Social stigma and negative consequences: factors that influence college students' decisions to seek testing for sexually transmitted infections

College students often delay or avoid seeking testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), even if the services are readily available. We used in-depth, semistructured interviews to survey 41 college students aged 18 to 23 years about factors that influence decisions about STI testing. We grouped statements into 9 themes that represent influences on the decision. The most frequently mentioned factors were negative consequences of testing and perceived vulnerability to infection; other issues that influenced decision making included perceived benefits, perceived severity of diseases, public knowledge and opinion, social norms, provider characteristics, test-site characteristics, and personal considerations. Social stigmas and negative consequences appear to represent significant barriers to college students' being tested, which could increase the risk of spreading infections to others. Clinicians and health educators should raise students' awareness of the need for screening and should work to reduce the barriers to screening, including social stigmas and negative consequences.     

A Teaching Framework for Transformative Multicultural Social Work Education

Abstract

A major challenge in multicultural social work education is fostering meaningful learning experiences for students by matching educational methods and content to students' individual learning needs and characteristics. Building upon transformative learning theory developed by Jack Mezirow, this paper proposes a teaching framework for transformative multicultural social work education that addresses students' individual learning needs and characteristics. This framework uses the dimensions of cultural knowledge and cultural sensitivity to represent four potential stances of cross-cultural learning in students. The paper provides a detail discussion regarding the learning needs and learning foci of students at each stance, and useful teaching strategies and activities that enhance students' transformative learning process so that they develop integrative knowledge about self and others in a dynamic multicultural society from multiple perspectives.     

Perceived consequences of hazing exposure during the first year of college: Associations with childhood victimization

Objective: This study investigates the association between histories of childhood victimization and perceived consequences of college hazing. Participants: First-year college students at four US universities (N?=?120). Method: Participants completed Web-based surveys asking about childhood victimization (eg, child maltreatment), peer victimization, and perceived consequences of hazing during college. Results: Results indicated that college students with childhood victimization histories perceived hazing to be negative. In particular, physical dating violence and a greater total number of childhood victimization exposures were related to a higher number of perceived negative consequences. Conclusion: Past victimization exposures confer risk on college students who experience hazing, in that these students are more likely to perceive negative consequences of hazing. Hazing-related policies and outreach efforts should consider these potential negative consequences, and counselors should be aware of the link between past victimization and how hazing might be experienced.     

Peer,social media,and alcohol marketing influences on college student drinking

Objective: To investigate how alcohol marketing and peers may promote college students' alcohol use through social media. Participants: College students (N = 682) aged 18 to 22 years from a large Southern university completed paper surveys in April 2014. Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to investigate relationships among variables as well as moderation by gender and race. Results: Drinking behavior was directly related to perceived norms and attitudes toward alcohol that develop, in part, from direct and indirect interactions with their online and offline peers, as well as engagement with alcohol-related content on social media. Gender and ethnicity moderated some effects. Conclusions: College student drinking is influenced by friends' alcohol-related content posted on social networking sites and by greater engagement with traditional and online alcohol marketing. College campus alcohol misuse interventions should include components to counter peer influences and alcohol marketing on social media.     

What “likes” have got to do with it: Exposure to peers' alcohol-related posts and perceptions of injunctive drinking norms

Objective: Examine 1) whether observed social reinforcements (i.e., “likes”) received by peers' alcohol-related social media posts are related to first-year college students' perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors; and 2) whether associations are moderated by students' alcohol use status. Participants: First-year university students (N = 296) completed an online survey in September, 2014. Method: Participants reported their own alcohol use, friends' alcohol use, perceptions of the typical student's approval for risky drinking, and ranked 10 types of social media posts in terms of the relative numbers of “likes” received when posted by peers. Results: Observed social reinforcement (i.e., “likes”) for peers' alcohol-related posts predicted perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors among non-drinking students, but not drinking students. Conclusions: For first-year college students who have not yet initiated drinking, observing peers' alcohol-related posts to receive abundant “likes” may increase perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking.     

Perceived Career Barriers and Career Decidedness of First-Generation College Students

We examined the effects of perceived career barriers on career decidedness among first-generation college (FGC) students (n = 149) and non-FGC students (n = 182) at a 4-year university (mean age = 19.3 years). Participants responded online to measures of perceived career barriers and career decidedness. Results indicated that FGC students scored higher on lack of support and lack of time and financial resources than non-FGC students. For both groups, higher levels of perceived lack of skills were related to lower levels of career decidedness, whereas greater levels of family-related responsibilities predicted higher levels of career decidedness. FGC student status moderated the association between perceived lack of time/financial resources and career decidedness. Further research is needed to investigate the differential effects of various domains of career barriers. Career counselors are advised to consider FGC students' perceived career barriers in guiding students' career exploration and decision-making.     

Legal-Age Students' Provision of Alcohol to Underage College Students: An Exploratory Study

Objective: The authors investigated the magnitude and cultural context of legal-age university students' provision of alcohol to underage students and how such alcohol provision might be deterred.

Participants: 130 legal-age students at a midwestern university in the United States were randomly selected.

Methods: The authors assessed 16 focus groups and a thematic analysis.

Results: Most participants reported frequent alcohol provision. Most denied moral responsibility for any negative consequences that recipients might suffer. Small numbers of participants, chiefly women, would decrease alcohol provision after education on the sexual risks to underage females. Larger numbers would decrease provision in response to consistent law enforcement, severe legal and disciplinary penalties, and education on severe penalties.

Conclusions: Legal-age students' provision of alcohol to underage students is an integral part of college students' drinking culture. As a deterrent, an enforcement-based campaign may be more effective than an educational campaign on the possible negative consequences of alcohol for underage students.     

Rural Latino Youth Career Development: An Application of Social Cognitive Career Theory

This study used social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994 ) to investigate the career development of 9th‐grade students living in 2 rural communities with large numbers of Latino immigrants. Participants (55.3% Latino) responded to measures of vocational skills self‐efficacy, career decision outcome expectations, career aspirations, and barriers to postsecondary education. Contrary to previous findings, results indicated that Latino students in these communities reported higher self‐efficacy beliefs than did White students. Latino students also reported higher perceived barriers, but this did not seem to relate to their career aspirations. Results suggest that school and career counselors should focus on programming that attends to Latino students' self‐efficacy and outcome expectations, as well as efficacy for overcoming barriers. Doing so could prove useful for increasing career achievement among rural Latino youth.     

Perceptions of Drinking and Related Findings From the Nationwide Campuses Study

Abstract

Proponents of social norms approaches maintain that correcting misperceptions of alcohol use among college students may reduce drinking and its consequences. The author used aggregate campus-level data from the Nationwide Campuses Study to test this hypothesis. He defined the misperceptions ratio as the ratio of the frequency of the “average student's” perceived alcohol use to the frequency of self-use at each campus. Each of the 57 colleges reported misperceptions ratios greater than unity. At campuses where students had more accurate perceptions of alcohol use, students were more likely to desire alcohol availability at campus events and to drink on more days throughout the year than at campuses where students had greater misperceptions of alcohol use. The author found no data to support the preferential use of social norms programming on campuses with high levels of self-reported alcohol use or binge drinking. These findings raise questions about potentially unexpected and unintended effects of social norms approaches.     

Predictors of Safer Sex on the College Campus: A Social Cognitive Theory Analysis

Abstract

In April and May 1989, the authors surveyed a sample of students enrolled on four college campuses in New Jersey (N ? 923) concerning their HIV transmission-related behavior, knowledge, and a variety of conceptual variables taken primarily from social cognitive theory that were thought to be potentially predictive of safer sexual behavior. Analyses of sexually active, unmarried students' responses indicated that men expected more negative outcomes of condom use and were more likely to have sexual intercourse while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, whereas women reported higher perceived self-efficacy to practice safer sex. Regression analyses indicated that, among the factors assessed, stronger perceptions of self-efficacy to engage in safer behavior, expecting fewer negative outcomes of condom use, and less frequency of sex in conjuction with alcohol or other drug use significantly predicted safer sexual behavior. Enhanced self-efficacy to discuss personal history with a new partner was associated with a greater number of risky encounters. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts with students are discussed.     

College Students' Perception of Philip Morris's Tobacco-Related Smoking Prevention and Tobacco-Unrelated Social Responsibility

This study examined the effects of 2 Philip Morris corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs—a tobacco-related smoking prevention versus a tobacco-unrelated program—on college students' perceived CSR motive, attitudes toward Philip Morris, and behavioral intentions to support the company. Using 2 college student samples in the United States and South Korea, this study found that the tobacco-unrelated program and a positively perceived CSR motive elicited more positive responses about CSR values, attitudes toward CSR activities and the company, and behavioral intentions to support Philip Morris. Korean college students were more likely to perceive Philip Morris's CSR activities as mutually beneficial and to support Philip Morris than were American college students.     

Use of Drinking Protective Behavioral Strategies and Sexual Perceptions and Behaviors in U.S. College Students

Alcohol use among college students is linked to an increased likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, including casual sex and unprotected sex. These behaviors increase college students' risks for negative social and health-related consequences. This study examined the relationship between drinking behaviors and protective behavioral strategies (PBS), expectancies and perceptions of sexual risk, and actual alcohol-related sexual behaviors and consequences. Sexually active college students completed Web-based self-report measures of drinking behaviors and use of PBS, alcohol expectancies and perceptions of risk, and sexual behaviors and related consequences (n = 524; 57.1% women). Findings indicated that PBS were related to lower expectancies of sexual risk and sexual disinhibition, and among lighter drinkers, lower expectancies of sexual enhancement from alcohol. PBS were also related to decreased perceptions of sexual-related risks, some alcohol-related sexual behaviors, including number of drinks before/during sex, and number of sexual consequences, but were not related to abstaining during sex, frequency of alcohol-related sexual behaviors, or general condom use. These findings demonstrate a disconnect between perceived and actual risks among college students, such that decreased perceptions of risk may not be associated with protective behaviors. Prevention and intervention implications are discussed.     

The Influence of Gender,Generation Level,Parents' Education Level,and Perceived Barriers on the Educational Aspirations of Mexican American High School Students

A portion of social‐cognitive career theory (R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) was tested by examining contextual factors related to the educational aspirations of 186 Mexican American high school students. A 3‐step hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine the influence of gender, generation level, parents' education level, and perceived educational barriers on educational aspirations. Results indicated that perceived educational barriers significantly predicted students' educational aspirations above and beyond the influence of gender, generation level, and parents' education level. Implications for Mexican American students' educational goals are provided.     

Changing Opportunities: An Overview of the History of College Health Education

Abstract

This paper reports an investigation of the relationship between college students' social support and social interaction and their health and well-being. The authors analyzed data from a telephone survey of 161 students at a large state university to test for stress-buffering and main effects on well-being of four types of structural social support. Frequency of participating in activities with other students was negatively associated with depression symptoms and positively associated with feelings of health and physical fitness. The other support measures (number of friends on campus and whether respondents belonged to groups on campus or had a romantic relationship) yielded less consistent main effects and Stress x Support interactions that were inconsistent with a buffering model. Interpretations that focus on the role of affectively positive social activities in the well-being of college students are discussed.     

Subjective evaluations of alcohol-related consequences among college students: Experience with consequences matters

Objective: Research suggests college students rate some alcohol-related consequences less negatively than others, yet it is unclear how or when these differences in perception develop. The current study compared college students' subjective evaluations of alcohol-related consequences that they had and had not experienced in order to test the hypothesis that students become desensitized to the consequences they experience. Participants: Participants were 269 undergraduate students enrolled at a large, public, Midwestern university. Methods: Participants completed measures of drinking behaviors, consequences experienced, and subjective evaluations of consequences via an online survey. Results: Participants rated the consequences they had personally experienced more positively than those they had not experienced. Similarly, individuals who reported experiencing consequences rated them as significantly more positive than those who had not experienced the same consequences. Conclusions: Experience with consequences is associated with more positive evaluations of those consequences. Therefore, it may be important to consider individuals' experiences with, and evaluations of, alcohol-related consequences in college student drinking interventions.     

The Relationship Between Race and Students' Identified Career Role Models and Perceived Role Model Influence

The authors examined whether college students' race was related to the modal race of their identified career role models, the number of identified career role models, and their perceived influence from such models. Consistent with A. Bandura's (1977, 1986) social learning theory, students tended to have role models whose race was the same as their own, and this finding held among career role models who were not members of students' families. Caucasian and racial minority students did not differ respecting overall number of, and perceived influence from, career role models. Career intervention and research implications are discussed.     

The Association of Campus Resources for Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Students With College Students' Condom Use

Abstract

The author and colleagues examined campus resources for gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) students at 119 US colleges to determine how the presence of such resources affected sexually active students' condom use. A random sample of unmarried, sexually active college students surveyed in 1999 completed questionnaires. Condom use was compared across schools with different levels of GLB resources. Condom use rates, analyzed by sex and sex-partner groups, ranged from 32% to 52%. With additional college variables controlled for, GLB resources were positively associated with the proportion of sexually active students who used condoms (p < .001). This association existed primarily for students with only opposite-sex partners. The author's findings suggest that campus resources for GLB students may be associated with college students' condom use.     

The Influence of Tobacco Countermarketing Ads on College Students’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Beliefs

Abstract

Objective: To determine which antitobacco messages were perceived effective in changing college students’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about tobacco use. Participants: College students (n = 1,020) were surveyed before and after viewing 4 30-second antitobacco advertisements in 1 of 3 theme categories—social norms, health consequences, or tobacco industry manipulation. Methods: An independent samples t test was used to test for differences in the mean responses to the knowledge, attitude, and belief questions at posttest by smoking status and gender. Results: Health consequences ads significantly increased overall knowledge and negative attitudes and beliefs. Conclusion: Findings from this study may help health educators who work in college settings and other young adult settings to include media messages as part of a comprehensive tobacco control program.     

College students' use of technology to communicate with romantic partners about sexual health issues

Objective: To examine college students' technology-assisted sexual communication perceptions and practices alongside their beliefs about the effectiveness of face-to-face (F-t-F) sexual communication. Participants: 144 college students at a private university in the Northeast, U.S., completed a survey in October 2016. Method: A cross-sectional online survey examined how college students use text messaging and private social media messaging to communicate with romantic partners about sexual health issues. Results: Students who have communicated with romantic partners via technology reported being likely to do so again in the future, to perceive the effectiveness of technology-assisted sexual communication to be comparable to F-t-F sexual communication, and to be confident in their ability to initiate sexual communication with romantic partners via F-t-F communication. Conclusions: College students may see text messaging and social media messaging as useful for sexual communication, which has important implications for college health professionals who wish to promote frequent, effective sexual communication.     

Family Influences on College Students' Anticipated Work-Family Conflict,Social Self-Efficacy,and Self-Esteem

The authors sought to test work-family conflict (WFC) theory by examining how family relationships may influence WFC, social self-efficacy, and self-esteem. They developed and tested a structural model of the relationship between family career influence and self-esteem through the mediating variables of anticipated emotion-based WFC, behavior-based WFC, and the cognitive variable of social self-efficacy. Data were collected from 301 college students (208 women, 93 men) and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that family career influence positively related to college students' self-esteem through the mediating variables of social self-efficacy and emotion-based WFC. Behavior-based WFC did not function as a mediating variable. When focusing on issues related to students' self-esteem, career counselors should address ways that family influences anticipated emotion-based WFC and use interventions designed to increase social self-efficacy. Future researchers should consider and test additional mediating factors that may help explain how the dimensions of WFC relate to self-esteem.