Obesity-Related Dietary Patterns and Health Status of Diabetes among At-Risk Latino College Students.

This study examined within-group differences in obesity-related dietary behaviors and the health status of 156 Latino students at-risk for diabetes due to family history. Approximately 58% of students were overweight/obese, with female students reporting a greater risk for diabetes. Consumption of meats, fried potatoes, breads, and tortillas was associated with higher BMI and diabetes risk indices.

Common Sense Illness Beliefs of Diabetes among At-Risk Latino College Students.

This study examined the validity of the Implicit Model of Illness Questionnaire (IMIQ - Schiaffino & Cea, 1995) when used with Latino college students (n = 156; 34% male, 66% female) who are at-risk for developing diabetes due to family history of this disease. An exploratory principal-axis factor analysis yielded four significant factors - curability, personal responsibility, symptom variability/seriousness, and personal attributions - which accounted for 35% of variance and reflected a psychosocial-biomedical common sense perspective of diabetes. Factor-based analyses revealed differences in diabetes illness beliefs based on students' age, generational status, acculturation orientation, and disease experience of the afflicted relative.

Illness Beliefs Regarding the Causes of Diabetes among Latino College Students.

This study examined the validity of the Klonoff and Landrine (1994) illness-belief scale when applied to Latino college students (n=156; 34% male, 66% female) at high-risk for future diabetes onset. Principal factor analysis yielded four significant factors - emotional, folk-beliefs, punitive, gene/hereditary - which accounted for 64.5% of variance and provided a culturally-relevant Latino perspective of the causes of diabetes.

The relationship between campus diversity, students' ethnic identity and college adjustment: a qualitative study.

The present study was a qualitative exploration into the meaning of ethnic identity and its association with college adjustment in students attending ethnically diverse university campuses. The sample consisted of 103 participants recruited from 2 ethnically diverse universities in southern California. A constant comparative analysis of the interview data revealed 9 themes as being relevant to students' experiences of ethnicity within a multiethnic campus that reflect both the positive aspects and the negative aspects associated with campus diversity.