Behavioral & Community Health Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2802
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Item Examining evidence of reliability and validity of mental health indicators on a revised national survey measuring college student health(2008-05-15) Jackson, Theresa Katherine; Glover, Elbert D; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA), which began surveying college students in 2001, is currently the only large scale survey available for colleges and universities to measure a variety of health constructs among their student populations. Beginning in December 2005, the survey underwent an extensive revisions process in an effort to improve its measurement quality and to better capture the current health status of college students. Revisions were guided by changing student health priorities, feedback from respondents, literature focused on characteristics of reliable and valid survey questions, and the Model of Survey Response. As mental health concerns continue to rise on campuses today, this content area of the ACHA-NCHA was dramatically expanded, as it now includes constructs such as diagnosis and treatment with multiple mental health conditions, difficult life experiences, stress, and help-seeking. This dissertation, which is a secondary data analysis of data collected from the original and revised ACHA-NCHA surveys during an experimental field pre-test of the modified survey, documents the survey revisions process, provides results from more than 40 mental health indicators by various demographic characteristics, and establishes the reliability and validity of the mental health indicators. The data analyzed in this study were collected from students from 7 U.S. college and universities who were randomized to complete either the original (final N = 6,216) or the revised (final N = 6,110) online ACHA-NCHA from February through May 2007. It was hypothesized that (1) changes to survey indicators designed to measure comparable constructs would result in significant differences in student response patterns across versions of the ACHA-NCHA; (2) mental health indicators on the revised survey would demonstrate evidence of internal consistency reliability, construct-related validity, and criterion-related validity; and (3) modified mental health indicators on the revised ACHA-NCHA would demonstrate greater evidence of reliability and validity than comparable indicators on the original ACHA-NCHA. Findings from this study at least partially support all hypotheses, and the revised ACHA-NCHA demonstrates preliminary evidence that is it a psychometrically sound survey tool to measure college student mental health constructs.Item Parents' Stress and Coping with Their Children's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(2006-06-28) Mitchell, Mary Moser; Beck, Kenneth H; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In a previous study, the National Institute of Mental Health enrolled 579 children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a stimulant medication. ADHD affects 3-5% of children before age 7 and is characterized by difficulties in controlling impulsive and hyperactive behaviors and/or paying attention. Studies of children with ADHD indicate that the disorder can be extremely disruptive to family functioning. While the original NIMH study examined the children's outcomes, this investigation explored quality of life among the parents of these children. Quality of life was considered in terms of emotional well-being and social functioning. Various studies within the health psychology discipline have suggested that coping strategies, social support, and stress appraisal significantly influence and predict quality of life. It was hypothesized that stress appraisal, social support, coping skills, and symptom severity would predict quality of life indicators (i.e. spouse relationship, parent/child relationship, and psychological/emotional functioning) for parents. This main effects hypothesis was tested using baseline data and using longitudinal data, while controlling for baseline measures. The second set of hypotheses proposed that social support and coping skills would moderate the relationship between stress appraisal and quality of life. These relationships were tested using the baseline data as well as the longitudinal data, while controlling for baseline measures and a variety of covariates (i.e. demographic variables). In addition, the relationship between objective stressors and stress appraisal was tested, as well as the direct effects of objective stressors on the quality of life outcomes. A combination of structural equation modeling and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Stress appraisal was the most consistent and strongest predictor of quality of life outcomes for parents. Social support, coping, and symptom severity played significant, yet modest roles in prediction. Objective stressors significantly predicted stress appraisal as well as the quality of life indicators. These results indicated support for both the main effects and moderating hypotheses. Recommendations for health educators seeking to develop intervention programs for this population of parents were offered.