The risk factors of abusive relationships for nontraditional students

Creation of a sexual risk index from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) III to compare nontraditional and traditional student sexual risk

OBJECTIVE

To examine the utility of a novel sexual risk index (SRI) to better use National College Health Assessment (NCHA) sexual health-related questions.

METHODS

The first phase included discussions, testing, and recoding of the initial set of items. In the second phase, a correlation analysis was run; items were systematically removed to achieve a Cronbach's alpha of .714.

RESULTS

All currently enrolled students in Spring 2020 at medium-sized, 4-year public university in Florida were recruited (n = 4,850) for the NCHA. Of the 441 total respondents, 223 students were included in the SRI analyses. Most had very low SRI scores, indicating few sexual risks. Nontraditional students were half as likely to experience academic challenges as compared to traditional students (TS; OR = .487, p = .033), while increasing SRI scores (OR = 1.182, p = .022) and decreasing GPA scores (OR = -1.975, p < .001) were associated with an increased likelihood of self-reporting academic challenges.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest high utility and reliability of the SRI. The use of the SRI provides a better overall picture of sexual risk-taking through a score rather than comparison of individual NCHA items.

Sleep problems are associated with academic performance in a national sample of collegiate athletes

Examine associations between a range of sleep problems and academic performance in a national sample of collegiate athletes. Participants: Data were obtained from the National College Health Assessment of US college/university students from 2011-2014 (N = 8,312 collegiate athletes). Methods: Univariate comparisons for all sleep variables and demographics were stratified across GPA, using one-way ANOVA for continuous variables and chi-square for categorical variables. Multinomial logistic regression models, with GPA as outcome (reference = A) and sleep variable as predictor, were examined and adjusted for age, sex, and survey year. Ordinal regression examined a 1-level change in GPA associated with each sleep variable, adjusted for covariates. Results: Sleep difficulty was associated with increased likelihood of B/C averages. Initial-insomnia was associated with increased likelihood of B/C, and D/F averages. Tiredness was associated with increased likelihood of B/C, and D/F averages. Conclusions: Sleep problems are highly prevalent and associated with poorer academic performance in collegiate athletes.