Substance abuse behaviors among university freshmen in Iran: a latent class analysis / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: Substance abuse behaviors among university freshmen in Iran are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify, for the first time, subgroups of university freshmen in Iran on the basis of substance abuse behaviors. Moreover, it examined the effects of socio-demographic characteristics on membership in each specific subgroup.METHODS: Data for the study were collected cross-sectionally in December 2013 and January 2014 from 4 major cities in Iran: Tabriz, Qazvin, Karaj, and Khoramabad. A total of 5,252 first-semester freshmen were randomly selected using a proportional cluster sampling methodology. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify subgroups of students on the basis of substance abuse behaviors and to examine the effects of students' socio-demographic characteristics on membership in each specific subgroup.RESULTS: The LCA procedure identified 3 latent classes: the healthy group; the hookah experimenter group; and the unhealthy group. Approximately 82.8, 16.1, and 2.1% of students were classified into the healthy, hookah experimenter, and unhealthy groups, respectively. Older age, being male, and having a family member or a close friend who smoked increased the risk of membership in classes 2 and 3, compared to class 1.CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 2.1% of freshmen exhibited unhealthy substance abuse behaviors. In addition, we found that older age, being male, and having a close friend or family member who smoked may serve as risk factors for substance abuse behaviors.

Substance abuse behaviors among university freshmen in Iran: a latent class analysis / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: Substance abuse behaviors among university freshmen in Iran are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify, for the first time, subgroups of university freshmen in Iran on the basis of substance abuse behaviors. Moreover, it examined the effects of socio-demographic characteristics on membership in each specific subgroup. METHODS: Data for the study were collected cross-sectionally in December 2013 and January 2014 from 4 major cities in Iran: Tabriz, Qazvin, Karaj, and Khoramabad. A total of 5,252 first-semester freshmen were randomly selected using a proportional cluster sampling methodology. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify subgroups of students on the basis of substance abuse behaviors and to examine the effects of students' socio-demographic characteristics on membership in each specific subgroup. RESULTS: The LCA procedure identified 3 latent classes: the healthy group; the hookah experimenter group; and the unhealthy group. Approximately 82.8, 16.1, and 2.1% of students were classified into the healthy, hookah experimenter, and unhealthy groups, respectively. Older age, being male, and having a family member or a close friend who smoked increased the risk of membership in classes 2 and 3, compared to class 1. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 2.1% of freshmen exhibited unhealthy substance abuse behaviors. In addition, we found that older age, being male, and having a close friend or family member who smoked may serve as risk factors for substance abuse behaviors.

Autoeficácia na formação superior: percepções durante o primeiro ano de graduação / Freshman’s self-efficacy in undergraduation: percepciones durante el primer año de graduación / Auto-eficacia en la formación superior

Autoeficácia na formação superior é entendida como a crença de um estudante em sua capacidade de organizar e executar cursos de ações requeridas para produzir certas realizações referentes aos aspectos compreendidos pelas tarefas acadêmicas pertinentes ao ensino superior. Com o objetivo de comparar a autoeficácia na formação superior entre o primeiro e o segundo períodos letivos, realizou-se esta pesquisa com 189 ingressantes em Letras, Matemática, Administração e Tecnologia da Informação de uma instituição privada do ensino superior. Por meio da escala Autoeficácia na Formação Superior, encontrou-se diferença negativa significante (z = -3,292, p = 0,001) em relação às médias de cada período. Os resultados foram discutidos à luz da teoria social cognitiva. Foram destacadas possibilidades de intervenção e de pesquisas futuras.

Perceived self-efficacy in undergraduation is a construct of a student´s belief in his/her capacity to organize and carry out the actions required to realize certain achievements in academic tasks in undergraduation. The research, comprised of 189 participants, is aimed at comparing perceived self-efficacy in undergraduation between first and second semesters freshmen. Using the Higher Education Self-efficacy Scale, was found negative with significant difference (z= -3,292, p=0,001) between each term. The results were analised according to the social cognitive theory. Suggestions for future intervention and research were highlighted.

Auto-eficacia en la formación superior es entendida como la creencia de un estudiante en su capacidad de organizar y ejecutar cursos de acciones requeridas para producir ciertas realizaciones referentes a los aspectos comprendidos por las tareas académicas pertinentes a la enseñanza superior. Con el objetivo de comparar la auto-eficacia en la formación superior entre el primero y el segundo períodos lectivos, se realizó esta pesquisa con 189 ingresantes en Letras, Matemáticas, Administración y Tecnología de la Información de una institución privada de la enseñanza superior. Por medio de la escala Auto-eficacia en la Formación Superior, se encontró diferencia negativa significante (z = -3,292, p = 0,001) en relación a las medias de cada período. Los resultados fueron discutidos a la luz de la teoría social cognitiva. Fueron destacadas posibilidades de intervención y de pesquisas futuras.