Barnot, Vickilyn
(2005)
Association of Health Risk Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among College Freshmen.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH RISK BEHAVIORS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG COLLEGE FRESHMENVickilyn Barnot, PhDUniversity of Pittsburgh, 2005The purpose of this research was to explore the association between priority health risk behaviors and academic achievement among college freshmen. Priority health risk behaviors have been defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as those health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, illness, and social problems among young adults in the United States including tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; unhealthy dietary behaviors; inadequate physical activity; sexual behaviors that result in sexually transmitted diseases, and/or unintended pregnancies; and behaviors that result in unintentional and intentional injuries. The primary aims of this study were: 1) to determine which of the priority health risk behaviors have the strongest independent association to academic achievement and 2) to determine the association between the number of priority health risk behaviors engaged in by college freshmen and end-of-first-term academic achievement. This study was descriptive in nature and employed a cross-sectional study design. A total of 196 first semester freshmen completed the CDC's National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS) to assess risk in each priority health risk behavior category. In addition, participants answered several supplemental questions designed to assess additional health behaviors and general academic background information. For each priority health risk behavior, key questions were chosen for analysis and a cut point was used to classify each respondent as either "at risk" or "not at risk". Upon completion of their first term of study, participant survey responses were matched with their end-of-first-term QPA. Results of independent t-tests to assess the relation between each priority health risk behavior and academic achievement revealed a significant association to QPA for tobacco use (p = 0.05) and binge drinking (p = 0.02). Results of a subsequent stepwise regression revealed no significant effect for tobacco use or binge drinking on QPA when additional covariates such as SAT score, high school class rank and number of missed classes were included in the analysis. Results of a simple linear regression found no significant relation (p = 0.12) between number of risk behaviors and QPA.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Barnot, Vickilyn | vib2@pitt.edu | VIB2 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
18 April 2005 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
18 March 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
18 April 2005 |
| Submission Date: |
16 April 2005 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Health, Physical, Recreational Education |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
college students; grade point average; health behaviors; risk behaviors |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04162005-174612/, etd-04162005-174612 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:37 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:40 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7215 |
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