Volume 46, Issue 4

Student personnel work is seen as satisfying but not always important on campus.

A study shows that use of different university facilities relates to retention for students in general and black students in particular.

This study presents self-reported prevalence and incidence data about student academic dishonesty generated from an anonymous survey conducted at a major Southeastern public university, evaluating the perceived effectiveness of a variety of cheating countermeasures by specifically comparing those students who admitted involvement with those who did not. The authors discuss various policy implications suggested by these findings.

The author reviews the history of pledging and the recent movements for reform of this practice among historically Black fraternities and sororities. He describes the membership intake process that has been adopted and its resultant problems, and suggests that the national leadership should emphasize the founding ideals of the organizations as a means of overcoming resistance to change.

Spirituality and spiritual development have been conspicuously absent from student development theories and ignored by many student affairs professionals. The authors argue for consideration of spiritual development by student development theorists, provide a definition and framework through which to consider spirituality and spiritual development, examine Maslow’s (1971) and Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) work through a spiritual lens, and suggest directions for future practice and research.

The effects of on- and off-campus living arrangements on students’ openness to diversity were examined using data from 502 first-time-college students at a major research university in the Midwest. Results indicated that living on campus was directly associated with significantly higher levels of openness to diversity than was living off campus. Living in a Freshman Interest Group was indirectly related to greater openness to diversity through students’ relationships with their peers. No significant indirect effects were found for living in a traditional residence hall or a sponsored learning community.

This paper reviews the literature on the changing mental health needs of today’s college students and the challenges posed by both the growing number of students with serious psychological problems on campus and the increase in the number of students seeking counseling. The implications of student mental health problems for students, faculty, staff, and the institution are discussed, as well as some strategies for responding to the surge in mental health needs on college campuses.

International students and the faculty and administrators charged with their oversight were surveyed at two religiously affiliated, private universities to determine the extent of their adjustment problems in the United States. Although the international students were found to have only minor adjustment problems in the twelve areas covered by the Michigan International Student Problem Inventory, university administrators and faculty consistently overestimated the extent of these problems and misunderstood the relative importance of the various problem areas. Hierarchical regression analysis was then used to decompose the variation in student problems into demographic and English language components, where results revealed that problems with the English language were the largest single determinant of international student problems, followed in effect size by marital status and country of origin.

Decisions by university officials not to notify a student’s parents following a suicide attempt on campus have been severely criticized by some observers. Although courts have not imposed a parental notice requirement, the practice is advantageous to students in many situations. The author recommends a system of notification that relies primarily upon nonmedical student affairs officers to collect reports and communicate with parents following a campus suicide attempt. In determining what information to communicate to parents, student affairs officers are advised to keep in mind the legal implications of the disclosure, including the possibility of a subsequent episode of selfdestructive behavior.

The purpose of this study was to explore students’ technology use and its relationship with their psychosocial development. Previous research explored students’ computer use in conjunction with their cognitive development. This study examined the effects of computer use and other technologies, such as instant messaging, handheld gaming devices, and MP3 players, and the impact they have on students’ peer relationships, academic involvement, and healthy lifestyles. Results show both positive and negative effects on all three constructs of psychosocial development, including differences based on gender and race.