Anxiety in College Students

215 Pages·2009·4.19 MB·English

ANXIETY IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

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ANXIETY IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

BENJAMIN AYRES
AND
MICHELLE BRISTOW
EDITORS

Nova Biomedical Books
New York
Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ayres,Benjamin.
Anxiety in college students / Benjamin Ayres and Michelle Bristow.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60876-495-2 (E-Book)
1. College students--Psychology. 2. Anxiety. I. Bristow, Michelle. II. Title.
LB3609.A96 2009
378.1'98--dc22
2009001694

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. (cid:30)  New York
Contents

Preface vii
Short Communication
Self-Concept Disturbances in Eating-Disordered Female Students
Compared to Normal Controls 1
Laurence Claes, Joke Simons and Walter Vandereycken
Research and Review Studies
Chapter I Linking Student Behaviours and Attitudes Towards Information
and Communication Technology with Learning Processes,
Teacher Instruction and Classroom Environment 15
Robert F. Cavanagh and Joseph T. Romanoski
Chapter II Social Anxiety in the College Student Population: The Role
of Anxiety Sensitivity 45
Angela Sailer and Holly Hazlett-Stevens
Chapter III Test Anxiety and Its Consequences on Academic Performance
among University Students 67
Mohd Ariff Bin Kassim, Siti Rosmaini Bt Mohd Hanafi
and Dawson R. Hancock
Chapter IV Writing your Way to Health? The Effects of Disclosure
of Past Stressful Events in German Students 89
Lisette Morris, Annedore Linkemann and Birgit Kröner-Herwig
Chapter V Stress Among Students in Developing Countries- An Overview 111
Shashidhar Acharya
Chapter VI Coping, Mental Health Status, and Current Life Regret
in College Women Who Differ in their Lifetime Pregnancy
Status: A Resilience Perspective 129
Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Theresa Rehm,
Michelle Breland and Alexis Inabinet
vi Contents
Chapter VII Gender Differences in Proneness to Depression among Hungarian
College Students 145
Ferenc Margitics and Zsuzsa Pauwlik
Chapter VIII An Intervention Programme for the Improvement
of Students’ Academic Goals 161
Antonio Valle, Ramón G. Cabanach, Susana Rodríguez,
Isabel Piñeiro, María García and Ingrid Mosquera
Chapter IX The Impact of a Lecture Series on Alcohol and Tobacco
Use in Pharmacy Students 175
Arjun P. Dutta, Bisrat Hailemeskel,
Monika N. Daftary and Anthony Wutoh
Index 183
Preface

This book describes the etiology, prevalence and frequency of anxiety disorders among
college students. An overview of stress among students in developing countries is given, and
how it may affect the emergence of certain diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. The effects
of disclosure of past stressful events in students is also examined as well as the variables that
point to the emotional processing of certain events. This book reviews the coping, mental
health status, and current life regret in college women who differ in their lifetime pregnancy
status. In addition, the association between gender differences and proneness to depression
among college students is examined, including the risk factors (such as anxiety) in the
development of depression. Furthermore, the factors that lie behind students' motivated
behavior and academic goals are addressed. Finally, the current alcohol and tobacco use in
pharmacy studies is reviewed as well as the ways in which to prevent further alcohol and
drug abuse among these students.
Short Communication - Self-concept disturbances have been considered to play a
determining role in the development of eating disorders. However, questions remain
unanswered about the aspects of self-concept that distinguish eating-disordered women from
other populations, and about the mechanisms that link the self-concept to the disordered
behaviors. Referring to Markus’ self-schema model (1977), a limited collection of positive
self-schema available in memory, in combination with a chronically and inflexibly accessible
schema about body weight, may contribute to the development of an eating disorder. To test
this model, two multidimensional self-concept questionnaires, the Self Description
Questionnaire III and the Physical Self Description Questionnaire, were administered to two
groups of female high school students: 125 eating-disordered (both anorexic-like and
bulimic-like) students and 103 normal controls. No significant differences emerged in the
academic-related aspects of the self-concept. However, nonacademic-related dimensions,
particularly body-weight/appearance aspects, revealed significantly differences between the
eating-disordered students and their normal peers. Less differences appeared between the
anorexic-like and bulimic-like subgroups. Disturbances in body-weight/appearance aspects
of the self-concept may be useful as early signals in the detection of students at risk for
developing an eating disorder.
Chapter 1 - This chapter describes how the Rasch model was applied to construct an
interval-level scale measuring student use and disposition towards information and
viii Benjamin Ayres and Michelle Bristow
communication technology (ICT). Scale development was based upon an hypothesised model
of classroom ICT learning culture comprising self and collective values, attitudes and
behaviours. Specifically, the study aimed to produce a scale that: Measured student self-
reported learning behaviours and attitudes towards use of ICT; had calibrated item difficulties
and self-reported learning behaviours and attitudes towards ICT measures on the same scale;
and elicited data to fit the theoretical model. A 126 item Likert scale type instrument was
developed, administered to 439 primary and secondary school students, and then refined and
validated by Rasch analysis. The validated data comprised 62 items on five aspects of ICT
learning culture. These five aspects were: Student reported learning attitudes and behaviours;
student reported teacher attitudes and behaviours; student reported attitudes and behaviours
towards ICT networks; student reported home ICT attitudes and behaviours; and student
reported values towards ICT use at school. Examination of the psychometric properties of the
data identified common and uncommon attitudes and behaviours. This illustrated how
students viewed their classroom ICT learning culture.
Chapter 2 - Most college students experience some degree of social anxiety on occasion.
However, many suffer chronic anxiety across social situations coupled with a strong fear of
negative evaluation. In addition to impaired occupational and social functioning, severe
social anxiety or social phobia can carry profound consequences for college students. Social
anxiety is a prominent motivation for college student drinking (Burke and Stephens, 1999). In
addition to social isolation, social anxiety is associated with depressogenic cognitions, both
of which leave socially anxious students at an increased risk for depression (Johnson et al.,
1992). Anxiety sensitivity – fear of anxiety-related sensations due to perceived consequences
of physical, mental, or social harm – might play an important role in the development of
social anxiety (Hazen et al., 1995). Unlike panic disorder, in which individuals typically fear
anxiety symptoms out of fear of physical harm or loss of mental control, socially anxious
individuals fear perceived social consequences of others noticing their anxiety. Socially
anxious college students also judge others who appear anxious more negatively than do
college students without social anxiety (Purdon et al., 2001). Although panic disorder
treatments target anxiety sensitivity directly with interoceptive exposure strategies, this
approach is just beginning to receive attention for the treatment of social anxiety. After a
brief review of the literature describing the nature of social anxiety among college students,
this chapter will examine the specific role of anxiety sensitivity in its development and
maintenance. Finally, results from a preliminary investigation comparing the effects of
interoceptive exposure delivered in a social context to social context exposure without the
interoceptive component will be presented and discussed.
Chapter 3 - Some educators have failed to acknowledge the prevalence of test anxiety
and its effect on academic performance among university students. This study addresses this
issue at the university level using data collected through the Revised Test Anxiety (RTA)
instrument and Sarason’s four-factor model as a basis for measuring test anxiety. The study
also investigates the effect of demographic factors on test anxiety. Findings reveal that test
anxiety is significantly and negatively related to academic performance. Reasons for these
findings are addressed.
Chapter 4 - In 1986 Pennebaker and Beall published their renowned study on the long-
term beneficial health effects of disclosing traumatic events in 4 brief sequential writing