Search Results (56)

Background: Vietnam is experiencing a significant “double burden” of malnutrition, characterized by the persistent challenge of undernutrition, particularly stunting in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, alongside a rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. Understanding dual nutritional status and its related factors in adolescents from these vulnerable areas is crucial for effective intervention. Objective: The current study explored the nutritional status of ethnic minority secondary school students in some mountainous provinces in the northwest of Vietnam and identified some related factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study over six months (June–December 2023), involving 1847 ethnic minority high school students from Son La and Dien Bien provinces, recruited through convenience sampling in primary healthcare settings. Nutritional status was determined using WHO 2006 Child Growth Standards, specifically height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) and body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-scores (BAZ). A 4-point scale assessed nutritional practices, including food consumption frequency and eating habits. Results: This study identified a stunting (HAZ < −2 SD) prevalence of 16.7% and wasting (BAZ < −2 SD) of 5.6%; overweight/obesity (BAZ > +1 SD) prevalence was 8.2%. Key factors related to stunting were being male, having more siblings, poor/near-poor household economic status, low maternal education level, and frequent occurrences of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. A higher risk of overweight/obesity was associated with consuming more than three meals daily, nocturnal snacking, frequent intake of fried foods, insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruits, and inadequate daily physical activity. Conclusions: Our study shows a comprehensive picture of malnutrition among children in ethnic minority areas. Essential nutritional intervention programs, projects, and models are a top priority to reduce the disease burden for children’s bright future and to enhance socio-economic development in the mountainous regions of Vietnam. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sexual attitudes, particularly those on the erotophilia (positive openness) to erotophobia (negative fear) scales, play a critical role in shaping behaviors and health decisions. While associations between sexual behavior and substance use have been documented, limited research has explored how sexual attitudes relate to mental health and substance use among Latin American university populations. This study aimed to examine the associations among erotophilic attitudes, mental health symptoms (anxiety and depression), substance use risk, and sexual behaviors in Mexican university students. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between 2019 and 2023 with 1475 undergraduate students aged 17–25 years. Participants completed the Revised Sexual Opinion Survey (R-SOS) to assess sexual attitudes, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for mental health evaluation, and adapted items from the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to measure substance use risk. Erotophilic attitudes were defined as R-SOS scores ≥ 70. Statistical tests included the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for normality, t-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests for group comparisons, Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, and Spearman’s correlations. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AdORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Erotophilic students were more likely to be male, older, initiate sexual activity earlier, and report a greater number of sexual partners. Erotophilia was positively associated with anxiety and tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use, and negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Multivariate analysis indicated that erotophilia was independently associated with male sex, age ≥ 20, higher anxiety, lower depression, low socioeconomic status, and increased risk of tobacco and marijuana use. Lower rates of consistent condom use were also reported among erotophilic individuals. Conclusions: Erotophilia may serve as a behavioral risk marker linked to anxiety symptoms and increased substance use, but not to depression. These findings highlight the need for integrated interventions addressing sexual health, substance use, and mental well-being in university populations. Full article

Background: Despite the significant global disease burden associated with HPV infection, the vaccination coverage among female college students in China remains suboptimal. This study aimed to examine HPV vaccination coverage, knowledge levels, and determinants influencing vaccination behavior among female college students in northern China, utilizing the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from December 2024 to January 2025, involving 4076 female students from six universities in Jinan, China. The participants were categorized into three groups: vaccinated (VG), willing-to-vaccinate (WTG), and unwilling-to-vaccinate (UTG). Data on sociodemographic characteristics, HPV knowledge, health beliefs, and vaccination behavior were analyzed using ANOVA, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The vaccination rate was 18.11%, with 40.19% expressing willingness to vaccinate and 41.71% expressing unwillingness. Vaccinated students demonstrated higher levels of HPV knowledge (6.66 ± 2.67 compared to 4.76 ± 3.10 in the UTG, p < 0.001) and were predominantly from urban areas (OR = 0.64, p < 0.001). The key determinants of vaccination uptake included perceived benefits (OR = 1.54, p < 0.001), perceived barriers (OR = 3.34, p < 0.001), self-decision-making ability (OR = 1.80, p < 0.001), and social motivation (OR = 0.21, p < 0.001). Notably, increased knowledge was associated with vaccine hesitancy in the WTG group (OR = 0.45, p < 0.001), indicating that information overload may adversely affect decision-making processes. Structural barriers, such as cost (42.63%), safety concerns (46.59%), and misconceptions (e.g., 57.76% cited “no sexual activity” as a reason for refusal), significantly impeded vaccine uptake. Conclusions: The low coverage of HPV vaccination is indicative of deficiencies in knowledge, socioeconomic disparities, and cultural perceptions. Tailored interventions should focus on educational efforts to correct misconceptions, provide subsidized access to vaccines, and implement empowerment strategies that enhance self-efficacy and informed decision-making. Policymakers should incorporate these findings into national cervical cancer prevention programs to address the gap between vaccination intention and behavior among young women in China. Full article

College enrollment has long been recognized as a critical pathway to better employment prospects and improved economic outcomes. However, the overall enrollment rates have declined in recent years, and students with a lower socioeconomic status (SES) or those from disadvantaged backgrounds remain significantly underrepresented in higher education. To investigate the factors influencing college enrollment among low-SES high school students, this study analyzed data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) using five widely used machine learning algorithms. The sample included 5223 ninth-grade students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (51% female; M_age = 14.59) whose biological parents or stepparents completed a parental questionnaire. The results showed that, among all five classifiers, the random forest algorithm achieved the highest classification accuracy at 67.73%. Additionally, the top three predictors of enrollment in 2-year or 4-year colleges were students’ overall high school GPA, parental educational expectations, and the number of close friends planning to attend a 4-year college. Conversely, the most important predictors of non-enrollment were high school GPA, parental educational expectations, and the number of close friends who had dropped out of high school. These findings advance our understanding of the factors shaping college enrollment for low-SES students and highlight two important factors for intervention: improving students’ academic performance and fostering future-oriented goals among their peers and parents. Full article

Background/Objectives: The transition to university life brings significant social, psychological, and environmental changes, making it a critical period for establishing long-term dietary habits. However, many Mexican university students fail to meet national dietary guidelines, increasing their risk of non-communicable diseases. This study examines the determinants of healthy eating among university students in Oaxaca using a holistic, multi-level approach grounded in the Social Ecological Model (SEM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating ethnography with a validated self-report questionnaire completed by 411 students at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO). The ethnographic data included observations, field notes, photographs, informal conversations, and 13 semi-structured interviews. Data triangulation provided a comprehensive understanding of dietary behaviors by capturing both self-reported patterns and real-world eating practices and the food environment, as captured through ethnographic methods. The analysis included descriptive statistics, normality tests, and parametric tests to assess significant differences. Results: The findings revealed a decline in diet quality, characterized by low fruit and vegetable intake, high snack consumption, and irregular meal patterns, particularly among students living independently. Key barriers included academic stress, time constraints, low cooking self-efficacy, limited nutritional knowledge, peer pressure, and negative social norms, which contributed to reliance on convenient, processed foods. The lack of healthy food options on campus and the high perceived cost of nutritious food further led students to prioritize cheap, calorie-dense foods over healthier choices. Conversely, enablers included structured university schedules; peer support; hands-on culinary interventions; and improved access to affordable, healthy food. Conclusions: Addressing these barriers requires multi-level interventions that enhance nutrition literacy, cooking self-efficacy, and peer-led strategies while improving the campus food environment. Future research should explore SCT-based initiatives leveraging social networks and culinary education to foster sustainable dietary behavior change in university settings and assess how these findings can be applied in other socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage characterized by significant psychological and emotional changes. Within the school context, academic self-efficacy (ASE) influences students’ emotional well-being, including positive and negative affective states. Research has shown that both ASE and emotional well-being are associated with socioeconomic status (SES) and immigrant background. This study aims to examine whether SES and immigrant background moderate the relationship between ASE and positive/negative affect among adolescents. Methods: Data were collected from a representative sample of 26,564 10th-grade students in Italian schools. ASE, positive and negative affect, SES, and immigrant background were assessed through validated measures. Multigroup structural equation modeling (multigroup SEM) was conducted to test the moderating roles of SES (low, middle, high) and immigrant background (native, first-generation immigrant, second-generation immigrant) on the relationship between ASE and affective states. Results: The results indicated that ASE significantly predicted positive affect (β = 0.34, p < 0.001) and negative affect (β = −0.17, p < 0.001) across all groups. However, results indicated no significant differences in the ASE–emotional affect relationship across SES and immigrant background groups, indicating that neither SES nor immigrant background moderated these associations. Conclusions: The findings suggest that ASE is associated with both positive affect and negative affect in adolescents, irrespective of SES and immigrant background. This highlights the universal importance of fostering ASE in school settings to support emotional well-being across diverse demographic groups. Full article

Background/Objectives: Habits such as a diet high in sugars and poor dental biofilm control are linked to a higher prevalence of caries and low socioeconomic status. This study aimed to analyze the nutrition habits of schoolchildren in Mallorca and their relationship with the presence of dental caries, depending on the type of school, geographic location, and parents’ education level. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the prevalence of dental caries based on World Health Organization (WHO) standards and nutritional practices following guidelines from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This study included 718 students from three age groups: first-year elementary students (ages 5–6), sixth-year elementary students (age 12), and fourth-year secondary school students (age 15). Relevant sociodemographic factors were also considered in the analysis. Results: In schoolchildren aged 5–6 years, higher monthly consumption of processed and sugary foods, such as sweets (rural: 24.66 (CI 95%: 20.30–29.02); urban: 19.29 (CI 95%:16.27–22.304); p = 0.044), was noted in schoolchildren from rural sectors compared to those residing in urban areas. At 15 years of age, there was a higher consumption of potato chips in public schools than in subsidized/private schools (public: 26.95 (CI 95%: 24.42–29.49); subsidized/private: 18.29 (CI 95%: 13.92–22.65) p = 0.004). A high consumption of sweets is associated with an increased risk of caries (OR sweets: 1.76 CI: 1.04–2.98; p = 0.035). Fewer students with mothers with a lower education level eat dinner (elementary: 75%; secondary 91%; higher: 98%; p = 0.003). Conclusions: Higher consumption of sweets in rural areas and potato chips in public schools, along with the association between sweet consumption and caries risk, highlight how geographic location, school type, and parents’ education level influence children’s nutrition habits and caries. Full article

Background/Objectives: Financial stress among university students has been widely documented, impacting academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being. This scoping review explores and synthesizes the existing evidence on the extent and impact of financial challenges experienced by university students in Australia and New Zealand and examines approaches implemented by universities in these countries to address these challenges. Methods: The Arksey and O’Malley framework was utilized for comprehensiveness, structure, and reproducibility. Four scientific databases (Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Informit) were searched until 30 June 2024, and 3542 articles were identified. Following extensive screening, 19 studies were included. The studies were summarized using a narrative synthesis approach. Results: This review suggests that financial stress continues to be experienced by Australian/New Zealand university students. Some studies indicate that over half (8–68%) of students face significant financial issues and 96% of students report high emotional stress. Some groups are more vulnerable than others. Notably, students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds and international students have increased vulnerability due to factors such as inadequate financial support and limited access to job opportunities and support services. Support services available for students included emergency grants, food pantries (including international students), and community gardens but with limited impact in addressing underlying financial hardships. Conclusion: This review highlights the persistent financial challenges faced by vulnerable university students in Australia and New Zealand. It calls for comprehensive strategies to enhance support services and address structural issues in government and institutional policies. Addressing these needs will enable improved student academic success and mental and physical well-being in these vulnerable groups. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adequate sleep is critical for adolescents’ physical and mental health. However, academic demands and lifestyle habits lead to insufficient sleep among many adolescents. This study examined the relationship between sleep patterns and general characteristics, health behaviors, and mental health among South Korean adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, involving 21,283 students aged between 13 and 18 years. Self-reported sleep duration was categorized as adequate (8–10 h) or insufficient (less than 8 h on both weekdays and weekends), and 20 independent variables across demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, health-related behavioral, and psychological factors were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of insufficient sleep. Results: Insufficient sleep was more prevalent among female students (odds ratio [OR]: 2.064) and older students (OR: 16.588 for Grade 12 vs. Grade 7) and was associated with higher stress levels (OR: 4.338 for almost always vs. never), suicidal ideation (OR: 1.826), and unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol consumption (OR: 2.009), smoking (OR: 1.998), and smartphone overdependence (OR: 2.313 for severe vs. normal). In contrast, adolescents with adequate sleep reported greater happiness (OR: 4.167 for very much vs. not at all) and better academic performance (OR: 1.377 for very high vs. very low). Conclusions: The findings show that insufficient sleep significantly affects adolescent well-being, highlighting the need for tailored interventions and increased societal awareness. Future research should explore the mechanisms underlying gender differences and weekday–weekend sleep disparities to enhance sleep quality in this population. Full article

Aggressive behaviour encompasses a spectrum of emotional responses, ranging from mild irritation to intense anger and fury. The goals of the present research were to develop a reduced and adapted version of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (VRA-AQ) for Portuguese college students, to explore its relationship with negative life events as well as to ascertain the importance of self-regulation and resilience in preventing aggressive behaviour among young people from higher education, and to explore the differences between genders, academic year, and socioeconomic status to examine the risk factors of aggressive behaviour. The validation of the reduced and adapted Portuguese version of the VRA-AQ was carried out on a Portuguese university sample (N = 2991). There were three main focuses of data analysis: descriptive statistics, correlations, and factor analyses. Differences between genders and academic year were found in men, and undergraduate students displayed higher averages of physical aggression, negative life events, and the impact of these events, while women and post-graduate students exhibited higher averages of self-regulation and resilience. Regarding SES, youth from low to medium-low socioeconomic backgrounds demonstrated higher averages in overall aggression, physical aggression, anger, hostility, negative life events, and the impact of these life events. Conversely, those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds displayed higher averages in resilience. Therefore, it is essential to prevent aggressive behaviour in students, and several strategies can be implemented based on the findings, namely, gender-specific interventions; academic year targeted support; socioeconomic support programmes; promotion of positive coping mechanisms; creating supportive environments; and education on conflict resolution. Full article

Background: Adolescence is a crucial stage when young people adopt various lifestyle behaviours that can impact their health. However, the broader determinants of these behaviours remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate clustering patterns of lifestyle behaviours, including physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and dietary habits, among adolescents and examine their determinants across individual, community, and societal levels. Methods: This study utilised nationally representative Global School-based Student Health Survey data. The lifestyle behaviours were dichotomised based on specific definitions, and the clustering patterns of multiple unhealthy behaviours were compared at various levels of factors. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed to identify individual, community, and societal level determinants of multiple unhealthy behaviours. Results: The study included 293,770 adolescents from 73 countries and territories across five World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The overall prevalence of one, two, three, four, and five unhealthy behaviours was 6.9%, 29.9%, 36.5%, 21.5%, and 4.5%, respectively. The odds of multiple unhealthy behaviours (defined by ≥4) increase with age and are higher among female adolescents [(AOR: 1.06, 95% CI:1.05, 1.07); (AOR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.19)], respectively. Adolescents from supportive families, peer environments, or food-secure households had lower odds of engaging in these behaviours [(AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.86); (AOR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94, 0.98); (AOR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.95)], respectively. The odds of exhibiting multiple unhealthy behaviours were significantly higher among adolescents in countries with high (0.7–0.79) and very high (0.8–1.0) Human Development Indexes (HDI) compared to those in low (<0.55) HDI countries [(AOR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.94); (AOR: 3.00, 95% CI: 1.48, 6.08)], respectively. Conclusion: The study findings reveal that multiple unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, including insufficient physical activity, sedentary behaviour, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, frequent soft drink intake, and fast-food consumption, are globally prevalent among adolescents. These behaviours have distinct clustering patterns associated with individual characteristics, family and peer environments, and broader socio-economic and societal contexts. Full article

Background and Objectives: This study examined dental students’ challenges with root canal treatment (RCT). It also assessed patients’ perceptions of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Materials and Methods: The study utilized three prevalidated questionnaires. One questionnaire was administered to dental students to assess their challenges related to various aspects of RCT. Another questionnaire was distributed to patients, comparing demographic factors such as age and gender to the tooth type, pain scores before and after RCT, and socioeconomic status. The third questionnaire focused on patients’ OHRQoL considering age, gender, tooth types, pain, and socioeconomic status using the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 scale (OHIP-14). A total of 75 dental students filled out the survey, and patient-related questionnaires were filled out by 585 patients with the following demographics: age: young adults n = 385 (65.81%), middle-aged adults n = 200 (34.19%); gender: males n = 366 (62.56%), and females n = 219 (37.44%). Categorical data were analyzed using frequency and percentage. Chi-square tests were used for comparative analysis, and one-way ANOVA was used when more than two variables were present. A p-value of ≤0.05 was set as statistically significant. Results: Dental students perceived themselves as competent in performing RCT but faced difficulties with canal localization in middle-aged patients (p < 0.01) and in communicating with female patients (p = 0.009). There was a significant difference in preoperative (p = 0.007) and postoperative pain levels (p = 0.003) when comparing genders. Overall, there was a 30.60% reduction in pain levels. The OHIP-14 scale indicated high patient satisfaction (78.9%), with physical disability (26.16%) and psychological discomfort (23.33%) being the most affected domains. Among different variables, socioeconomic status was statistically significant, with patients of lower socioeconomic status reporting higher satisfaction levels (p = 0.02). No significant differences in OHRQoL were found based on age or gender. Conclusions: The OHRQoL was high among patients treated by dental students, with those with a low socioeconomic status being the most satisfied. Full article

It is widely recognised that addressing inequality in tertiary education is a complex and multifaceted issue. Studies involving students from lower socio-economic backgrounds consistently show that educational disparities exist at the post-secondary education level, with these students’ encountering obstacles in both accessing and completing tertiary education compared to their wealthier counterparts. Understanding how widening participation interventions may influence young people’s post-compulsory education is an important part of addressing the participation gap. This paper investigates longitudinal data from 227 students in Dublin, Ireland, who were attending post-primary schools located in areas that have low progression to tertiary education. The paper examines the extent to which students’ post-secondary plans, formulated in their final year of secondary school, are realised six months after graduation. The paper continues to examine the influence of external interventions provided by an Irish university’s widening participation (WP) programme on secondary school students’ progression to post-compulsory education. Taking into account contextual factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, school type, parental education, parental support), this paper examines how WP programmes in secondary school impact post-school progression. Programme engagement (guidance outreach activities) was associated with 4.91-greater odds of post-secondary education once other contextual factors had been controlled for. Participating in mentoring programmes did not have a significant influence on post-secondary progression. Findings in relation to these are discussed, and recommendations for how practitioners and policy makers can approach widening participation outreach programmes with secondary school students are highlighted. Full article

A growth mindset is crucial for students’ academic development. Many studies have demonstrated the influence of a growth mindset on mathematics achievement, but the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship still warrant further exploration. This study investigates the mediating roles of students’ academic buoyancy and adaptability in the relationship between the student growth mindset and mathematics achievement within the Chinese cultural context. The sample included 1164 junior high school students (49.4% females). Using structural equation modeling, the results showed that, after controlling for gender, school type, and family socioeconomic status, the student growth mindset was positively related to mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the student growth mindset was significantly associated with the student academic buoyancy, cognitive-behavioral adaptability, and affective adaptability, but only cognitive-behavioral adaptability further mediated the relationship between the student growth mindset and mathematics achievement. The multi-group analysis demonstrated that the model exhibited invariance across the genders, school types, and SES levels, indicating that the associations were applicable to both boys and girls, to both boarding and day students, and to students from low-, middle-, and high-SES backgrounds. We discuss the findings by considering the Chinese cultural characteristics and provide insights that may help in the development of interventions to improve students’ mathematics performance. Full article

Background/Objectives: Historically racialized status (HRS) and low socioeconomic position (SEP) are independent risk factors for food insecurity and poor academic achievement among college students. Despite increased enrollment of students from historically racialized groups and low SEP, little is known regarding the intersectional experience of these contemporary student characteristics with food security status or academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine the intersections of racialized status and SEP with food insecurity and academic achievement among undergraduate students attending a public university system in California. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1170 undergraduates who utilized their campus food pantry between June and August 2019 at nine University of California campuses. Racialized status and SEP were used to construct four distinct intersectional positions: (1) White, not low SEP (i.e., traditional students; reference), and three contemporary student groups: (2) White, low SEP; (3) HRS, not low SEP; and (4) HRS, low SEP. Using regression analyses, these intersectional positions were examined with food insecurity and grade point average (GPA), while controlling for other student characteristics. Results: HRS, low SEP students had significantly higher odds of experiencing food insecurity (OR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.52–4.97) and lower GPA (B = −0.14, p = 0.05) than traditional students, after adjustment. Conclusions: Contemporary students are at increased risk of food insecurity and lower academic achievement compared to traditional students. Full article