Flourishing at Emory University is Associated with a Student's Academic Program Open Access

Shojaie, Danielle Zhila (2017)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/rf55z854n?locale=en
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Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to understand the relationship between a student's status as an undergraduate or graduate and their mental health as measured by flourishing, a combination of emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Methods: Assessment data consisting of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) and a demographic questionnaire for 273 Emory University students was collected by the Emory's Office of Health Promotion and de-identified for this cross-sectional study. Results: Logistic regression was used to demonstrate that graduate students are more than 1.5x as likely as undergraduate students to be flourishing (OR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.10, 3.15). Two significant logistic regression models were developed to show the relationship between an individual's school status and their flourishing status: 1) includes the potential confounders: race, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, and international student status; 2) is a parsimonious model that includes only the exposure of school status. Consistent with prior research, there were significant differences between the graduate students and the undergraduate students in terms of race (p = .03) and financial status (p < .0001). Age was considered a potential confounder in the a priori criteria, but it was determined to be collinear with school status and, thus, excluded from the model. Conclusions: This study shows that an association exists between whether or not an individual is flourishing and his/her school status. These findings may be representative of the relationship between school status and age, as age is known to affect flourishing, rather than school status serving as a proxy for educational attainment. Future research should use this study as a guide to expand the research toward looking at individual schools to see if this association is consistent. The results also allow for the development and implementation of more targeted programs like Flourish Emory, which can be evaluated for effects on individual flourishing status. Word Count: 304

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Chapter I. Background Information and Literature Review...1 Chapter II. Manuscript... 7 A. Title, Author, Abstract...7 B. Introduction ..8 C. Methods... 10 D. Results... 14 E. Discussion... 16 F. References... 20 G. Tables... 22 H. Figures... 24 Chapter III. Future Directions and Public Health Implications... 26 Appendices A. Office of Health Promotion Assessment... 29 B. Additional Tables and Figures... 33

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