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- Creators: School of Life Sciences
Description
In Mexico, the female adolescent population is made up from two groups, single women and married or cohabitating women. Throughout the past decade there has been an increase in the fertility rate amongst the adolescent population in the state of Sonora. Several factors were analyzed to determine their impact on adolescent fertility rate and unplanned pregnancies but ultimately it was found that sexual education was the most influential factor. Comprehensive sexual education has been found to decrease the number of adolescent pregnancies in schools or cities where that curriculum is taught. Many experts believe that this occurs because adolescents are better educated in the proper usage of contraception. Increased contraceptive use directly causes a decrease in unplanned pregnancy rate. With respect to Mexico, it was found that comprehensive sexual education is taught in Sonora but there is no standardized program. Few institutions provide comprehensive sexual education and the programs range between a level 0 and level 3 with respect to the strictness of the abstinence only curricula. Four interviews were conducted between December of 2013 and March of 2014. The purpose of the interviews was to gain a better understanding about how sexual education is perceived in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and what sort of programs are available to adolescents. The questions that comprised the interview consisted of three general parts: background, demographics and sexual education. The interviewees were selected based on their level of expertise reproductive health among adolescents. Two programs were selected for research: Programa Gente Joven (PGJ) and Vive Prevenido. Based on research and data analysis several conclusions were reached. The average age a Mexican woman first has sex, gets married and has her first child within less than 5 years starting in their adolescence. Many years pass between the age of a woman's first childbirth and when she first uses contraception. This is caused by an unmet or unsatisfied need for contraception where the national level is higher than that of Sonora. With respect to sexual education the Guttmacher Institute data suggests that comprehensive sexual education is more effective than abstinence only education. And finally, the experts interviewed all agreed that comprehensive sexual education is what should be taught on a state wide level. The views and opinions of these four interviewees do not reflect those of all who work with adolescents. To gain a more generalized idea on the situation surrounding unplanned pregnancies in adolescents more interviews would need to be conducted. This project was purely exploratory and does not aim to analyze or evaluate either program.
ContributorsGalaz, Mayra Alejandra (Author) / Garcia Perez, Maria (Thesis director) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study sought to identify traits that act as possible predictors of academic science proficiency of highly gifted adolescent students. A combination of cognitive, personality, and conative traits were selected for evaluation as predictors of scientific proficiency using student General Ability Index (GAI), Revised NEO Personality Index (NEO-PI R), and Kolbe Index scores to evaluate each, respectively. Statistical correlational analyses revealed that high expressions of the conative trait Fact Finder and the personality traits Ideas and Straight-forwardness predicted higher degrees of academic science proficiency. In contrast, lower expressions of the personality traits Excitement Seeking and Order predicted higher degrees of scientific proficiency. Further, stepwise regression confirmed that the NEO-PI R facets of Excitement Seeking and Ideas traits were significant predictors of science proficiency and suggested that the personality trait Vulnerability may also be a predictor. The repeated appearance of the Excitement Seeking and Ideas facets and the dependence of the other identified traits suggests that these traits were the most promising possible predictors of scientific proficiency in highly gifted students and should be the target of future research.
ContributorsRoss, Christian Hamilton (Author) / Lansdowne, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Oakes, Wendy (Committee member) / Young, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
High fat diets (HFD) are known to cause hepatic non-alcoholic steatosis in rats in as few as four weeks. Accumulation of triglycerides in liver and skeletal muscle is associated with insulin resistance and obesity. However, studies of fat accumulation in cardiac muscle are not as prevalent. Therefore, the first hypothesis of this study was that HFD would lead to hepatic steatosis as well as lipid accumulation in pectoralis and cardiac muscles, tissues responsible for the majority of postprandial glucose disposal. Prior studies also indicated that HFD leads to increased inflammation and oxidative stress within the vasculature resulting in impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation, however biomarkers of immune system reactivity were not assessed. Therefore, the second aim of this study was to explore additional pathways of immune system reactivity and stress (natural antibodies; heat shock protein 60 (HSP60)) in rats fed either a control (chow) or high fat (HFD) diet. HSP60 has also recently been recognized as an early marker of vascular dysfunction in humans. The hypothesis was that immune system reactivity and early vascular dysfunction would be heightened in rats fed a HFD compared to chow-fed controls. Young male Sprague-Dawley rats (140-160g) were maintained on a chow diet (5% fat, 57.33% carbohydrate, 3.4kcal/g) or HFD (60% fat, 20% carbohydrate, 5.24 kcal/g) for 6 weeks. HFD rats developed hepatic steatosis with significantly elevated liver triglyceride concentrations compared to chow-fed controls (20.73±2.09 vs.9.75±0.52 mg triglycerides/g tissue, respectively; p=0.001). While lipid accumulation appeared to be evident in the pectoralis muscle from HFD rats, triglyceride concentrations were not significantly different from controls. Likewise, there was no evidence of lipid infiltration in cardiac muscles of HFD rats. Lipid accumulation in the liver of overweight HFD rats may contribute to the observed insulin resistance in these animals. Contrary to the second hypothesis, there were no significant differences in plasma HSP60 expression between HFD and chow rats (p>0.05). Likewise, hemagglutination and hemolysis responses were similar between HFD and chow-fed rats (p>0.05). These findings suggest that immune system responses may not be affected by 6 weeks of high fat intake and that HSP60 is not an early marker of vascular dysfunction in this rodent model.
ContributorsLiss, Tyler Jessee (Author) / Sweazea, Karen (Thesis director) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Photovoice is a participatory action research method that was used to investigate the food access and food choices of youth in low-income, high-obesity communities of urban Phoenix. To better understand the challenges adolescents face when making the conscious decision to eat healthy, impactful methods of photovoice, surveys and focus groups were used. This study investigated food access and food choice perceptions of adolescents aged 10-14 years old that were enrolled in ASU-Mayo Clinic Obesity Solutions, FitPHX Kids Energy Zones. Overall, the findings of this thesis present many interwoven barriers preventing low-income inner-city youth from eating healthy. Results from the study suggest that the four main barriers to healthy eating are the abundant access to unhealthy food, misunderstanding of a healthy diet, intrapersonal sentiments toward unhealthy food choices and emotional conflicts toward eating. Together those barriers create a complex environment conducive to unhealthy eating.
ContributorsElms, Audrey Elizabeth (Author) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis director) / Williams, Deborah (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Communicating with Confidence: Evaluating Sexual Education Exposure’s Effect on Sexual Communication
Description
This study examined associations between reports of receiving information on sexual education topics common to different sexual education curricula (e.g. abstinence only until marriage, comprehensive) and reported confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences, taking into account information received from school health classes, parents/guardians, online resources, and peers.
Data used from 293 participants aged 18-25 was used to perform descriptive analyses and linear regressions adjusted for significant covariates. Exposure to a comprehensive sexual education curriculum was found to be significantly positively associated with increased sexual communication confidence, while exposure to an abstinence only until marriage curriculum was not found to be a significant predictor. All resources were found to be positively associated with sexual communication confidence with the exception of health class, which was an insignificant predictor.
Comprehensive sexual education is an important factor in increasing young adults’ confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences. However, sexual education delivery in health classes in the United States is currently ineffective. A reevaluation of how sexual education should be delivered in the United States is needed.
Data used from 293 participants aged 18-25 was used to perform descriptive analyses and linear regressions adjusted for significant covariates. Exposure to a comprehensive sexual education curriculum was found to be significantly positively associated with increased sexual communication confidence, while exposure to an abstinence only until marriage curriculum was not found to be a significant predictor. All resources were found to be positively associated with sexual communication confidence with the exception of health class, which was an insignificant predictor.
Comprehensive sexual education is an important factor in increasing young adults’ confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences. However, sexual education delivery in health classes in the United States is currently ineffective. A reevaluation of how sexual education should be delivered in the United States is needed.
ContributorsDouglass, Kathryn (Author) / Pivovarova, Margarita (Thesis director) / Loebenberg, Abby (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a yoga intervention for adolescents suffering from depression. Secondary results regarding the viability of yoga as an intervention for increasing self-esteem and decreasing anxiety were also explored.
Methods: Using PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL the search terms adolescents, depression, and yoga were searched for related articles. Articles were then excluded or included based on certain criteria. Focus was placed on articles written within the last 10 years as well as studies done on children within 10-19 years of age. Final articles underwent extraction for relevant information and comparisons were drawn between the studies.
Results: Final exclusion lead to a total of 5 suitable studies. Studies varied in styles of yoga performed and measurement scales used to assess depression. Populations of adolescents varied significantly as well. The majority of these studies showed significant improvement in depression symptoms when measuring from pre to post intervention. Similar improvements were also noted in anxiety symptoms and low self-esteem.
Conclusion: Data gathered indicated that yoga serves a suitable intervention for decreasing depression symptoms in adolescents. Additionally, there seems to be promising results regarding the viability of yoga as an intervention for decreasing symptoms of anxiety and increasing self-esteem. Despite, current promising results, there is need for more research to affirm the findings found in these articles to determine the long term effects of yoga interventions.
Methods: Using PubMed, Medline, and CINAHL the search terms adolescents, depression, and yoga were searched for related articles. Articles were then excluded or included based on certain criteria. Focus was placed on articles written within the last 10 years as well as studies done on children within 10-19 years of age. Final articles underwent extraction for relevant information and comparisons were drawn between the studies.
Results: Final exclusion lead to a total of 5 suitable studies. Studies varied in styles of yoga performed and measurement scales used to assess depression. Populations of adolescents varied significantly as well. The majority of these studies showed significant improvement in depression symptoms when measuring from pre to post intervention. Similar improvements were also noted in anxiety symptoms and low self-esteem.
Conclusion: Data gathered indicated that yoga serves a suitable intervention for decreasing depression symptoms in adolescents. Additionally, there seems to be promising results regarding the viability of yoga as an intervention for decreasing symptoms of anxiety and increasing self-esteem. Despite, current promising results, there is need for more research to affirm the findings found in these articles to determine the long term effects of yoga interventions.
ContributorsMenon, Pranav (Co-author) / Giedraitis, Frances (Co-author) / Larkey, Linda (Thesis director) / Calvin, Samantha (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examined differences in personal definitions of virginity among college students who had received either abstinence-stressing sex education or comprehensive sex education. It was hypothesized that participants who received abstinence-education would be more likely to perceive virginity as a gift, to be unsure about what specific sexual activities result in virginity loss, to have taken formal or personal virginity promises, to define their own non-vaginal sexual activity as abstinent, and to have pretended to be a virgin when they were not. Two surveys were distributed online to students at a large Southwestern university, and responses from 352 quantitative surveys and 75 qualitative surveys were analyzed. Participants in the abstinence group were more likely to be unsure about what sexual activities count as virginity loss and were more likely to have pretended they were a virgin when they were not. Women in the abstinence group were more likely to perceive virginity as a gift than those in the comprehensive group, though men were not. No differences were discerned between the abstinence group and the comprehensive group in rates of formal virginity promises or in tendency to define their own sexual activity as abstinent.
ContributorsMandile, Olivia Josephine (Author) / Mongeau, Paul (Thesis director) / Adame, Bradley (Committee member) / Alberts, Janet (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05