Fisher, J. J., Kaitelidou, D., & Samoutis, G. (2019). Happiness and physical activity levels of first-year medical students studying in Cyprus: A cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education, 19(1), 1-7. Web.
Levels of physical activity represent one of the key predictors of health outcomes. Hence, future doctors must pay close attention to their well-being while maintaining a reasonable level of physical activity to remain happy. Fisher et al. (2019) addressed the problem to see how first-year medical students might respond to stress and mediate their exposure to negative health outcomes. Hence, the researchers took first-year students from Cyprus to investigate the variables of happiness and health associated with physical activity. The researchers expected to dwell on physical activity among first-year students to see how nurses could improve their capacity by engaging in exercise.
It was vital for Fisher et al. (2019) to create a study reflecting on the core benefits of engaging future nurses in physical exercise. Fisher et al. (2019) carried out a series of questionnaires to have medical students respond to questions about physical activity. The researchers utilized the Short Depression Happiness Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to investigate the subject. Overall, 79 of 120 students completed the surveys.
Results were assessed by comparing contentment and physical activity levels. Fisher et al. (2019) ‘s findings suggested that more than half of surveyed students engaged in appropriate physical activity. Based on these findings, it could be recommended that the significance of exercise intensity be investigated when looking at exclusively female medical students.
The study’s core strength was that the researchers could find the expected correlation and present it in rich detail. As for the weaknesses, the percentage of nursing students was relatively low, suggesting that the relevance of findings could be affected. Fisher et al. (2019) suppose that physical activity and happiness are directly related because positive habits promote wellness.
Fogaca, J. L. (2021). Combining mental health and performance interventions: Coping and social support for student-athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(1), 4-19. Web.
Various stressors could transform into serious health issues in college student-athletes. Fogaca (2021) reviewed the problem using the transactional model of stress. The problem was to establish the foundation for social support and effective coping when trying to mediate the negative effects of poor mental health on sports performance.
The research conducted by Fogaca (2021) aimed to develop a framework for student-athletes that would include new coaching and support methods to reduce the pressure put on respective individuals. A total of 88 participants were picked to take part in the study. The control and intervention groups were formed to administer several inventories and compare the results. Each group received five weeks of mental skills training.
Fogaca (2021) found that athletic coping skills were significantly improved through the interface of consistent communication and therapeutic interventions. The researcher proposed to develop an intervention that would help student-athletes develop and use mental skills. It would be a perfect opportunity for students to enhance health-related outcomes while improving the state of affairs in all life domains.
The key strength of the study by Fogaca (2021) was its detailed investigation of mental health in student-athletes. Nevertheless, the proposed intervention’s lack of diversity remains a weakness because more information is required to increase social support. Additional research projects will have to be carried out to ensure that mental health in student-athletes is approached from the point where interventions include more coping skills.
Mendes, S. S., & Martino, M. M. F. D. (2020). Stress factors of nursing students in their final year. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 54. Web.
Mendes and Martino (2020) conducted a detailed research project to investigate the university environment and identify the biggest stress factors. Undergraduate nurses are known to experience issues related to the university environment and sleep quality when engaging in various activities associated with studies. The purpose of the study conducted by Mendes and Martino (2020) was to find the best ways to ensure that stress factors could be identified and mitigated prior to causing any negative impact on students.
The researchers picked several inventories to carry out their cross-sectional study on well-being and stress. For example, Mendes and Martino (2020) utilized the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Instrument for the Assessment of Stress in Nursing Students. All the remaining sociodemographic information was collected using surveys.
The researchers found a direct correlation between the environment and students’ predisposition to the implementation of their coping skills. Mendes and Martino (2020) identified some of the physical and psychological variables that could affect student-athletes on a long-term scale. The authors of the study recommended paying closer attention to the environment and drawing parallels between stress levels and sociodemographic variables.
The biggest strength that can be pointed out when discussing Mendes and Martino’s (2020) research is strong attention to detail. As for the weakness, the researchers did not consider the multiple outcomes that could affect student-athletes’ mental health. The core implication for future studies is the need to include the quality of sleep and time management variables in the discussion on the topic of quality of life in student-athletes.
Van Slingerland, K. J., Durand-Bush, N., & Rathwell, S. (2018). Levels and prevalence of mental health functioning in Canadian university student-athletes. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 48(2), 149-168. Web.
Van Slingerland et al. (2018) investigated mental health functioning in student-athletes from Canada. They researched the impact a variety of factors might have on students and their overall performance. The problem reviewed by researchers was the need to look at how student-athletes could prevent negative outcomes when engaging in stressful events.
The purpose of the research conducted by Van Slingerland et al. (2018) was to collect relevant evidence regarding mental health functioning and establish an extended knowledge base. It was vital for the researchers to collect this information to pave the way for additional investigations in the future. To collect all the data, Van Slingerland et al. (2018) carried out two online surveys with 388 and 110 respondents, respectively. The researchers were interested in finding interconnections between diverse variables intended to affect student-athletes on a long-term scale.
It was found that the majority of athletes were mentally healthy and displayed incredible levels of mental health functioning. It could be reasonable to assume that student-athletes of all ages and genders could benefit from additional counseling-based interventions. It is going to be important for other researchers to pay closer attention to student-athletes with a history of mental illness diagnoses. The presence of an “at-risk” population requires more quantitative studies focusing on the ambivalence of mental health challenges.
The core strength of the research carried out by Van Slingerland et al. (2018) is that mental illness was treated as a predictive factor associated with students’ well-being. On the other hand, no particular actions were taken to highlight a strategy to achieve optimal functioning. Additional research pertaining to positive mental health has to be carried out to ensure that the individual well-being of student-athletes can be improved. Also, it is vital to note how the percentage of languishing student-athletes participating in the study was relatively low.
Wunsch, K., Fiedler, J., Bachert, P., & Woll, A. (2021). The Tridirectional relationship among physical activity, stress, and academic performance in university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 739. Web.
Academic performance is an essential topic of discussion because it is directly connected to psychological and physiological health problems. Higher education students can engage in physical activity to buffer such problems and find ways to limit stress-induced complaints. Wunsch et al. (2021) were interested in summarizing existing evidence and finding the most evident connections between mental and physiological health.
The rationale behind the study conducted by Wunsch et al. (2021) was to investigate the importance of physical activity. They wanted to see how stress and other psychological issues could be remediated through the quantification of the relationship among variables pertaining to students’ well-being. The data were collected with the help of five databases and a systematic review of literature intended to provide Wunsch et al. (2021) with additional insights on the topics of stress, mental health, and various restrictions that might hinder student well-being.
The researchers identified that physical activity and stress were not directly correlated. It means that the lack of the former might not become the main source of the latter or vice versa. It should be vital for researchers to address the gap in the discussion of the value of physical activity and investigate other probable connections between physical activity and secondary variables.
The fundamental strength of this research article is that Wunsch et al. (2021) carried out a detailed overview of relevant evidence. The biggest weakness was the decision to include articles that could feature biased insights. Forthcoming investigations should clearly highlight the most stressful periods in students’ lives and collect information during those for better research outcomes.