Objective: Psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can hinder academic performance among college-age individuals. Participants: Mental health among college students is a growing public health concern, with some scholars describing collegiate mental health as a crisis (Chen et al., Psychiatr Serv. 2019;70(6):442-449). Methods: This…

Early gesture plays an important role in prelinguistic/emerging linguistic communication and may provide insight into a child's social communication skills before the emergence of spoken language. Social interactionist theories suggest children learn to gesture through daily interactions with their social environment (e.g., their parents). As…

This study focused on the issue that women are underrepresented in higher education executive and senior leadership roles at four-year colleges and universities in the United States (Dominici et al., 2009; Ginsberg et al., 2019; Gomez, 2020; Hannum et al., 2015; O'Conner, 2019; Smith, D., 2017; Teague 2015). A theoretical framework of…

Objective: This study explores how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) relate to race/ethnicity and academic achievement among a sample of college students. Participants: Participants were students attending a large public university in the Southwest (n = 404). Methods: Online surveys captured ACE scores, demographics, and self-reported GPA.…

Objective: This study explored how college freshmen, particularly those affected by health inequities, are affected by COVID-19 and whether they would use a university-created online wellness intervention for help. Participants: Nine-hundred and eighty-nine freshmen at a large southeastern university. Method: Students responded to an online survey…

The specific purpose of this study was to add to the previous research using The Early Childhood Longitudinal Database to examine if there is a difference in the mathematics achievement growth trajectory of African American students based on racial-ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and kindergarten participation (attendance for the first time or…

This dissertation explored the career aspirations of Black and Latinx undergraduates in underrepresented health fields, crucial due to health disparities and social determinants. Using data from the 2015-2019 Higher Education Research Institute, the research analyzed factors impacting students' pursuit of healthcare careers through logistic…

Objective: The current study explored differences in mental health problems, services utilization, and support of graduate students by gender, race/ethnicity, and year in school. Participants: Participants consisted of 734 graduate students from a large, Midwestern university. Methods: Graduate students answered a series of questionnaires in fall…

Objective: To examine whether sexual assault prospectively predicts unhealthy weight management behaviors in college women. Method: Participants were female college students (N = 483) with monthly assessments across the first year, including the frequency and severity of sexual assault and unhealthy weight management behaviors. Results: Frequency…

Caregivers of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience more stress than caregivers of typically developing children but there is limited research evaluating caregivers' quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to describe the association of caregiver QoL in children with ASD and/or…

This qualitative study focuses on the experiences of Women of Color in doctoral programs to highlight the challenges they face, the silences they encounter, and the navigational tools they utilize to persist through their programs. Women of Color continue to be marginalized in academia and face many challenges when earning graduate degrees…

Student-Centred Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) is a set of collaborative learning techniques that are shown to reduce the continuation and awarding gaps between students of Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnicities (BAME) and White students when SCALE-UP is implemented throughout every module in an…

This study explores the transition experiences of first-generation Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) college students through the framework of Intersectionality Theory. The research examines how multiple intersecting identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status, influence these students'…

Background: To meet the growing demand for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and remain competitive in the fields of science and technology over the next decade, the United States is expected to need more than 1 million additional STEM professionals. This would require an annual increase of 34% in undergraduate…

Objective: Examine trends in e-cigarette use, and Juul use specifically, among U.S. college students. Participants In 2016, we established a cohort of 529 incoming first-year students to a large Midwestern University. In 2018, these students (now third-years) were re-contacted, and a new sample of 611 incoming first-year students was enrolled.…