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- All Subjects: Young Adults
- Creators: Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
- Creators: Oh, Hyunsung
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure account for the effect of romantic dissolution on crime; and (3) the extent to which certain relationship and individual circumstances moderate the effect of romantic dissolution. The models reveal a few key findings. First, romantic dissolution is strongly related to an increase in both aggressive and income-based crime, but is more strongly related to income-based crime. Second, the effect of romantic dissolution is reduced when measures of strain
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure measures are added to models, but the peer influence/exposure measures account for the strongest reduction. Finally, romantic dissolution does not serve as a positive life event among these at-risk youth, but its effect is exacerbated under a number of contexts (e.g. when an individual is unemployed). This study closes with a summary of these findings as well as its key limitations, and offers insight into potential policy implications and avenues of future research.
Young adults with type one diabetes mellitus (T1DM) face unique challenges in managing their chronic disease. While simultaneously navigating major life transitions and becoming fully responsible for their diabetes-self management behaviors (DSMB), social support can be an integral part of disease management. Many young adults enroll in college where student organizations are prevalent including diabetes related social groups on some campuses, which provide a rich source of social support for students with diabetes as they transition to greater independence in diabetes management. This study used descriptive analysis and personal network analysis (PNA) to investigate which aspects of being a part of a diabetes related social group and personal networks, in general, are pertinent to successful diabetes management, measured by a Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) among 52 young adults with T1DM. The majority of respondents indicated that since being a part of College Diabetes Network (CDN) or another diabetes-related social group, they increased time spent paying attention to, and felt more empowered to make changes to their diabetes management routine, and they were able to generally take better care of their diabetes. Half of respondents noticed their health improved since joining, and over half felt less burdened by their diabetes. Though no personal network measures were highly correlated with higher Diabetes Self-Management Scores, the degree to which health matters were discussed within their personal network was the most associated personal network measure. Our findings help contextualize the ways in which young adults’ DSMB are influenced by participation in diabetes- related social groups, as well as introduce the use of personal network analysis in gauging important aspects of social capital and support in young adults with chronic disease.
COVID-19 has shocked the bedrock of society, impacting both human life and the economy. Accompanying this shock has been the psychological distress inflicted onto the general population as a result of the emotion strain stemming from isolation/quarantine policies, being sick with COVID-19, dealing with COVID-19 losses, and post-COVID syndrome and its effect on quality of life. The psychological distress has been experienced by the general population, but compared to middle age (30-50) and older adults (>50 years of age), it has been young adults (18-30 years old) who have been more psychologically affected (Glowacz & Schmits, 2020). Psychological distress, specifically anxiety and depression, has been exacerbated by feelings of uncertainty, fear of illness, losing loved ones, and fear of post-COVID syndrome. Post-COVID syndrome, as with other post-viral syndromes such as post viral SARS involve lingering symptoms such as myalgic encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and loss of motivation (Underhill, 2015). In addition to these symptoms, patients suffering from post-COVID syndrome have also presented brain inflammation and damaged brain blood vessels (Meinhardt et al., 2021), Endotheliitis (Varga et al., 2020), CV abnormalities and changes in glucose metabolism (Williams et al., 2020). CV abnormalities and changes in glucose metabolism are connected to chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease respectively. These chronic illnesses are then associated with higher risk for depression as a result of the stress induced by the symptoms and their impact on quality of life (NIMH, 2021). Further monitoring, and research will be important to gauge ultimate physiological and psychological impact of COVID-19.
Stress is common, and potentially adverse, for individuals transitioning to college. The purpose of the present study was to describe and understand first year college students’ experiences of stress. Specifically, the goals of this study were twofold: (1) to describe the types of stressors experienced by students transitioning into college and (2) to understand the predictors of students’ experiences of the different forms of stressors. Ecological Momentary Assessments were collected over the course of the first semester of the participants’ (N = 194, 56% female) first semester of college. Stressors were coded into 8 categories: academic, global interpersonal (family, peer, other interpersonal), obligational, health, and finances. It was found that (aim 1) academic stressors were endorsed the most frequently, followed by global interpersonal stressors and obligational stressors. Results also showed that (aim 2) males reported more frequent academic stressors than females, and females reported more frequent interpersonal stressors than males. In addition, higher GPA was positively related to obligational stressors and family support was positively correlated with academic stress. These findings suggest a need for increased awareness of stressors that students within differing contexts experience in a university setting.