Sheri Lokken Worthy

Disordered Gambling among College Students: A Meta-Analytic Synthesis

The purpose of this study was to use a meta-analytic procedure to synthesize the rates of disordered gambling for college students that have been reported in the research literature. In order to identify all possible studies that met stringent inclusion criteria, Medline, PsychINFO, and SocioIndex databases were searched with the terms “gambling,” and “college student”. This process resulted in 15 studies concerning gambling among college students that were published through July 2005. To synthesize the 15 studies, a random effects model for meta-analysis was applied. The estimated proportion of disordered gamblers among college students was 7.89%. This estimate is noteworthy because it is higher than that reported for adolescents, college students or adults in a previous study using meta-analytic procedures with studies conducted prior to 1997.

Body dissatisfaction, bulimic symptoms, and clothing practices among college women.

Clothing use may be a behavioral avoidance strategy for individuals with body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. The authors administered the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (J. C. Rosen, D. Srebnik, E. Saltzberg, & S. Wendt, 1991), the Bulimia Test-Revised (M. Thelen, J. Farmer, S. Wonderlich, & M. Smith, 1991), and the Body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (D. M. Garner, M. P. Olmstead, & J. Polivy, 1983) to undergraduate college women from two universities (N = 540). Results indicated that women who were more dissatisfied with their bodies (β = .396) and had greater disordered eating behaviors (β = .378) were more likely to engage in clothing-related appearance-management behaviors (p < .001), including wearing apparel to camouflage their bodies; avoiding revealing, brightly colored, or tightly fitting clothing; and avoiding shopping for clothing. These findings suggest that the presence of certain clothing-related appearance-management behaviors may be a warning sign that an individual is at risk for developing an eating disorder or may currently have an eating disorder.

Examining the Links Among Magazine Preference, Levels of Awareness and Internalization of Sociocultural Appearance Standards, and Presence of Eating-Disordered Symptoms in College Women

Research has shown that young women are negatively affected by media images representing thin female body types. Given the increasing prevalence of eating disorders among young women, it is important to look closer at this phenomenon and the role/responsibility of the media. This study examined the links among quantity of magazine exposure, preference for specific periodicals, awareness and internalization of sociocultural standards of beauty, and the presence of eating-disordered symptoms in a sample of college women. Small, but significant, correlations were found between magazine exposure and drive for thinness, and between preference for beauty and fashion magazines and internalization of sociocultural standards of appearance. Regression analyses found awareness and internalization of sociocultural standards of appearance to be significant predictors of body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimic symptoms. The results of this study are discussed in terms of educational and social marketing strategies.

Demographic and lifestyle variables associated with obesity

Objective: Overweight and obesity rates are associated with chronic diseases and higher rates of disability and continue to rise in the United States and worldwide. The purpose of this study was to build on past research and further investigate demographic and lifestyle variables associated with increased body mass index (BMI: kg/m 2). Methods: Personal Information Worksheets were completed by 125 bariatric surgery candidates and 213 community dwelling individuals providing a sample size of 338. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed on three sets of independent variables (demographic characteristics, lifestyle variables and consumer response) and one dependent variable (BMI). Results: Lower levels of education and physical activity, higher levels of diet soda consumption and number of dieting attempts, and likelihood of starting a diet programme based on advertising testimonials were predictive of higher BMI. Conclusion: This research highlights the need for more education emphasizing the importance of increased healthy behaviours versus use of diet products and fad diets to improve success of weight loss efforts.

Bulimic Symptoms and Body Image Dissatisfaction in College Women: More Affected by Climate or Race?

The authors examined bulimic symptoms and body image dissatisfaction (BID) in a sample of college women. No differences were found in comparisons of bulimic symptoms or BID between Southern and Northern White women, and both groups reported similar levels of awareness and internalization of sociocultural aesthetic standards of appearance. Southeastern Black women reported (a) significantly lower levels of bulimic symptoms in comparison with White women from the North and (b) lower levels of BID in comparison with White women from both Southern and Northern regions. Further, Southeastern Black women were significantly less likely to be aware of and endorse mainstream standards of appearance in comparison with both groups of White women. Findings support the hypothesis that having a positive body image and less susceptibility to mainstream aesthetic standards of appearance may reduce the risk of eating disorder pathology in Black women.

Turning the Tide on Poverty: Documenting impacts through Ripple Effect Mapping

Abstract As practitioners expand their efforts to promote civic engagement and action through the use of dialog, one of the nagging concerns is how to effectively and successfully measure and document the outcomes associated with these local activities. The organic nature of citizen-led initiatives makes this a particularly challenging area in which to guage results. One promising method, Ripple Effect Mapping (REM), is an effective, easy-to-use, and cost-efficient method of evaluating participatory programs. Evaluators used REM to document the impact of Turning the Tide on Poverty in the southern US. Additionally, the method visually mapped the capacity-building work of communities participating in Tide. Representatives from each community that participated in REM were able to identify multiple accomplishments that resulted from Tide. These accomplishments were categorized using the Community Capitals Framework. REM was a useful evaluation method that documented how the Tide initiative affected the participating communities’ capitals.

Turning the Tide on Poverty: Perceptions of leaders and leadership in economically distressed communities

Abstract The Turning the Tide on Poverty project (Tide) was a civic engagement effort launched in 14 economically distressed southern rural communities in the US. The impetus of Tide was to foster community involvement in identifying and planning “place-based” solutions to poverty. Pre, immediate post, and follow-up data were collected, and qualitative analyses revealed key themes. The purpose of this article was to discuss the perceptions of the leadership theme, defined as the way community members view their local leaders. Findings indicate that positive perceptions of leadership helped communities engage more effectively in Tide. Discussions about who the decision-makers were, styles of leadership used, and whether residents and community leaders interacted in a positive manner are further explored in the context of the Community Capitals Framework.

Undergraduate Women Who Have Gambled in Casinos: Are They at Risk?

The aim of this study is to describe female undergraduates who have gambled in casinos compared with their peers who have never participated in casino gambling or gambling in any form. Pathological gambling has been linked to financial problems, marital stress, lost time at work and school, depression, and even suicide. Female students (n = 179, mean age 21.64) from a southeastern university are questioned about their gambling behaviors, sensation-seeking traits, and alcohol consumption. Female college students who have participated in casino gambling have higher sensation-seeking scores, higher scores on a measure of gambling severity, consumed alcohol on more occasions over the past 30 days, and have binge drunk more frequently than their peers. Implications are presented for gambling prevention and research.

Turning the Tide on Poverty: Sustainability of community engagement in economically distressed communities

Abstract Turning the Tide on Poverty (“Tide”) was a community engagement program implemented in rural communities in the southern United States seeking place-based solutions to poverty. Tide was structured to evolve and be sustained by local communities after formal support ended. Tide communities were visited a year or more after the end of the program to assess program sustainability. Key factors revealed through qualitative analysis to be important to program sustainability are discussed in the context of the Community Capitals Framework. The connection between Tide sustainability and the development of social capital in the communities is emphasized. Barriers to success and sustainability of Tide are discussed briefly.

Turning the Tide on Poverty: History, theoretical frameworks, and methods

Abstract Desiring to enhance understanding of the key elements that promote community-based democratic engagement and spur people to engage in the vitality of their communities, in 2008 the Turning the Tide on Poverty project launched in six southern US states. Inspired by the successes of the Horizons project in the northwestern US, Tide was a collaborative effort led by the Southern Rural Development Center with partners that included the Kettering Foundation, Everyday Democracy, the Farm Foundation, and land-grant universities. Researchers and Cooperative Extension personnel from southern universities developed a strategy to involve residents in the process of addressing challenges in their impoverished communities. The purpose of this article is to present a brief history and overview of the project, to locate the project within theoretical frameworks, and to discuss the methods used for data collection and analysis. In so doing, we provide a context for the scholarly examination of Tide that follows in this special collection of Community Development.