very similar, but differ from those for GPA. This research concludes that engagement in educationally purposeful activities is the best predictor for student-athletes' college outcomes (except GPA). The analyses also reveal that what students do on campus contributes more to their college outcomes than who they were at matriculation and which school they attend. In particular, for all outcomes, the fraction of the total variance due to between-school differences was very small and the relationships between the coefficients of school-level equations and school-level characteristics were inconsistent. The results of this study, along with other related studies, can help colleges devise strategies to better fulfill their primary obligation to create genuine educational opportunities for their student-athletes through fostering their holistic development. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on July 27, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Research indicates that college students who engage in proven educational practices associated with high levels of learning and achievement gain more from their educational experiences and have higher rates of degree completion than those who do not. Studies also indicate that community college students who transfer to senior colleges are less likely to engage in these proven educational practices than non-transfer students attending senior colleges. Participants in this research study were administered a survey developed by the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) to compare levels of engagement in five benchmark categories. All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with a general population of community college transfers students attending senior colleges and All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with non-transfer students attending senior colleges. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Independent samples t-tests were run to determine if significant differences existed in the levels of engagement between the groups. The findings of this study showed that the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winner‘s levels of engagement in each of the five benchmarks categories were higher and significantly different when compared to the other two groups. Further, the personal characteristics of the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners were analyzed to determine if there were significant differences which led to higher levels of engagement while attending senior colleges. The findings revealed that only one personal characteristic, gender, contributed to a significant difference in the level of engagement for a benchmark. Female respondents‘ level of engagement in the academic challenge benchmark was higher and significantly different compared to male respondents.

Introduction: Health, and well-being of older Canadians have been extensively studied. Less is known about health and well-being of older Canadians with disability. Study Objectives: 1) describe social participation patterns of older Canadian adults with disability; 2) determine the most commonly reported barriers for their participation in leisure and social activities; and 3) examine the independent effect of participation in leisure and social activities on their general health and life satisfaction. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Surveys (PALS) was performed. Results: A significant independent effect of participation in leisure and social activities on the positive general health and positive life satisfaction of older Canadians with disability, for both men and women, was confirmed. Conclusions: Participation in leisure and social activities is a potential venue to enhance health, and well-being of older Canadian adults with disability. / October 2016

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represent a growing category of children who have special health care needs. Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates suggest that 1 in 88 children in the United States have an ASD (CDC, 2012). Due to difficulty with communication, social skills, and restricted and/or repetitive behaviors that comprise current diagnostic criteria (APA, 2013), children with ASD require significant medical, mental health, and therapeutic supports that contribute to greater heath care utilization costs than persons without ASD (e.g., Shimabukuro, Grosse, & Rice, 2008). Therapies such as occupational, physical, and speech therapy are among recommended services provided to remediate functional or behavioral needs (Johnson & Myer, 2007). Studies investigating access to healthcare services such as diagnostic and genetic screening or primary care are frequently published in the literature; however, few studies examine access to needed therapy services. The purpose of this study was to examine population-based trends in therapy service access in children with ASD compared to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cerebral palsy (CP) using two waves of the National Survey for Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN). Additionally, this study aimed to identify predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics that predicted lack of access to therapy across the two cross-sectional points in time. Parent-reported contextual characteristics that potentially limited access to needed therapy services were compared between survey time periods (2005-06 and 2009-10). Results of this study suggest that children with ASD are significantly more likely to not receive needed therapy services than children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but are similar in their unmet need for therapy compared to children with cerebral palsy (CP). Significant predictors of an unmet need for therapy were having a current ASD diagnosis, age, uninsured status, greater functional limitation, and having a reported behavior problem. The only access problem that differentiated children from ASD from ADHD and CP was “difficulty finding a provider accepting insurance”. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use and recommendations for future research are presented.

Introduction: Teen pregnancy and teen parenting are prevalent and significant public health issues. Teen parenting also has many social and economic consequences for mother and family. Single parenthood is associated with increased financial, work and child care strains compared to a more traditional family type. Therefore, the impact of teen pregnancy on marital status needs to be investigated. This study examines the association between teen parenthood and future marital status. Methods: The 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6 was analyzed. This study included 12398 women age 20 – 44 years who had children. Teen parenthood was defined as age at first birth before the age of twenty. Marital status was dichotomized as married and other marital status. Exposure and outcome variables were examined using logistic regression modeling. Results: Women who had a child before age twenty were less likely be married compared to women who had a child at age 20 or older (OR = 2.30 [95% CI = 2.01, 2.64]). After adjusting for race, education, age at first sex and intendedness of the pregnancy, women who had a child before age 20 were less likely to be married or stay married compared to women who had a child at age 20 or older (OR = 1.35 [95% 1.19, 1.62]). Conclusions: Teen parents are less likely to be married or stay married later in life. Teens should be informed that teen parenthood is a significant risk factor for single parenthood later in life. Future studies should examine all levels of marital status as an outcome of teen parenthood. Future studies should also examine this association among fathers.

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. In 2002, the direct medical costs of unintended pregnancies were estimated to be almost five billion dollars. Moreover, women with unintended pregnancies tend to delay seeking prenatal care and making the necessary life style changes for the fetus. Subsequently, unintended pregnancies have the potential to lead to low birth weight infants and potentially poorer long-term child development. Although there are negative consequences with unintended pregnancies, repeat unintended pregnancies impose even greater health risks for both mothers and infants. To prevent unintended and repeat unintended pregnancies, family planning methods must be utilized effectively. Despite the potential risk associated with negative health outcomes of mothers and infants, repeated unintended pregnancies have not been studied extensively. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the number of unintended pregnancies and effective use of family planning methods. A secondary analysis of The National Statistics of Family Growth, cycle 6 (2002) was done. The study showed a statistically significant relationship association between the number of unintended pregnancies and effective contraceptive use after adjusting for confounders which include age, race, annual household income, marital status and types of insurance. The recommendation of this study include creating better strategies for family planning practices and the need to improving contraceptive education and service delivery for those with higher risk.

Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States (U.S.). Annually, approximately 7% of adults and 3% of children were diagnosed with depression. The rates of depression are generally high among adults, however since past decade the depression among adolescents has been increasing progressively. According to the National Comorbidity Survey, about 11 % of adolescents annually reported to have a depressive disorder by age 18 years. Several studies have been conducted to understand depression in middle-aged and older-adults, while limited studies on adolescents. 2015 Appalachian Student Research Forum Page 65 The study aimed to estimate prevalence of depression among adolescents in the U.S. and identify key factors associated with it. Methods: Data (n=44,879) was obtained from the 2012 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). In the data Depression is defined as a mental disorder, marked by loss of interest or pleasure, sadness, feeling of low self-worth along with disturbed sleep or appetite. Based on existing literature, several selected adolescent characteristics and disease outcomes were included as potential risk factors of depression including age, gender, race, asthma, diabetes, learning disability and exposure to adverse family experiences. Descriptive statistics were reported using frequencies and proportions along with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Multiple logistic regression model was performed to assess relationship of risk factors with depression in adolescents adjusting for other confounders. Results: Overall 6.4% of adolescents aged 10-17 years reported either prior symptom or current diagnosis of depression. Depression rates were 6.5% and 6.3% among male and female adolescents, 9.6%, 11.8% and 68.8% among non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites, respectively. For every one year increase in age, the relative odds of depression increased by 19% (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.17-1.21). Adolescents who reported physician diagnosis of asthma and diabetes were more likely to have depression (asthma - OR 2.22, 95%CI 2.05-2.42, diabetes- OR 3.23, 95%CI 2.45-4.25) than those who were not. In addition, those with learning disability were more likely to have depression (OR 5.56 95%CI 5.13 6.02) than those who were not. For increase in one adverse family experience, the risk of depression increased by 158.7% (OR 2.59 95% CI 2.46 2.72). Gender and race were not found to be not significantly associated with depression. Conclusion: The study illustrates that depression in adolescents is interplay between demographic characteristics, disease outcomes and personal/family experiences. Study findings help identify important etiological factors that must be considered during treatment and prognosis of depression among adolescents in the U.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 16, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-73).

Multiple issues that impact service delivery, such as changing student demographic characteristics, educational law and policy, and an increased focus on accountability for services, require school psychologists to adapt and acquire new professional skills in order to meet the needs of students and families. Continuing professional development (CPD) could help school psychologists expand their repertoire of professional skills so that they can engage in effective service delivery. The present study examined the CPD subject areas endorsed by practicing school psychologists and the relationship of those areas with selected demographic characteristics, professional practices, and employment conditions. Secondary analyses were performed using the existing 2004-2005 National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) national database. The total sample size included the responses from 1,155 practitioners. Descriptive analyses revealed that the most commonly endorsed CPD subject areas were behavioral interventions and standardized psychoeducational assessment. Logistic regression analyses indicated that selected demographic characteristic variables helped to predict participation in academic interventions and consultation/problem-solving CPD subject areas. However, no one demographic characteristic variable made a significant unique contribution to either model. Selected professional practice variables helped to predict participation in standardized psychoeducational assessment, social/emotional interventions, consultation/problem-solving, and response to intervention CPD subject areas. School psychologists who engaged in non-traditional CPD subject areas (i.e., social/emotional interventions, consultation/problem-solving, and response to intervention) were less likely to engage in professional practices related to special education (i.e., initial evaluations). Selected employment condition variables helped to predict participation in academic screening/progress monitoring and social/emotional interventions CPD subject areas. School psychologists who reported lower ratios were more likely to participate in social/emotional interventions CPD as compared to those who reported higher ratios. A statistically significant association was found between region and participation in academic screening/progress monitoring, behavioral assessment, social/emotional assessment, social/emotional intervention, response to intervention, and crisis intervention CPD. Implications of the findings are discussed within the context of previous research. Suggestions are offered for areas of future study related to the CPD activities of school psychologists.