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PubMed1993

Event-related brain potentials and psychology course mean examination grades.

Since 1965 research into the event-related brain potentials of the human electroencephalogram suggests that these EEG components are closely related to human information-processing activities. In this study were tested 21 normal adult university students (12 women, 9 men, ages 19 to 51 years) from the Alaskan subarctic, using both the auditory and visual event-related potential oddball paradigms. The event-related brain potential recordings were analyzed as explanatory variables of academic performance, as measured by the mean of a series of multiple-choice examinations covering lecture and text material. No high association between these brain electrophysiological measures and students' academic performance was observed. At best, one component explained 27.6% of the variation in mean examination grades.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Examination performance and graphological analysis of students' handwriting.

Research has yielded mixed support for graphological claims. The present study was designed to see whether specific components of students' handwriting were related to personality traits associated with achievement in written examinations. If aspects were identified that could be used to predict future academic performance, the findings would not only be of interest to graphologists but would be invaluable to both student and tutor in a teaching environment. In a blind trial, 100 handwriting samples from first-year scripts were analysed for the presence or absence of 12 graphological characteristics deemed to be relevant for academic performance, and each of these aspects was tested for association with the grade points awarded. Statistically significant differences were found for two of the 12 characteristics: "carefulness" and "constancy." Also, measurements of individual letters indicated that consistent slant was significantly associated with high grade points, whereas upright or mixed writing was not. These attributes appeared to be generally related to readability and aesthetic quality. Although such aspects might influence the grading of scripts by teachers, typed versions received similar grades to those awarded for the handwritten versions.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Defining and understanding healthy lifestyles choices for adolescents.

PURPOSE: To: (a) establish criteria for defining positive health behaviors and lifestyle; and (b) identify characteristics of adolescents who practice a healthy lifestyle. METHODS: Responses from a 1998 survey via questionnaire, of 1487 students, from a public high school, Cambridge, Massachusetts, were used to assess correlates of healthy lifestyle choices. Strict and broad assessments of healthy behaviors were defined for students: use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs; sexual behavior; attempted suicide. Whereas the "strict" criteria included only those adolescents who did not practice any of the behaviors in question, the broad criteria reflected experimentation and moderate risk-taking. The prevalence of positive behaviors was assessed by demographic and student characteristics. In addition, logistic regression models were created to predict determinants of teenagers' healthy lifestyles using both strict and broad definitions. RESULTS: Using strict criteria of healthy lifestyle, significant predictors were being female, born outside the United States, higher academic performance, and fewer stressful life events. Using a broad definition of a healthy lifestyle, significant predictors were being non-Caucasian, in the lower grade levels at the school, higher academic performance, and fewer stressful life events. In both models, peers' approval of risky behaviors negatively influenced teens' lifestyles, whereas parents' disapproval of risky behaviors was a positive influence. CONCLUSIONS: These results reinforce the importance of school, peer, and parent support of positive behaviors. It is important for public health workers and families to understand and define healthy lifestyles choices for adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A survey of adolescent dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptom frequency. A model program for prevention, detection, and treatment.

Eighty-eight female high school adolescents in two separate physical education classes were surveyed for the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms. Each group answered a questionnaire requesting age; presence, severity, and nature of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms; and course of treatment. Questions were also asked to determine the perceived impact of these symptoms on academic performance, ability to concentrate, study, or take tests, and classes missed. The results showed that the majority of the female adolescents identified dysmenorrhea and premenstrual symptoms as problems that significantly affected their academic performance and were responsible for school absenteeism. Contradictory to common belief, premenstrual symptoms in these adolescents (76 of 88, 86%) were found to be as prevalent as symptoms of dysmenorrhea (80 of 88, 91%), and most of the girls were unaware of the causes and treatments of these symptoms. Subsequently, we designed a model for use by health professionals to educate girls in self-help methods and to screen for and detect these problems.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1993

A multifactorial study of test anxiety and coping responses during a challenge examination.

Challenge examinations offer registered nurse students enrolled in our baccalaureate nursing programme the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of course content through a testing process. Successful students receive credit for the course while those who are unsuccessful must take the course to proceed in the programme. Faculty observations of registered nurse students during the challenge process suggested this testing was stressful. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine anxiety levels and coping strategies of on-campus and distance education registered nurse students at three different times during the challenge examination process. Differences between the two groups of nursing students on selected demographic variables, past academic performance, anxiety levels and coping strategies were assessed from the perspective of Folkman & Lazarus's (1984) theory of stress and coping. Significant differences were found in anxiety levels, coping strategies and past academic performance by age, marital status, employment and work setting. Several different coping strategies were used. However, problem solving was used extensively by both groups while social support was used more by the on-campus students. The results are discussed in terms of Folkman & Lazarus's theory of stress and coping, and implications for nurse educators are presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1976

Prediction of screening decisions in a medical school admission process.

To study and predict a set of screening decisions in a medical school admission process, a stratified sample (n = 864) was drawn to represent the range of applicants to the Yale University School of Medicine during a single year. A smaller sample from the following year's applicants was drawn in a similar fashion for purposes of cross-validation. Prior to the prediction of screening decisions, a set of independent variables was selected by a factor analytic procedure from credentials in an applicant's admission folder. These folder variables ranged in nature from quantitative measures of academic performance to demographic information and types of extracurricular activity. Two multivariate statistical procedures, Sonquist's Automatic Interaction Detection (AID) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), were used to predict screening decisions. Measures of academic performance and ability proved to be the most effective predictors of screening decision, as evidenced in the final AID tree and the discriminant function.

Connecticut↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Are effective teachers like good parents? Teaching styles and student adjustment in early adolescence.

This study examined the utility of parent socialization models for understanding teachers' influence on student adjustment in middle school. Teachers were assessed with respect to their modeling of motivation and to Baumrind's parenting dimensions of control, maturity demands, democratic communication, and nurturance. Student adjustment was defined in terms of their social and academic goals and interest in class, classroom behavior, and academic performance. Based on information from 452 sixth graders from two suburban middle schools, results of multiple regressions indicated that the five teaching dimensions explained significant amounts of variance in student motivation, social behavior, and achievement. High expectations (maturity demands) was a consistent positive predictor of students' goals and interests, and negative feedback (lack of nurturance) was the most consistent negative predictor of academic performance and social behavior. The role of motivation in mediating relations between teaching dimensions and social behavior and academic achievement also was examined; evidence for mediation was not found. Relations of teaching dimensions to student outcomes were the same for African American and European American students, and for boys and girls. The implications of parent socialization models for understanding effective teaching are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Not knowing that they do not know: self-assessment accuracy of third-year medical students.

PURPOSE: The development of self-regulated learning is a major focus of our problem-based learning (PBL) medical programme. Students who are unsuccessful in assessments often seem to lack insight into the standard of their own performance, yet the ability to self-assess accurately is essential for the effective self-management of learning. The aim of this project was to evaluate the accuracy of self- and peer-assessment according to academic performance. METHOD: In 2004, 175 3rd-year students undertook an integrated, case-based, short-essay, formative assessment. After the assessment they were provided with model answers and marking criteria. Students marked their own assessment paper and the paper of one of their peers. Assessment papers were subsequently marked by faculty members. The following data was available for each student: self-mark, faculty-mark, score awarded by a peer and the score that they awarded to their peer. Self-assessment and peer-assessment ability was compared to overall academic performance. RESULTS: Low-achieving students score themselves and their peers generously. High-achieving students score themselves more harshly than faculty. However, they score their peers accurately. CONCLUSION: In the 3rd year of the programme low-achieving students are unable to assess accurately the quality of their own work or the work of their peers in a formative written assessment. The PBL curriculum does not guarantee the appropriate development of self-assessment skills.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of the prevalence of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in ten-year-old children living in the Valencia metropolitan area].

The point prevalence of Attentional Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity is estimated in a random sample of 387 10-year-old children selected from the municipal census of the city of Valencia (Spain). A number of associated factors are described, along with the utilization of public health services. Diagnosis was established according to DSM-III-R criteria. The instruments used were: K-SADS-E; GAF Scale; Raven Progressive Matrices Test and Sociodemographic, Health and Services Use Information Questionnaire. Prevalence was estimated at 8.01 +/- 2.7% (mild 3.9%; moderate 3.9%; severe 0.3%). The male/female ratio was 2:1. Attentional Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity was significantly associated with low academic performance and the condition of living with only one parent. These children made use of the psychological support services with significantly greater frequency than non hyperactive children, regardless of the degree of severity or academic performance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Academic achievement in adolescent children of alcoholics.

OBJECTIVE: The current study tested whether adolescent children of alcoholics (COAs) showed poorer academic performance than did demographically matched controls, and whether such parent alcoholism effects varied as a function of heterogeneity within the COA sample. In addition, controlling for parent educational attainment, we examined whether relations between parental alcohol dependence and academic performance could be accounted for by COAs' lower levels of task orientation, heightened levels of environmental stress, lowered levels of family organization and less parental involvement in their school activities. METHOD: A sample of 221 adolescent COAs and 196 demographically matched controls (53% boys, mean [+/-SD] age = 12.7+/-1.46 years), and their parents, were included in the current study. Adolescents were selected from a larger 3-year longitudinal study in which participants were interviewed three times at annual intervals. Those who were interviewed at Time 3 and who had academic achievement data were included in the current analyses. Demographic information and diagnoses of parental alcoholism were collected at Time 1, and data on potential mediators were collected at Time 3. Academic achievement data were collected at Time 3 from school records. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses indicated that COAs received lower school grades than did their non-COA peers (mean = 2.19+/-1.08 vs 2.54+/-1.01, respectively). COAs with two alcoholic parents (mean = 1.80+/-1.17) and COAs with at least one parent diagnosed alcohol dependent (mean = 2.01+/-1.01) showed particularly low grades. Parental alcohol dependence was also associated with lower math achievement scores (mean = 48.52+/-24.68 vs 62.47+/-26.71). Evidence indicated that adolescents' task orientation mediated the relation between parental alcohol dependence and adolescent grades (indirect effect, t = -2.93, 289 df, p < .01), and between parental alcohol dependence and adolescent math achievement (indirect effect, t = -1.99, 194 df, p < .01). Adolescents' life stress did not mediate the relations of interest after controlling for task orientation. CONCLUSIONS: The current study confirmed that COAs, particularly those whose parents are alcohol dependent as opposed to having a diagnosis of alcohol abuse, achieve relatively lower academic outcomes in comparison to non-COA peers. Adolescent task orientation partially mediated the relations between parent alcohol dependence and academic achievement, indicating that academic difficulties in COAs may be partly due to impaired motivation and organization.

Achievement↗
PubMed1999

Who provides the best retrospective information while assessing adult's premorbid functioning? A methodological study in a first-admission sample with psychosis.

UNLABELLED: The present study investigates the quality of data received retrospectively from subjects in their first psychotic admission and from their relatives in comparison to school records. The sample included 161 subjects out of 309 subjects (51.4%) for whom at least part of the information about the school was received. The study showed that valuable information can be extracted from school records if done systematically. Significant other's (usually the biological mother) report more accurately on academic performance during the early school years than the subject himself. The school records did not always report behavioral and social problems reported by the subject themselves or their relatives. CONCLUSIONS: 1) For retrospective information on academic performance the school records can be considered the optimal source. When records are not available, parents, in general, provide reliable information. The respondent himself can be considered highly reliable when reporting poor grades; 2) Disruptive behaviors during the early school years are reported at high frequency by school records. Parents and respondents tend to report increasing disruptive behaviors during the middle and high school years; 3) When eliciting information about social domains it is important to obtain information from all available sources.

Achievement↗
PubMed1989

The differential validity of teacher ratings of inattention/overactivity and aggression.

The ability of school-based measures of child behavior to predict differentially the IOWA Conners teacher rating scale Inattention/Overactivity (IO) and Aggression (A) factors was evaluated in a sample of 71 school-aged boys. Multiple measures and multiple methods of assessment were utilized to provide a comprehensive assessment of social and academic behavior. These included direct observations of children in the classroom and on the playground, examination of the organization of children's desks, measures of academic performance, peer nominations of popularity and rejection, and sociometric ratings using the Pupil Evaluation Inventory. Despite moderately high correlations between the teacher rating factors (r = .60), considerable evidence was provided for differential validity on measures of academic performance, peer rating measures, and measures of disruptive or inappropriate classroom and playground behavior. These differences between IO and A factors indicated that the factors were logically independent in important ways, supporting prior work validating separate hyperactivity and aggression dimensions.

Achievement↗
PubMed1995

Integration of pharmacology into a problem-based learning curriculum for medical students.

The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to describe a method of integration of pharmacology subject matter with other disciplines, in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum employed at the Northwest Center for Medical Education (NWCME), Indiana University School of Medicine; (2) to present various evaluation methods employed to assess students' learning of pharmacology knowledge; and (3) to compare the academic performance of students who underwent a traditional curriculum versus the PBL curriculum in terms of class evaluations and the standard national board medical licensure examinations. The PBL curriculum is designed for the first 2 years of medical education and consists of six sequential steps: steps 1 and 2 deal with biochemistry and anatomy respectively; steps 3, 4 and 5 deal with physiology, neuroscience and general pathology/microbiology respectively; and step 6 is a multidisciplinary step, which integrates basic science subjects with clinical medicine, emphasizing the mechanism of disease in an organ-system approach. In the PBL curriculum students start learning pharmacology within 6 months of admission. The content and process of pharmacology are spread across the first and in the second year. The pharmacology content is divided into three segments, each of which is integrated with other basic science subjects that have maximum mutual relevance. The three segments are as follows: the general and systemic pharmacology (50%) was included in step 3; the neuropharmacology and toxicology (35%) part was included in step 4; the third segment consisted of antimicrobial agents, anticancer and antiinflammatory agents (15%) and was included in step 5. The class evaluation of student performance in the PBL curriculum consisted of two elements, the content examinations and the process evaluations, which include the tutorial and the triple-jump evaluations of problem-solving skills. In order to assess the overall academic performance of the PBL curriculum and traditional curriculum groups, three classes of students who took the PBLC were compared with three classes of students who underwent a TC for performance in terms of class grades and scores of National Board examinations (NBMEI and/or USMLE I). The PBL curriculum students performed as well as or better than the TC students as measured by the NMBEI and/or USMLE I. The gain in pharmacology knowledge of PBL students is accompanied by the presence of a positive experience that learning pharmacology is enjoyable. Our experience suggests that the segmental integration approach of instruction coupled with a system of content (internal and external examinations) and process (tutorial and triple-jump) evaluations, as outlined in this paper is a contextualized learning method that offers an effective way of imparting pharmacology knowledge to medical students.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed2004

The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students.

OBJECTIVES: An apparent increase in seriously disturbed students consulting student health services in the UK has led to concern that increasing financial difficulties and other outside pressures may affect student mental health and academic performance. The current research investigated whether student anxiety and depression increases after college entry, the extent to which adverse life experiences contribute to any increases, and the impact of adversity, anxiety and depression on exam performance. METHOD: 351 UK-domiciled undergraduates completed questionnaires one month before university entry and mid-course. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS: Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) was administered at both time points and a modified List of Threatening Experiences (Brugha, Bebbington, Tennant, & Hurry, 1985) was administered mid-course. RESULTS: By mid-course 9% of previously symptom-free students became depressed and 20% became anxious at a clinically significant level. Of those previously anxious or depressed 36% had recovered. After adjusting for pre-entry symptoms, financial difficulties made a significant independent contribution to depression and relationship difficulties independently predicted anxiety. Depression and financial difficulties mid-course predicted a decrease in exam performance from first to second year. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to confirm empirically that financial and other difficulties can increase British students' levels of anxiety and depression and that financial difficulties and depression can affect academic performance. However, university life may also have a beneficial effect for some students with pre-existing conditions. With widening participation in higher education, the results have important implications for educational and health policies.

Achievement↗
PubMed2003

Understanding adolescents' sleep patterns and school performance: a critical appraisal.

The present paper reviews and critiques studies assessing the relation between sleep patterns, sleep quality, and school performance of adolescents attending middle school, high school, and/or college. The majority of studies relied on self-report, yet the researchers approached the question with different designs and measures. Specifically, studies looked at (1) sleep/wake patterns and usual grades, (2) school start time and phase preference in relation to sleep habits and quality and academic performance, and (3) sleep patterns and classroom performance (e.g., examination grades). The findings strongly indicate that self-reported shortened total sleep time, erratic sleep/wake schedules, late bed and rise times, and poor sleep quality are negatively associated with academic performance for adolescents from middle school through the college years. Limitations of the current published studies are also discussed in detail in this review.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Worry propensity and the perception of risk.

This paper examines how the tendency to worry impacts risk estimation for an upcoming, stressful event. Students in a statistics class completed worry, anxiety, and subjective risk questionnaires on the first day of class. State-anxiety and subjective risk questionnaires were again administered immediately before their first examination. Subjects showed significant increases in anxiety and the perceived risk of poor academic performance in the class. Risk domains unrelated to the examination (e.g., physical threats) remained stable across measurement periods. Regression analysis was used to determine the independent contribution of worry propensity in predicting elevations in the perceived risk of poor academic performance. The analysis showed that worry propensity predicted subjective risk bias, even after variance attributable to current mood and trait anxiety had been removed. Results from a second series of regression equations suggested subjective risk biases partially mediated the relationship between worry propensity and current mood. These results are used to argue that the elevations in state anxiety observed when worriers are confronted with a stressful event are largely a function of risk inflation.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Psychological profiles and adolescent adjustment: a person-centered approach.

The association between young adolescents' psychological profiles and their subsequent adjustment was examined in a sample of 606 adolescents (ages 12-13) drawn from the mother-child data set of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Cluster analysis was used to identify distinct groups of youth based on self-regulation, proneness to risk, self-worth, and perceived academic competence. Five replicable clusters were identified corresponding to optimal, average, behavioral risk, low self-regulation, and emotional risk groups. These clusters were associated with distinct patterns of adjustment 4 years later. At ages 16-17, youth in the optimal group tended to report better academic performance, less problem behavior, and less depression than youth in the three risk groups; however, their functioning did not differ significantly from youth in the average group. The three risk groups differed in self-reported depression symptoms and academic performance but not in levels of problem behavior. Differences among the five groups persisted when demographic and contextual variables were controlled. These results support the existence of different groups of youth who follow distinct developmental trajectories and may experience different patterns of adjustment.

Adolescent↗