Oral Presentations - Session 1C: UC 330
Comparing Variations of Mood States in College Students Enrolled in Healthcare Professional Programs
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Valerie Moody
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Athletic Training
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Context: Athletic training and nursing programs are one of the few academic programs that students obtain clinical hours concurrently with a full class schedule. The expectations for students are high as evidenced through the work they put into the program. Relationships are often strained because individuals not directly involved in the program have a difficult time understanding the long hours of the program.
Purpose: This study is the first to examine longitudinal changes in mood patterns among college students completing a healthcare professional program and those students not completing a professional program. The significance of this study is to allow us to better understand the effects of participating in a rigorous professional program on students. Participants: A convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit students currently taking classes in an athletic training program, nursing program, and community health program. Methods: The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a 65-item questionnaire that measures mood states on a 5-level adjectival scale: not at all, a little, moderately, quite a bit, and extremely. The POMS measures scores along 6 mood states: tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment, and vigor-activity. The athletic training, nursing and community health students completed the questionnaire in September, October and December. Results: Mean scores over the three time points for each factor reflect an increase in tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment and total mood disturbance for all three subject groups with nursing students having the greatest increase. As the semester progressed, vigor-activity scores decreased for all students regardless of their program. Conclusion: At this point in time it is evident that college students experience changes in mood regardless of their chosen program or major. Our results suggest that college is a challenging time for all students and as the semester progresses, vigor gives way to tension, depression, fatigue and confusion.
Category
Physical Sciences
Comparing Variations of Mood States in College Students Enrolled in Healthcare Professional Programs
Context: Athletic training and nursing programs are one of the few academic programs that students obtain clinical hours concurrently with a full class schedule. The expectations for students are high as evidenced through the work they put into the program. Relationships are often strained because individuals not directly involved in the program have a difficult time understanding the long hours of the program.
Purpose: This study is the first to examine longitudinal changes in mood patterns among college students completing a healthcare professional program and those students not completing a professional program. The significance of this study is to allow us to better understand the effects of participating in a rigorous professional program on students. Participants: A convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit students currently taking classes in an athletic training program, nursing program, and community health program. Methods: The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a 65-item questionnaire that measures mood states on a 5-level adjectival scale: not at all, a little, moderately, quite a bit, and extremely. The POMS measures scores along 6 mood states: tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment, and vigor-activity. The athletic training, nursing and community health students completed the questionnaire in September, October and December. Results: Mean scores over the three time points for each factor reflect an increase in tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, fatigue-inertia, confusion-bewilderment and total mood disturbance for all three subject groups with nursing students having the greatest increase. As the semester progressed, vigor-activity scores decreased for all students regardless of their program. Conclusion: At this point in time it is evident that college students experience changes in mood regardless of their chosen program or major. Our results suggest that college is a challenging time for all students and as the semester progresses, vigor gives way to tension, depression, fatigue and confusion.