Gender and country differences in academic motivation, coping strategies, and academic burnout in a sample of Italian and Russian first-year university students

Background

The first year of university represents a challenging period that requires students to make significant investments in adaptive resources to face the new academic environment. The present study intends to contribute to the controversial discussion of gender differences in academic motivation, coping strategies, and academic burnout. This cross-sectional study examined above-mentioned constructs among first-year university students in a cross-cultural context.

Methods

The sample consisted of 637 Italian and 496 Russian first-year university students (n = 1133), 40.3% of whom were females. The participants' ages ranged from 17 to 23 years, with a mean age of 18.75 years (SD = 1.07). To assess academic motivation, coping strategies, and academic burnout, participants responded to the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) application.

Results

The findings reveal gender and country differences in academic motivation, emotion and avoidance oriented coping strategies, and emotional exhaustion and expands previous studies in this educational area.

Conclusion

Given the technical nature of the research topic, the target audience for our study is academic career guidance practitioners, who can apply the findings to the design of effective programmes aimed at improving positive academic goals and reducing the tendency to switch academic courses or abandon the university among first-year students.

Testing of a model for risk factors for eating disorders and higher weight among emerging adults: Baseline evaluation

Although a range of risk factors have been identified for disordered eating and weight status, the breadth of risk factors have been rarely considered within a single, comprehensive model. The robustness of these findings across countries also remains an open question. The present study sampled 6272 participants aged 18-30 years from eight countries in an attempt to evaluate combined and unique predictors for these two conditions, and to explore possible cross-country differences in these models. Participants completed a range of demographic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and sociocultural measures to test a comprehensive model of the contributions of these predictors for disordered eating and weight-related constructs (binge eating, body mass index, compensatory behaviors, dietary restraint, drive for muscularity, and drive for leanness). Structural invariance testing within a multigroup path analysis framework revealed that a single model across the eight countries provided poor model fit. Freeing of 22% of parameters across countries provided excellent fit and a satisfactory compromise for country-invariant and country-variant parameters in the model. Overall, predictors accounted for between 15% and 60% of variance in the outcome measures, with lowest explained variance for the disordered eating outcomes. Significant unique contributions to prediction were observed for each of the five risk factor variable types and across the eight countries. Thus, the findings show strong support for this model as an explanatory framework of both disordered eating and weight status.

Trends in alcohol consumption among adolescents in Europe: Do changes occur in concert?

OBJECTIVE

The present paper extends the scope of testing Skog's theory on the 'collectivity of drinking culture' to adolescent alcohol use in 26 European countries. The aim was to 1) examine whether changes in adolescent alcohol use are consistent across different consumption levels, and 2) explore whether trends in heavy and light drinkers diverged or converged.

METHOD

Data came from six waves of the cross-sectional European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) between 1999 and 2019. The sample consisted of n = 452,935 students aged 15-16 years. Trends in alcohol volume across consumption levels including abstainers were estimated by quantile regression models (50th, 80th, 90th and 95th percentile). Countries were classified according to trends showing (soft/hard) collectivity or (soft/hard) polarisation. Trends in heavy drinkers were compared with the population trend.

RESULTS

Trends in alcohol consumption at different levels across 26 European countries in the period 1999-2019 were not homogeneous. Collective changes were found in 15 (14 soft/1 hard), and polarised trends in 11 countries (5 soft/6 hard). Collectivity was generally associated with a declining trend. In 18 countries, trends in heavy and light drinkers diverged.

CONCLUSION

Accepting some variation in the strength of changes across consumption levels, changes in many European countries occurred in the same direction. Yet, diverging trends at different consumption levels in most countries indicate a less beneficial change in heavy compared with light drinkers, implying that in addition to universal population-level strategies, intervention strategies targeting specific risk groups are needed to prevent alcohol-related harm.

The Enduring Experience in Dry Eye Diagnosis: A Non-Interventional Study Comparing the Experiences of Patients Living With and Without Sjögren's Syndrome

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies have examined the patient experience regarding the diagnosis and management of dry eye disease (DED). The current study explored the ways in which the DED diagnostic pathway differs for those living with and without Sjögren's syndrome (SS), to identify aspects that influence the patient experience and associated quality of life (QoL).

METHODS

An observational/descriptive, non-interventional, retrospective, self-reported online survey was conducted among adults living in France, Spain and Italy who were diagnosed with DED (with/without SS), were using topical DED treatments (≥ 6 months), and were not contact lens users. Recruitment was via an online database for non-SS participants and through local patient advocacy groups for SS respondents.

RESULTS

The analysis included 827 respondents; 416 (50.3%) had SS and 82% were female. The mean age was 55 (SD 11; range 16-99) years. The mean age at diagnosis was 46 (SD 12; range 13-78) years and 50 (SD 10; range 21-73) years for SS and non-SS groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). The mean time to diagnosis was extended for SS participants [32 (SD 62) months] versus non-SS individuals [8.6 (SD 28) months (p < 0.0001)] and was associated with reduced QoL scores (r = 0.113; p = 0.0169). More SS participants (31%) consulted ≥ 4 healthcare professionals (HCPs) before DED diagnosis, versus non-SS individuals (6%) (p < 0.0001). Diagnosing clinician varied for SS respondents according to country, probably due to differences in healthcare systems/structures. More SS participants viewed their condition as a handicap than a discomfort, reporting greater QoL impact (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patient experiences in DED diagnosis vary substantially when comparing SS and non-SS individuals. Time to diagnosis significantly impacts QoL for SS patients, who see more HCPs ahead of DED diagnosis. The number of HCPs consulted before diagnosis and perceptions of DED are important for both groups. Country-specific variations highlight opportunities to improve consistency and efficiency across DED diagnostic pathways. These data should be considered alongside existing evidence from high-quality sources (e.g. clinical records).

Comparing the EQ-5D-5L utility index based on value sets of different countries: impact on the interpretation of clinical study results

Objective

To compare the country-specific value sets of the EQ-5D-5L utility index and to evaluate the impact on the interpretation of clinical study results. Six country value sets from Canada, England, Japan, Korea, Netherlands and Uruguay were obtained from literature. In addition, ten crosswalk value sets were downloaded from the EuroQol.org website.

Results

For each of the 3125 possible health states the difference between the country with the highest index and the country with the lowest index was calculated. The median difference was 0.417 across the health states. When analyzing multinational clinical studies, country-specific value sets should be used to evaluate treatment effects. Additional country-specific analyses are needed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4067-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in indoor environments - A comparison of indoor contamination in Canada and Czech Republic

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are restricted compounds that are ubiquitously detected in the environment, including indoor matrices such as air and residential dust. We report concentrations of PCBs and selected OCPs in indoor air and dust from homes in Canada (23 homes) and Czech Republic (20 homes). Indoor air concentrations of PCBs and OCPs were ∼10 times higher than that outdoors. PCB concentrations of ∼450 ng/m³ were similar in both countries, higher in homes built before the restrictions on PCBs, and had congener profiles consistent with PCB mixtures manufactured or used in each country. All OCP air concentrations were higher in the Czech Republic than in the Canadian samples, suggesting greater indoor use of, for example, DDT and HCH. These data emphasize the persistence of these organochlorine compounds indoors and their presence in homes even decades after new usage was prohibited. Indoor levels of these legacy POPs remain at similar concentrations to compounds of current concern, such as brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated alkyl substances, emphasizing that they deserve ongoing attention in view of knowledge of PCB and OCP toxicity.