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PubMed2002

[Prevalence of smoking and low school performance, among students 11-24 years of age in the state of Morelos, Mexico].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between self-reported academic performance and tobacco experimentation and established tobacco use among adolescents and young adults in Morelos State, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A population-based, cross-sectional study was carried out in 72 administrative areas from all 33 municipalities of Morelos State (urban, semi-urban and rural areas). A total of 13,293 adolescents and young adults aged 11 to 24 years were randomly selected from public schools. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression models were fitted with smoking habit as the dependent variable with three categories (never a smoker, occasional smoker, and regular smokers). RESULTS: The prevalence of occasional smokers was 14.9% (95% CI: 14.1-15.7) among females and 27.3% (95% CI: 26.1-28.4) among males. The corresponding figures for females and males for established smokers were 6.1% (95% CI: 5.6-6.6) and 13.1% (95% CI: 12.2-13.9), respectively. Academic performance self-reports were found to be inversely proportional to occasional or regular tobacco use. In women, the association with current tobacco consumption was 5.1 times higher (95% CI: 2.5-10.4) in women with a yearly grade average of six or less, in comparison to those with scores of ten or nine. The same pattern was observed in men (OR = 4.2; 95% CI: 2.7-6.7), with a significant linear trend both in both women and men. CONCLUSIONS: These results evidence that tobacco consumption is related to low academic performance. This relationships is determined by complex lifestyle patterns of adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction among university students.

The consequences of athletic injuries extend beyond the musculoskeletal system. Depression, anger, and tension have been observed in athletes with athletic injuries. It was hypothesized that among student athletes, the psychologic impact of injury may be seen as a drop in academic performance. Thirty-eight students who had an anterior cruciate ligament injury and subsequent reconstruction were evaluated retrospectively by academic transcript and questionnaire to measure their academic performance before their injury, in the semester of their injury, and in the semester after their surgery. The patients were compared with randomly selected undergraduate control subjects. To evaluate any effect of the timing of the surgery on academic performance, the patients were separated into two groups, according to the timing of their reconstruction: those who had surgery during the academic semester, and those who elected to wait for a school break. There was a significant drop in grade point average of 0.3 grade points during the semester of injury among all injured students. Compared with those who had surgery during a break, the students who had surgery during the semester received more frequently the grade of failure (6% versus 0%) or incomplete (33% versus 9%). These students also missed more school days (10.5 days versus 1.5 days) and examinations (2.2 examinations versus 0.1 examinations). Only 47% of students who had surgery during the semester were satisfied with their decision for surgical timing, compared with 96% satisfied with the timing during an academic break. Acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture, and surgical reconstruction during an academic semester, have a significant academic effect in university students.

Achievement↗
PubMed1979

Predicting minority student performance in the first medical school year.

Impressions and anecdotal evidence have raised concerns that traditional cognitive measures of past performance may not be predictive of the performance among minority students in medical school. This study assessed the relationship between nine objective measures and actual first year academic performance for cohorts of minority students enrolled in a single medical school between 1973 and 1976.The findings support previous impressions that objective measures together explain less than half of the variance in academic performance. Furthermore, the cumulative undergraduate college average and the competitiveness of the undergraduate college are consistently the strongest predictors of academic performance among this group.

Boston↗
PubMed1992

Severity of pediatric traumatic brain injury and early neurobehavioral outcome: a cohort study.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of pediatric disability. Its neurobehavioral sequelae can often be difficult to distinguish from premorbid problems. To establish the early neurobehavioral consequences of TBI, we compared a cohort of brain injured children with controls, individually matched on premorbid characteristics. Ninety-eight children, aged 6 to 15 years, with mild, moderate, and severe closed head injuries, were consecutively identified on presentation to two regional medical centers. Individually selected controls were matched for age, gender, school grade, behavior, and academic performance. Intellectual, neuropsychologic, and academic assessments were undertaken 3 weeks after full orientation was achieved. No significant case-control differences were found on 20 variables measuring premorbid status. The pattern of decline in performance with increasing severity of brain injury was consistent for measures assessing intelligence, memory, speeded motor performance, adaptive problem solving, and academic performance. Moderately and severely injured patients performed at normal levels in reference to standardized intellectual norms, but they showed impairment when compared with their matched controls. The impairments uncovered in this study place moderately and severely brain injured children at risk for problems in the acquisition of academic skills and higher-order cognitive abilities.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Educational provisions and learning disability.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the provisions of the Maharashtra government on the academic performance of children with specific learning disability (SpLD) at the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board examination. METHODS: The academic performance of 60 children (45 boys, 15 girls) at the SSC board examination with benefit of chosen provisions was compared with their performance at their last annual school examination before diagnosis of SpLD. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in their mean percentage (%) total marks scored at the SSC board examination as compared with the mean % total marks scored by them at their last annual school examination before the diagnosis (63.48 +/- 7.86 vs. 40.95 +/- 7.23) [mean +/- SD, mean % difference = 22.53, 95% CI = 19.8 - 25.26, P. CONCLUSION: Children with SpLD who availed the benefit of provisions showed a significant improvement in their academic performance at the SSC board examination.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The experience of transcendental meditation in middle school students: a qualitative report.

BACKGROUND: Transcendental Meditation (TM), a sitting meditation technique designed to quiet the mind and induce physical and mental relaxation, has been widely studied in adults. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to explore systematically the first-person experience of young adolescents who practice TM. DESIGN: A descriptive, qualitative study using semistructured interviews. SETTING: Middle school setting. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 10 seventh grade students who have practiced TM for a one-year period of time. RESULTS: Themes described by students resulting from meditation included the following: (1) an increasing state of restful alertness; (2) improvement in skills indicative of emotional intelligence (self-control, self-reflection/awareness, and flexibility in emotional response); and (3) improvement in academic performance. The state of restful alertness induced by meditation appeared central to facilitating growth in social-emotional capacities, academic performance, and flexibility in emotional response. The inner state of restful alertness provided students with greater capacity to expand their ways of looking inwardly at themselves and their relationships with others (emotional intelligence) as well as focusing their attention on controlling their behavior and keeping on task in school. CONCLUSIONS: Students described beneficial effects of TM: an increased state of restful alertness and greater capacity for self-reflection, self-control, and flexibility as well as improved academic performance. The state of restful alertness induced by meditation may facilitate the growth of social-emotional capacities necessary for regulating the emotional labiality and interpersonal stress of adolescence. Future empirical validation is needed to analyze systematically the impact of this practice on students' social-emotional and cognitive development and to determine whether its practice can serve as a protective function for helping students successfully meet the challenges of adolescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1973

Use and analysis of the "Good Behavior Game" to reduce disruptive classroom behavior.

A recent study reported procedures (the "good behavior game") for reducing disruptive classroom behavior. Replication of the procedures of the "good behavior game" in two classrooms showed it to be an effective technique for reducing disruptive talking and out-of-seat behavior. Further experimental analysis indicated that the effective components of the game were division of the class into teams, consequences for a team winning the game, and criteria set for winning the game. Although disruptive behavior was markedly reduced by the game, the reductions were correlated with only slightly improved accuracy of academic performance in the one classroom where academic performance was measured.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Psychosocial correlates of substance use amongst secondary school students in south western Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the psychosocial correlates of substance use among secondary school students in rural and urban communities in south western Nigeria. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of secondary school students using questionnaire eliciting substance use by students (WHO drug use questionnaire) and a well designed questionnaire on psychosocial variables. SETTING: Six secondary schools selected from two local government areas in Ilesa, Osun State, South Western Nigeria. SUBJECTS: The study population comprised 600 randomly selected senior secondary school students from six schools. RESULTS: A total of 562 questionnaires were analysed. Current stimulant use was significantly associated with lower socio-economic status, coming from a polygamous family and self-rated poor academic performance. Current alcohol use was associated with being a male, polygamous family background, living alone or with friends, not being religious and self-rated poor academic performance. Current hypnosedatives use was commoner in students living alone or with friends and in those with self-rated poor academic performance. There was also significant positive relationship between current tobacco use and the male sex, not being religious and self-rated poor academic perfomance. Lifetime use of these substances had similar association with the psychosocial variables with slight differences. CONCLUSION: The similarity between the psychosocial correlates highlighted in this study and those reported in previous studies from other parts of Nigeria makes these observations useful enough for the planning of preventive strategies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[The influencing factors on alienation in high school students].

PURPOSE: This study was performed to identify the influencing factors on alienation among high school students. METHOD: Data was collected by questionnaires from 550 students of academic and vocational high schools in G city. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULT: The scores of alienation among students in financially lower middle class and lower class were higher than those of the upper middle class students, resulting in significant differences(F=6.87, p=.00). A sense of alienation showed a significantly negative correlation with the scores of responding parenting style(r=-.32), family cohesion(r=-.33), school attachment(r=-.51), academic performance(r=-.34), peer relationships(r=-.38), self-control (r=-.43), and social skills(r=-.33). The most powerful predictor of alienation among high school students was school attachment and the variance explained was 26%. A combination of school attachment, self control, peer relationships, family cohesion, demanding parenting style, and academic performance account for 40% of the variance in alienation among high school students. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that school attachment, self control, peer relationships, family cohesion, demanding parenting style, and academic performance are significant influencing factors on alienation in high school students. Therefore, nursing strategy is needed to manage these revealed factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The relationship between premedical coursework in gross anatomy and histology and medical school performance in gross anatomy and histology.

Many premedical students enroll in courses whose content will be encountered again during their medical education. Presumably, students believe this practice will lead to improved academic performance in corresponding medical school courses. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine whether a premedical gross anatomy and/or histology course resulted in increased performance in corresponding medical school courses. A second aim of the study was to examine whether the type of premedical gross anatomy and/or histology course differentially affected medical school performance. A survey that assessed premedical gross anatomy and histology coursework was administered to 440 first-year medical students. The results from this survey showed that students with premedical gross anatomy (n = 236) and/or histology (n = 109) earned significantly more points in the corresponding medical school course than students without the premedical coursework (P < 0.05). Analysis of premedical course types revealed that students who took a gross anatomy course with prosected specimens (n = 35) earned significantly more points that those students without premedical gross anatomy coursework (P < 0.05). The results from this study suggest: 1) premedical gross anatomy and/or histology coursework improves academic performance in corresponding medical school courses, and 2) a premedical gross anatomy course with prosected specimens, a specific type of undergraduate course, significantly improves academic performance in medical gross anatomy.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Entry criteria as predictor of performance in an undergraduate nursing degree programme.

The Nursing Council of New Zealand recently reviewed the minimum standard entry criteria for acceptance into undergraduate nursing programmes. The Otago Polytechnic School of Nursing in Dunedin felt it timely to explore the relationship between academic performance and entry criteria. The School's entry criteria included a bioscience requirement, which varied from the Nursing Council criteria. This research explored the relationship between entry criteria and academic performance in the first and second year bioscience papers. The sample consisted of 619 academic records of the 1994-2002 graduates from the Degree Programme. The sample was divided into an under 20-age group (n=323) and a 20 and over group (n=296). This division related to a difference in the entry criteria for each of the groups. Chi-square and correlational analyses found a relationship between entry qualifications and students' academic performance in the two papers. The entry criteria had a stronger relationship with the students' performance in the first year bioscience paper than the second year paper. Performance in the first year was predicative of second year performance. Age was also found to be a useful predictor of grades. These findings support the School's Bioscience entry criteria and provide important information for admission committees.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Cognitive and academic functioning of homeless children compared with housed children.

BACKGROUND: During the past 10 years, the number of homeless families has increased in every region of the United States. Despite several studies of this population, there are few data regarding the cognitive functioning of these homeless children. The aim of this controlled study was to determine the effect of homelessness on cognitive and academic functioning of children aged 6 to 11 years. METHODS: Homeless children (N = 102) and their mothers living in shelters were compared with a housed group of children (N = 178) and their mothers selected from the homeless child's classroom in New York City between August 1990 and August 1992. Groups were compared using standardized cognitive and academic performance instruments. RESULTS: Controlling for child's age, sex, race, social class, and family status, verbal intelligence (estimated by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) and nonverbal intelligence (estimated by the Raven's Progressive Matrices) were not significantly different between the groups. However, academic achievement (measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised [WRAT-R]) was significantly poorer in reading, (75% of homeless children compared with 48% of housed children were below grade level), spelling (72.4% of the homeless children compared with 50% of housed children were below grade level) and arthmetic (53.6% of homeless children compared with 21.7% of housed children were below grade level). These dramatic differences in academic performance did not appear to be related to the mother's report of the number of days missed from school or the length of homelessness, but were associated with: (1) the number of school changes for the WRAT-R reading subtest and (2) grade repetition for the WRAT-R spelling subtest. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrae no difference in cognitive functioning between homeless and housed children. However, homeless children performed significantly more poorly than housed children in tests of academic performance.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1998

Older medical students' performances at McGill University.

PURPOSE: To compare admission data and academic performances of medical students younger and older than 25, and to qualify older students' experiences and perceptions in medical school. METHOD: The authors reviewed 1988-1991 data for applications to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Data included GPAs and MCAT scores, as well as ratings for reference letters, autobiographical statements, and interviews. For those same years, the authors measured students' academic performances in the preclinical and clinical years. The authors compared the data by students' age: "younger" students, aged 17 to 24; and "older" students, aged 25 and above. All enrolled students took the Derogatis Stress Profile, and the older students participated in focus groups. RESULTS: The older applicants had lower GPAs and MCAT scores, but higher interview and reference letter ratings. For older accepted students, basic science course scores were lower than those of younger students, but clinical scores did not differ significantly between the groups. The two groups had similar stress levels, although older students tested lower in driven behavior, relaxation potential, attitude posture, and hostility. In focus groups, the older students spoke of learning style differences, loss of social support, and loss of professional identity. CONCLUSION: Different scores in admission criteria suggest that McGill uses different standards to select older medical students. Older students admitted under different criteria, however, do just as well as do younger students by their clinical years. A broad-based study of admission criteria and outcomes for the older student population is warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Characteristics of graduating medical students who were matched and unmatched to hospital training posts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine similarities and differences between graduating medical students who do and do not match through the National Internship and Resident Matching Programme (NIRMP). Data from graduates of 3- and 4-year undergraduate curricula were examined separately. A two way analysis of variance was used; the two independent variables were (1) whether the student was a 3- or 4-year medical graduate, and (2) the students' matched vs unmatched status. The dependent variables used in this study were in the following five categories: (1) demographic and academic performance upon entrance to medical school, (2) academic performance during medical school, (3) future practice preferences projected during medical school, (4) internship/residency choices, and (5) clinical performance during internship/residency. On the basis of the data presented, it is clear that there are few differences between matched and unmatched students that could be detected in over seventy-five measures examined. Within the unmatched group, however, the 3-year graduates differ in some respects from their 4-year colleagues. It is likely, therefore, that a different constellation of factors appears to be operating in these two unmatched groups but not within the matched groups.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1972

The noneffects of contingent reinforcement for attending behavior on work accomplished.

Past studies have shown that disruptive behavior can be eliminated and attending behavior accelerated in an academic setting. The relationship between these behaviors and academic performance is not well understood. The effects of behavioral and performance contingencies on classroom behavior and on academic performance were investigated. The subjects, third-grade students from an inner city elementary school, were exposed to a series of conditions including baseline, behavior contingencies, performance contingencies, and a mix of behavior and performance contingencies using a reversal design. The students worked 100 randomly selected mathematics problems for 20 minutes each day during each period. Behavioral contingencies improved attending and decreased disruptions but did not improve performance. Performance contingencies increased per cent correct problems but attending declined and disruptions increased. The combined contingencies increased both performance and attending. The experiment was replicated with another class of children varying the sequence of conditions and the amount of token reinforcement that could be earned. The findings emphasized the importance of designing specific contingencies for specific target behaviors. Behavioral contingencies did not have the positive effect on performance often implied, nor were performance contingencies alone able to maintain acceptable classroom behavior.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

School performance in a longitudinal cohort of children at risk of maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has suggested that child maltreatment is associated with poor school performance. However, previous studies have largely been cross-sectional or, if longitudinal, have had small sample sizes, short follow-up periods, or have not adequately controlled for confounders. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between child maltreatment and school performance in a cohort of children at risk of maltreatment and followed since birth. METHOD: This prospective study followed children born at risk for maltreatment with semi-annual reviews of the North Carolina Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect. At ages six and eight years, children's teachers were surveyed using the Achenbach Teacher Report Form and project-developed questions regarding peer status. This information, along with control variables from maternal interviews, was used in logistic regression models to determine the impact of maltreatment on academic performance, peer status, and adaptive functioning. The generalized estimating equations (GEE) method was applied to adjust variance estimates for within-person correlations of school performance measures at two points in time. RESULTS: A substantiated maltreatment report is significantly associated with poorer academic performance (p < 0.01) and poorer adaptive functioning (p < 0.001) but not with peer status. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the consequences of maltreatment, including poor academic performance and adaptive functioning, is important in planning educational, health, and social service interventions that may help abused or neglected children succeed in school and later in life. Longitudinal analysis is the best way to establish a causal relationship between maltreatment and subsequent school problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed1996

The influence of peer affiliation and student activities on adolescent drug involvement.

This study examined the importance of students' academic performance level and extracurricular activities as predictors of drug involvement relative to peer influence. Social development theory provided the theoretical rational for the study. Data were obtained from 2,229 randomly selected students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades from seventeen school districts in northeastern Ohio. At all three grade levels, involvement in extracurricular activities and academic level were significantly correlated with students' gateway and hard drug use. Consistent with prior research, the strongest correlate of gateway and hard drug use across all grade levels was affiliation with drug-using friends. Having a job after school was marginally related to self-reported gateway drug use at grade level ten. Multiple regression analysis revealed that extracurricular involvement and academic performance level make small, but unique contributions to the prediction of adolescents' gateway drug use beyond affiliation with drug-using peers at all three grade levels. The findings of this study suggest that students' academic performance and extracurricular involvements are significantly related to adolescent gateway and hard drug use, but have less predictive significance relative to peer relationships.

Achievement↗
PubMed2003

Psychosocial adaptation of immigrant Greek children from the former Soviet Union.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess psychiatric disorders in, and the psychosocial adaptation and academic performance of, children of immigrant families of Greek origin from countries of the former Soviet Union. METHOD: At a preliminary stage, all immigrant children (276) aged 8-12 years attending 22 schools in a working-class suburb of Athens were assessed by their teachers in terms of behaviour and academic performance. They and their families had migrated to Greece within the previous three years. A matching control group of native children (251) attending the same schools and classes was also assessed. For an in-depth assessment of psychopathology and social adaptation, 65 immigrant and 41 native children were randomly selected from the two larger groups and were further assessed. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed between the immigrant and native children in terms of psychopathology and social adaptation, although a few differences were observed in subscales. However, there were significant differences between the groups in academic performance, that of the immigrant group being poorer, particularly in language-related areas (p < 0.01). In the light of these results, language enrichment classes are suggested for immigrant children who need them.

Child↗