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Browsing by Author "Suinn, Richard M., advisor"

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    Math anxiety and careers among bilingual Latinos
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Goldwaser, Gali, author; Suinn, Richard M., advisor
    Latinos do not enter particular occupational fields at the same rate than other ethnic groups and certainly continue to be underrepresented in math, science, and engineering (MSE) fields. Although math anxiety has been widely studied as a variable influencing MSE careers among European-American college students, such information is lacking for bilingual Latino college students. The first objective of the study was to create and psychometrically evaluate a Spanish-language Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale-Short Version (MARS-SV) and to compare it with the English-language MARS-SV in relation to mathematics performance and mathematics avoidance behaviors. The second objective involved an exploratory analysis of possible variables which could have an effect on bilingual Latino students' choice of MSE college majors and careers. Predictors explored included: (1) past failure experiences with math, (2) inadequate preparation for math majors/careers, (3) math being perceived as stressful, (4) lack of guidance towards majors/careers in math, (5) lack of interest in math majors/careers, (6) value of math-related majors/careers for the future, and (7) general dislike for math. Results suggest that the newly created Spanish-language MARS-SV has good internal reliability, is highly correlated with, and showed similar norms to the English MARS-SV. A principal components analysis with varimax rotation also demonstrated a similar factorial structure to that described in previous literature for the English-language version. The study found that overall math anxiety did not appear to be related to math performance although a ceiling effect in math performance was observed for the sample used. A small, but significant correlation was observed between math anxiety and MSE-related college major avoidance. However, math anxiety was not associated with number of math courses participants completed in high school or college, or were planning on taking in college, and no differences were found between high math anxious and low math anxious students in regard to number of math courses completed in high school or college, and planning on completing in college. A logistic regression model significantly predicted MSE major and career choice, these included perceiving math as stressful, perceived value for the future, and lack of guidance in math, and finally, lack of interest predicted MSE career, but not MSE major.
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    Protective factors against alcohol abuse in college students: spirituality, wisdom, and self-transcendence
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Felker, Sydney E., author; Rickard, Kathryn M., advisor; Suinn, Richard M., advisor; Miller, Lisa A., committee member; Le, Thao, committee member
    Past research consistently suggests that spirituality is a protective factor against substance abuse in adolescents and adults. Many other personality and environmental factors have been shown to predict alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems, yet much of the variance in alcohol abuse remains unexplained. Alcohol misuse continues to plague college campuses in the United States and recent attempts to reduce problematic drinking have fallen short. In an effort to further understand the factors contributing to students' alcohol abuse, this study examines how spirituality, wisdom, and self-transcendence impact the drinking behaviors of college students. Two groups of students were studied: 1. students who were mandated for psychoeducational and clinical intervention as a result of violating the university alcohol policy; 2. a comparison group of students from the general undergraduate population who had never been sanctioned for alcohol misuse on campus. Alcohol use behaviors were assessed through calculating students' reported typical blood alcohol level and alcohol-related problems. Results showed that wisdom is significantly and negatively related to blood alcohol level and alcohol-related problems for the mandated group but not the comparison group. Self-transcendence was inversely related to blood alcohol level for the control group only and spirituality was not related to alcohol use measures for either group. Participant group membership, gender, and wisdom accounted for a significant amount of variance in blood alcohol level, but only group membership explained variance in alcohol-related problems. Gender analyses were conducted by group, revealing significant differences in how spirituality, wisdom, and self-transcendence relate to alcohol use for men and women. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are offered.