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The research team developed a community-based, intergenerational intervention, the Spanish-language Healthy Buddy Program to alleviate transportation barriers experienced by Latinx older adults. College students were paired with Latinx older adults and helped them identify transportation- and health-related resources in their communities. During COVID-19, the program was implemented in Hillsborough County, Florida, and Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and San Antonio, Texas. This paper reports the study process and outcomes using quantitative and qualitative data collected in Texas (n = 25). Individual interviews indicated older adult participants were receptive to the program model and appreciated the roles student buddies played to help improve their mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental and ecological degradation has raised concerns worldwide. Negative attitudes toward the environment plus disinterest have led to improper behavior, influencing climate change and global warming. Awareness could have a positive environmental impact by influencing attitudes and behaviors. One way to generate awareness and ensure positive behavior is through education. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), a 33-questions survey was implemented to college students from Texas, Louisiana, and Honduras to (1) compare students' environmental attitudes, behaviors, and subjective norms at the three universities; and (2) predict how much of the undergraduate students' environmental behavior variance could be explained by their environmental attitude, subjective norms, and perceived environmental knowledge. Multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical regressions were performed to address the objectives, respectively. Results showed that Honduras and Louisiana students' environmental attitudes, behavior, and subjective norms are significantly different than Texas students, and TRA variables increased the prediction of behavior variance by 15%. Understanding interactions between behavior, attitude, knowledge, and subjective norms among college students from different universities may help assess environmental interventions and design successful programs based on group needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:As conventional cigarette use is declining, electronic cigarette (“e-cigarette”) use is rising and is especially high among college students. Few studies examine dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes among this population. This study explores the relationship between dual and exclusive e-cigarette / cigarette use and perceptions of harm and addictiveness of both products.Methods:This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from students attending 24 colleges in Texas (n=5,482). Multinomial logistic regression was employed to test the association between current e-cigarette / cigarette use and perceived harm and addictiveness of both products. Three tobacco groups were included: cigarette only users, e-cigarette only users, and dual users.Results:Dual users reported lower perceived harm of e-cigarettes most consistently (p<0.001, all comparisons). Perceived harm of cigarettes was significantly lower among cigarette only and dual users only, compared to non-users (p<0.001, all comparisons). Compared to non-users, all three groups reported significantly lower perceived addictiveness of e-cigarettes (p<0.001, all comparisons). The same finding was observed for perceived addictiveness of cigarettes, though findings were less consistent for the e-cigarette only group (p<0.02, all comparisons except one).Conclusion:Findings demonstrate that among college students, perceptions of harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes are lower than those for conventional cigarettes. For both products, perceptions of harm and addictiveness were lower among exclusive and dual users, compared to non-users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim Examine the influence of students' perception of faculty caring on academic performance and the moderating role of students' perceptions of campus racial climate. Background There is limited knowledge on how students' perceptions of faculty caring, campus racial climate and academic performance are linked. Understanding this nexus is crucial to improving nursing education. Design Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional data obtained from seven undergraduate nursing programs in Texas, USA. Method Data were from 385 students enrolled in Medical-Surgical 1 over three semesters (March 2010 - December 2010). Six sets of factor analytic scores derived from 31 original perceptions of faculty caring items served as predictors; one set of scores derived from seven original perceptions of campus racial climate items served as moderating variable in a regression model. Numeric grade was the outcome variable. Results/findings Perception of faculty having a positive outlook/compassion had an enhancing effect on performance. As students' perceptions of campus racial climate became increasingly discriminating, the positive association between perceptions of faculty's trust in students' judgment and academic performance became increasingly strong. Conclusion Results highlight ways by which students' perception of micro-level social reality (dyadic interaction) might interact with their perception of meso-level social reality (social environment) to influence their academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uncovers which learning (epistemic belief of learning), socioeconomic background (level of parental education, family income) or social-personality factors (performance-avoidance goals, test anxiety) mitigate the ethnic gap in SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) scores. Measures assessing achievement motivation, test anxiety, socioeconomic family background, and epistemic belief of learning were administered to 143 European American and 62 Hispanic students. ANCOVA revealed that the measures of epistemic belief of learning, performance-avoidance goals, and level of parental education each had a unique influence on combined SAT (SAT-V + SAT-M), SAT-V (verbal SAT), and SAT-M (math SAT) scores. Indeed, the statistical removal of these influences resulted in the elimination of 55% to 75% of the effect attributed to ethnic differences in SAT performance. Moreover, even when gender differences were controlled, ANCOVA revealed the same results. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that multiple factors influence ethnic differences in SAT performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study outlines the initial development of a novel scale of non-pathological dissociation The Dissociative Ability Scale (DAS) is grounded in the theory that individuals have varying degrees of the ability to dissociate.The DAS is a 17-item instrument that attempts to address; two hypothesized constructs from the domain of 'normal' dissociation: autopilot, a focus of intention such that mundane acts slip from conscious awareness, and autoscopy, the experience of feeling 'outside' of oneself, as if viewing one's own actions remotely. Items from these two constructs were administered to 194 undergraduate students, as well as two other measure: of dissociation, the Dissociative Experiences Scale and subscales from the Multiscale Dissociation Index, serving as comparators for tests of convergent and divergent validity. Results of item analyses, correlations, regression analyses, and principal component analysis suggest that the DAS may be a reliable and valid measure of dissociative ability. However, further study including confirmatory analysis and cross validation are needed to investigate the factor loadings and model fit of a redacted, 14-item measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]