Objectives. Physical education is an important context for adolescents' health and psychological functioning, yet students differ in their experiences of basic psychological need satisfaction. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to identify profiles of autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction in physical education, examine whether empowering motivational climates created by teachers, peers, and parents are associated with profile membership, and test whether profiles differ in happiness, optimism, and depressive symptoms. Sample and settings. Participants were 2,967 Czech secondary-school students (mean age = 16.62 years, standard deviation = 1.18; 52.5% females) recruited from 13 schools using stratified cluster sampling. Basic psychological need satisfaction was assessed with 15 physical education-adapted items, and perceived empowering motivational climate with 19 items. Hypotheses. It was expected that distinct need-satisfaction profiles would emerge. Profiles with higher overall need satisfaction were expected to be associated with stronger perceived empowering motivational climates and more adaptive psychological functioning. Statistical analyses. Latent class analysis was used to identify need-satisfaction profiles. Predictors of profile membership were examined using multinomial logistic regression within a three-step approach. Differences in distal outcomes were tested using the automatic Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars method. Results. Four profiles were identified: High satisfaction (21.2%), Competence satisfaction (28.2%), Relatedness satisfaction (19.9%), and Low satisfaction (30.8%). Peer empowering motivational climate was most strongly associated with membership in the High satisfaction profile compared with the Low satisfaction profile (odds ratio = 7.30, 95% confidence interval [5.34, 10.0]), with additional contributions from teacher and parent climate. The High satisfaction profile showed the most favorable pattern of outcomes, whereas the Low satisfaction profile showed the least favorable pattern. The two partial-satisfaction profiles were intermediate and did not differ meaningfully. Limitations. The cross-sectional design precludes causal conclusions, and reverse or reciprocal relations cannot be ruled out. The study relied on self-report measures and did not model need frustration, which may reveal additional theoretically meaningful profiles.
students could readily access class materials (e.g., handouts, tests, and supplementary lesson materials) and upload homework assignments.In addition to their academic instructional role, schools are also a primary source of distributing various supplemental prevention and intervention services that affect the health and well-being of children [15].In many cases, these programs were considerably curtailed if not completely reduced.Beginning in March 2020 when stay-at-home orders were initiated nationwide, the implementation of drug prevention programs like D.A.R.E.'s keepin' it REAL were cut back as police officers that teach this program had limited access to schools.This provided a rare opportunity to document and examines the impact of COVID-19 on officers' delivery of the program.Such a focus falls in line with other efforts to examine the effects of the pandemic disruption on educational practices and the detrimental effects of a national lockdown on student academic performance [16,17] and mental health [18][19][20]. Concerns about the Disruption of In-class InstructionThere is a general consensus that school closure would have some adverse effect on students, particularly those who have specific definable needs.This might include students who are economically
Our study addresses the limited availability of well-validated scales for assessing general sexual knowledge among college populations. To fill this gap, we examined the psychometric properties of a 41-item sexual knowledge scale derived from the Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Test - Adolescents (SKAT-A) in a sample of young adults aged 18-25 (N = 1,291). We employed classical test theory (CTT) procedures, followed by item response theory (IRT) and computerized adaptive testing (CAT), to refine the SKAT-A knowledge scale. Both CTT and IRT analyses identified six items for removal due to poor discrimination and difficulty parameters. A confirmatory factor analysis supported a well-defined unidimensional latent trait of sexual knowledge. The results of CAT simulations using dynamic item administration demonstrated the scale's measurement precision, with moderate test reliability and relatively low standard errors. On average, there was a 54.3% reduction in the number of items administered without compromising scale reliability. This study concludes that the SKAT-A efficiently assesses a unidimensional trait of sexual knowledge in college-attending young adults. It highlights that only a subset of items from the full test bank is necessary to achieve this, providing a practical and reliable tool for assessing sexual knowledge in this population.
Objective: Despite a growing emphasis on holistic student wellness in higher education, sexual well-being often remains neglected as part of wellness. We conducted a website content review to assess the broad utilization of wellness models and the specific integration of sexual well-being into wellness programs. Methods and results: Targeting 51 flagship and top 50 private institutions, we found that 82.35% of flagships and 64.00% of top private institutions mentioned some form of the wellness model. However, integration of the wellness model into on-campus or local resources varied considerably across institutions. Importantly, only two institutions (both private) addressed sexuality as its own unique dimension of wellness. Conclusion: The current study underscores the need for wellness programs to include a focus on sexual well-being. Skills and knowledge that college students learn through wellness programs can help them make better health decisions and improve their quality of life while in college and beyond.
Most universal drug abuse prevention efforts target early adolescents with the goal of delaying or preventing the onset of substance use. The present study examined long-term follow-up data from a large-scale randomized trial of a school-based prevention program that used cognitive-behavioral skills-training techniques to enhance social and personal competence skills and drug refusal skills. The preventive intervention was implemented in junior high schools, and pretest data were collected from students in the classroom. Approximately 13 years later, follow-up data were collected by mail from 2042 young adults. Rates of overall lifetime illicit drug use, as well as lifetime marijuana use, marijuana intoxication, and lifetime non-medical pill use, were lower among students who received the prevention program (Life Skills Training) during junior high school compared to control group participants. These findings support the hypothesis that comprehensive, universal school-based prevention programs can produce long-term effects on illicit drug use behavior.
