Talking Stick - November/December 2008 - (Page 56)

Reporting Out Reports and news from independent regional and national organizations and other groups with news relevant to ACUHO-I professionals GivE A LittLE Humility can help build healthy roommate relationships, according to psychologists Jennifer Crocker and Amy Canevello at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor. They studied 300 college freshmen who were assigned to share rooms with strangers at the start of their first semesters. Their findings were published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The researchers conducted two studies. In the first, the participants were surveyed once a week for 10 weeks about friendships and recent experiences with conflict or loneliness. For the second study, 65 roommate pairs submitted reports every day reporting on their relationships during three weeks in the middle of the semester. The researchers wanted to see how the students’ personal attitudes about relationships and conflict affected their mental and emotional health and their relationships with roommates. As might be expected, students reported less loneliness as the semester went on and more willingness to compromise and make themselves vulnerable to their roommates. Students who placed particular importance on self-image were most likely to report unhappiness with their roommates. For more information about the study, go to www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2008/08/080825175039.htm. Students On and Off Campus: Fitness and Nutrition Students who live on campus eat more calories and consume more sugar than do their off-campus counterparts. However, they also get more physical exercise. So reports a study by Sukho Lee and Kyung-shin Park from the Department of Fitness and Sports in Teacher Preparation at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. Their findings will be presented by Lee at the 121st annual meeting of the American Physiological Society. First-year female students at Texas A&M International were the subjects of the study. At the beginning of the academic year, the women completed a lifestyle questionnaire and underwent measurements of body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratios, and body fat percentages. The measurements were repeated at the end of the study. Physical activity levels were measured using a pedometer for seven days a week once a month, and the participants kept food logs for a week each month. The researchers found no significant differences in body weight, BMI, or body fat percentage between the two groups. The on-campus students consumed more calories per day (1,846) than the off-campus students (1,459), though 1,900 calories for a college-aged woman hardly seems excessive. However, on-campus students consumed significantly more sugar than their off-campus sisters. This is likely due to the buffet-style, all-you-caneat availability of food at the campus dining halls. On-campus students logged significantly more physical activity, likely thanks to their higher participation in intramural sports and their easier access to recreational facilities. The researchers acknowledge that the study was somewhat limited, conducted at only one university and only among women. But it provides a good basis for anyone wishing to follow up this research. For more information about the survey, go to www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407114624.htm. IT’S EASIEr TO ASk FOr HELP ONLINE: SUrVEy HELPS IDENTIFy AT-rISk STUDENTS Students at risk of suicide were successfully identified by a Web-based survey. The pilot study of the survey, called the College Screening Project and supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, took place at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, from 2002 through 2005. About 8,000 students were invited to complete the survey, and 729 did so. Of the respondents, 11 percent reported current suicidal thoughts, and more than half had clinically significant depression. Clinicians reviewed each completed survey; students with significant mental health problems were urged to visit the mental health center for counseling. Students who wished to avoid face-to-face interaction could also use an online dialogue feature on the center’s Web site for advice and assistance while remaining anonymous. Researchers suspect that anonymity encouraged those at risk to take the survey and to use the chat feature on the Web site. Some who grew comfortable with the chat feature eventually visited the center in person. For more information, visit www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080909111024.htm. Reporting Out was compiled by editorial intern Meredith Whipple. 5 Talking Stick http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407114624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825175039.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825175039.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080909111024.htm

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - November/December 2008

Talking Stick - November/December 2008 Contents Online Now Vision Just In Your ACUHO-I Transitions Res Life Facilities Business Special Focus Calendar Finding Inspiration in Unexpected Places The Evolving Role of the Resident Advisor Conversations First Takes Reporting Out New Members Snapshot

Talking Stick - November/December 2008

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