The Nurse Entrance Test (NET): an early predictor of academic success.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a relationship exists between beginning nursing students' Nurse Entrance Test (NET) scores and their academic success within the first year of professional study. The major goal is to identify predictors of academic success so that supportive academic strategies could be implemented for the at-risk student. A statistically significant relationship is found between NET reading comprehension, math and composite scores and nursing grades during the first semester. Test-taking skills, social stressors and learning styles were also significantly related to course performance. Successful students had significantly higher reading, math, and composite scores and lower family and social stress scores than unsuccessful students. NET scores were also predictive of nursing grades, accounting for 10-33% of the variance when entered into a multiple regression equation.

A comparative analysis of the health beliefs of older black males and females.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the health beliefs of older Black males and females. The sample consisted of 66 respondents, 39 females and 27 males. The six variables measured in this study were current health perceptions, health concerns, resistance-susceptibility perceptions, health outlook and rejection of the sick role. The Health Perceptions Questionnaire (HPQ) developed by Ware (1976) and a demographic profile were utilized to collect data. The HPQ is a self administered instrument, consisting of 32 questions which are designed to obtain information relative to an individual's beliefs about various aspects of his/her health status. Internal consistency coefficients of the HPQ ranged from 0.70 to 0.92. Descriptive statistics were utilized to describe the sample. One-way analysis of variance was utilized to test each hypothesis. Results revealed rejection of all six hypotheses at p < 0.05 level.

Body Mass Index and perceived weight status in young adults.

Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight for 1,123 university students who returned a questionnaire mailed to a 10 percent random sample of the entire undergraduate population of a large midwestern university. Seventeen percent of the females and 20 percent of the males were determined to be in excess of normal BMI standards. However, significantly more women (40%) considered themselves overweight in comparison to men (24%). Also, significantly more women (53%) than men (20%) reported experiencing discomfort due to excessive weight. Inaccurate perceptions of body image are common among individuals with eating disorders. There is a higher incidence of eating disorders among college-age women than among their male peers. A distorted body image as reflected by perceived overweight may serve as a marker for individuals at risk for eating disorders.