We conducted focus group interviews with students who were current peer health educators at a mid-sized university to determine what factors motivate individuals to volunteer for a peer health education program. Specifically, we asked the participants questions designed to explore their life experiences, their expectations of the peer education program, and their motivations. Constructs from social learning theory were used to categorize and contribute to our understanding of the responses. Many participants specified experiences with family members or friends, such as alcoholism or other illnesses, that had influenced their decisions. Participants' expectation of the program varied greatly and did not indicate a strong link to the decision to volunteer. The peer health educators' motivations for volunteering were altruistic, such as wanting to help others; egotistic, such as wanting job training; or related to self-efficacy beliefs, such as satisfying a personal need for health education. This study indicated that life experiences, a belief in the effectiveness of peer health education programs, and positive reinforcement to join influence the decision to volunteer. Implications for coordinating peer education programs are discussed.
In this article we report results of a qualitative interview study focusing on middle school Language Arts teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and reported practices related to LGBQ topics. The study found that virtually all of the teacher participants recognized that the topic of same-sex sexuality was important for their students, yet the teachers used a variety of strategies to avoid or redirect discussion of the topic. We argue that teacher responses indicate that they generally reinforced the heteronormative silence about sexual orientation and, in some cases, blocked student attempts to disrupt the norm of silence or to change the discourse. In doing so, teachers shaped (inadvertently or not) student behaviors and attitudes to fit into the heterosexist and homophobic local school community of practice. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.
Given the unique impediments for bisexual students, college health professionals should consider specifically addressing needs for bisexual students, bisexual women in particular.
While many general education classroom teachers encounter issues of sexuality in the middle school classroom, few teacher candidates feel prepared to address them. One source of information for teacher candidates is the role modeling provided by their own teachers when they were elementary and secondary students. In this study, 107 teacher candidates enrolled in a middle level preparation course completed five stem sentences describing their experience of being educated about sexuality when they were younger. The results revealed that 69% of the teacher candidates described poor role modeling. Most commonly, these teacher candidates detailed wanting "more" from their teachers-more depth and breadth, more honesty, and more commitment to providing sexuality information. They indicated that they would have liked to have teachers who were more comfortable with the subject matter and who covered topics such as love and relationships. Without preparation to address these topics, teacher candidates may have the impression that sexuality education is intimidating and uncomfortable and can be handled by a book, video, or outside consultant. Because of the likelihood that non-health teachers will be required to address sexuality, teacher preparation programs need to provide opportunities for teacher candidates to develop confidence and competence relative to sexuality education.
This pilot study aimed to reduce Bosnian refugees' vulnerability to and severity of mental disorders and sustain their mental health through adopting culturally appropriate and tailored physical activity. The study used the Community-Based Participatory Research approach and the quasi-experimental study design. A total of 35 participants in the intervention group received 12-week regular physical activity while 35 participants in the control group received 12-week educational materials concerning mental health. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by the validated and culturally and linguistically competent instrument, Mental Health Inventory (MHI)-38. At the end of the study, both intervention and control groups demonstrated statistically significant improvement on the scales of MHI-38 either within or between groups. The study served as a non-clinical example to sustain, replicate, and expand the current intervention activities among the rest of the Bosnian community and other refugee/immigrant populations in the U.S. regarding their mental health well-being.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.