Marc Raven A.

Sian 8-Sampaguita

Video Game Addiction and College Performance Among Males:

Results from a 1 Year Longitudinal Study

“This study explored the pattern of video game usage and video
game addiction among male college students and examined how
video game addiction was related to expectations of college
engagement, college grade point average (GPA), and on-campus
drug and alcohol violations. Participants were 477 male, first year
students at a liberal arts college. In the week before the start of
classes, participants were given two surveys: one of expected
college engagement, and the second of video game usage,
including a measure of video game addiction. Results suggested
that video game addiction is (a) negatively correlated with
expected college engagement, (b) negatively correlated with
college GPA, even when controlling for high school GPA, and (c)
negatively correlated with drug and alcohol violations that
occurred during the first year in college. Results are discussed in
terms of implications for male students’ engagement and success
in college, and in terms of the construct validity of video game
addiction.”
Marc Raven A. Sian 8-Sampaguita

Study Skills and their Correlation with Academic Satisfaction

and Achievement among Medical and Pharmacy Students in
Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (2013)

Study skills and students’ satisfaction with their performance

positively affect their academic achievement. The current
research was carried out to investigate the correlation of study
skills with academic achievement among the medical and
pharmacy students in 2013.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 148

students of basic medical sciences and pharmacy through
convenience sampling. Data were collected by a valid and reliable
questionnaire, consisting of two sections: Demographic
information and questions about daily study hours, study skills in
six domains, and students’ satisfaction with study skills. Collected
data sets were analyzed by SPSS-16 software.

In total, 10.9% of students were reported to have favorable

study skills. The minimum score was found for preparation for
examination domain. Also, a significantly positive correlation was
observed between students’ study skills and their Grade Point
Average (GPA) of previous term (P=0.001, r=0.269) and
satisfaction with study skills (P=0.001, r=0.493).

The findings indicated that students’ study skills need to be

improved. Given the significant relationship between study skills
and GPA, as an index of academic achievement, and satisfaction,
it is necessary to promote the students’ study skills. These skills
are suggested to be reinforced, with more emphasis on weaker
domains.”
Marc Raven A. Sian 8-Sampaguita

The Process of Adapting a Universal Dating Abuse Prevention

Program to Adolescents Exposed to Domestic Violence

“Adolescents exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of dating abuse,

yet no evaluated dating abuse prevention programs have been designed
specifically for this high-risk population. This article describes the process of
adapting Families for Safe Dates (FSD), an evidenced-based universal dating
abuse prevention program, to this high-risk population, including conducting 12
focus groups and 107 interviews with the target audience. FSD includes six
booklets of dating abuse prevention information, and activities for parents and
adolescents to do together at home. We adapted FSD for mothers who were
victims of domestic violence, but who no longer lived with the abuser, to do with
their adolescents who had been exposed to the violence. Through the adaptation
process, we learned that families liked the program structure and valued being
offered the program and that some of our initial assumptions about this
population were incorrect. We identified practices and beliefs of mother victims
and attributes of these adolescents that might increase their risk of dating abuse
that we had not previously considered. In addition, we learned that some of the
content of the original program generated negative family interactions for some.
The findings demonstrate the utility of using a careful process to adapt evidence-
based interventions (EBIs) to cultural sub-groups, particularly the importance of
obtaining feedback on the program from the target audience. Others can follow
this process to adapt EBIs to groups other than the ones for which the original
EBI was designed.”
Marc Raven A. Sian 8-Sampaguita

Looks and Lies: The Role of Physical Attractiveness in Online

Dating Self-Presentation and Deception

“This study examines the role of online daters’ physical

attractiveness in their profile self-presentation and, in particular,
their use of deception. Sixty-nine online daters identified the
deceptions in their online dating profiles and had their photograph
taken in the lab. Independent judges rated the online daters’
physical attractiveness. Results show that the lower online daters’
attractiveness, the more likely they were to enhance their profile
photographs and lie about their physical descriptors (height,
weight, age). The association between attractiveness and
deception did not extend to profile elements unrelated to their
physical appearance (e.g., income, occupation), suggesting that
their deceptions were limited and strategic. Results are discussed
in terms of (a) evolutionary theories about the importance of
physical attractiveness in the dating realm and (b) the
technological affordances that allow online daters to engage in
selective self-presentation.”
Marc Raven A. Sian 8-Sampaguita

Diet and obesity in Los Angeles County 2007–2012: Is there a

measurable effect of the 2008 “Fast-Food Ban”?

“We evaluate the impact of the “Los Angeles Fast-Food Ban”, a

zoning regulation that has restricted opening/remodeling of standalone
fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles since 2008. Food retail
permits issued after the ban are more often for small
food/convenience stores and less often for larger restaurants not part
of a chain in South Los Angeles compared to other areas; there are no
significant differences in the share of new fast-food chain outlets,
other chain restaurants, or large food markets. About 10% of food
outlets are new since the regulation, but there is little evidence that the
composition has changed differentially across areas. Data from the
California Health Interview Survey show that fast-food consumption
and overweight/obesity rates have increased from 2007 to 2011/2012
in all areas. The increase in the combined prevalence of overweight
and obesity since the ban has been significantly larger in South Los
Angeles than elsewhere. A positive development has been a drop in
soft drink consumption since 2007, but that drop is of similar
magnitude in all areas.”