Undergraduates participating in remote research programs experienced gains in scientific self-efficacy similar those observed in in-person research. Students experienced gains in scientific identity, graduate and career intentions, and perceptions of benefits and costs of doing research only if they started their remote undergraduate research experiences at lower levels.
In-person undergraduate research experiences (UREs) promote students' integration into careers in life science research. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted institutions hosting summer URE programs to offer them remotely, raising questions about whether undergraduates who participate in remote research can experience scientific integration. To address this, we investigated indicators of scientific integration for students who participated in remote life science URE programs in summer 2020. We found that these students experienced gains in their scientific self-efficacy and scientific identity similar to results reported for in-person UREs. We also found that these students perceived high benefits and low costs of doing research at the outset of their programs, and their perceptions did not change despite the remote circumstances. Yet, their perceptions differed by program, indicating that programs differentially affected students' perceptions of the costs of doing research. Finally, we observed that students with prior research experience made greater gains in self-efficacy and identity, as well as in their perceptions of the alignment of their values with those of the scientific community, in comparison to students with no prior research experience. This finding suggests that additional programming may be needed for undergraduates with no prior experience to benefit from remote research.
As individuals age, they witness a decline in physical health and functional capacities. The presence of one or more chronic illnesses challenges their quality of life and general well-being, thus, impacting their abilities to function physically, psychologically, and socially. We investigated reports of general well-being in older Black males with chronic illness(es) in a study of N = 145 participants, aged 35 to 63, and identified as Black/African American male. Participants responded to items assessing general well-being; ethnic identity; self-esteem; active coping; the presence of chronic illness(es); and additional demographic, social and ecological characteristics. Analyses of responses indicated that marital status (β = –.17, p < .05), ethnic identity (β = –.34, p = .00), self-esteem (β = .22, p = .03) are significant determinants of general well-being in Black males with chronic illness(es). Data further showed active coping ( β = –.41 p = .09) to be negatively correlated with well-being. We discuss the implications of results for the understanding of health outcomes among this marginalized population.
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