Theses and Dissertations - Department of Health Science

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations - Department of Health Science by Subject "Higher education"

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    Examining college women's hookup behaviors and condom negotiation strategies used with their online and offline partners
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2019) Evans, Jennifer Lynn; Birch, David A.; Usdan, Stuart; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Approximately 60-80% of college students report engaging in a hookup at some point during their college career. College students find hookup partners through traditional meeting contexts, but dating apps and social media have become a new resource to identify potential sexual partners. Because males are the ones who physically wear condoms, safer sex efforts may require the female to possess condom negotiation skills to persuade her male partners to use a condom. Previous research has not investigated the use of condom negotiation strategies with partners identified online or offline. The primary purpose of this study was to identify differences between the mode in which college women seek male hookup partners (online, offline, and both online and offline) and the condom negotiation strategies used with these partners. A secondary purpose of the study was to utilize the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict and identify differences in condom negotiation intention with male hookup partners met online, offline, and both online and offline. The present study utilized a quantitative, cross-sectional design paper and pen survey administered through a convenience sample of 296 undergraduate women enrolled in courses in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama. Overall, 155 (52.4%) reported engaging in hookups over the previous six months. No significant differences were found between where college women identified their hookup partners and their behavioral intention to negotiate condom use. Nonverbal indirect condom negotiation strategies (F (2, 151, 3.55. p < 0.05) were significant among those who found partners offline (M = 13.38, sd = 4.59, p = 0.048). Perceived behavioral control (p = 0.043) had a significant interaction with behavioral intention when examining the TPB constructs by where college women identified their hookup partners. After adding past condom use with hookup partners to the same model, subjective norms (p = 0.047) was a significant predictor of behavioral intention. Based on the findings of this study, public health educators should continue to explore condom negotiation utilizing the TPB and develop interventions to educate college women how to negotiate condom use with their hookup partners.
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    A qualitative application of the integrated model of behavioral prediction to graduate student eating behaviors
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Pember, Sarah Elizabeth; Usdan, Stuart L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The clear relationship between diet and disease supports the importance of nutrition-related health promotion efforts across the population. One group at risk for diet-related diseases is the growing population of graduate students in the United States, who represent a diverse array of adults, covering a wide age range and many racial and ethnic designations. Health promotion efforts for graduate students could have far-reaching benefits, but these efforts must be tailored to this population. This study applied phenomenological hermeneutic methodology within the theoretical framework of the Integrated Model of Behavioral Prediction to interpret the eating behaviors of graduate students. Through a series of thirty-two semi-structured interviews, qualitative data related to dietary intake, food choice, and eating-related behaviors were collected from graduate students at a large, public southeastern university. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate the transcriptions and develop an understanding of the food choice beliefs and intentions of graduate students. Findings revealed that graduate students feel different from non-graduate student peers, and that perception affects how they make choices regarding their lives and their health. They are not only working within an ambiguous space between undergraduate/graduate student and faculty member but also between young adulthood and adulthood. While negotiating their role as both student and researcher, they simultaneously find themselves negotiating new roles as they move out of young adulthood and into a life stage with transitions such as living on their own for the first time without financial support, finding a partner, getting married or engaged, cohabitation, and having children, although not necessarily in that order, or at all. Graduate students are well-educated individuals, with a general awareness and knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating practices. However, many graduate students do not consistently perform behaviors that will promote their health and well-being. Making a conscious choice to prioritize their health over other obligations and responsibilities is not perceived as culturally supported during the graduate school experience. The findings of this study help elucidate the strongest beliefs and barriers related to healthy eating practices within this population, which can later be targeted and tested for future health communications and interventions.