Success at university may be influenced by concerns with occupation and occupational performance. To understand occupations of concern and occupational performance among a sample (N = 144) of university students in the Midwest United States, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was administered. Socially related (n = 103), academic-related (n = 75), and work-related (n = 64) occupations were the three most frequently reported occupational concerns. Time management (n = 79) was the most frequent person-level concern. Mean self-perceived competence in occupations was 29.83 (SD = 7.18) out of 50 and mean performance satisfaction was 26.80 (SD = 8.01) out of 50. There were no differences in occupational performance across gender, race/ethnicity, class standing, living environment, or work status. However, within participants, there was a significant and clinically relevant difference between performance satisfaction and self-perceived competence in occupation, t(143) = 7.052, p < .0005, d = 0.58. Students have varied occupations that they find important, and future research should explore how occupational performance and performance satisfaction influence university success.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2015). Occupational therapy’s perspective on the use of environments and contexts to facilitate health, well-being, and participation in occupations. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Suppl. 3), 6913410050. doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.696S05
2.
BabcockP.MarksM. (2011). The falling time cost of college: Evidence from half a century of time use data. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93, 468-478. doi:10.1162/REST_a_00093
3.
BlairS. E. E. (2000). The centrality of occupation during life transition. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63, 231-237.
4.
BrayS. R.KwanM. W. (2006). Physical activity is associated with better health and psychological well-being during transition to university. Journal of American College Health, 55, 78-82. doi:10.3200/jach.55.2.77-82
CriderC.CalderC. R.BuntingK. L.ForwellS. (2015). An integrative review of occupational science and theoretical literature exploring transition. Journal of Occupational Science, 22, 304-319. doi:10.1080/14427591.2014.922913
7.
DonnellyC.O’NeillC.BauerM.LettsL. (2017). Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) in primary care: A profile of practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 1-8. doi:10.5014/ajot.2017.020008
8.
EisenbergD.GolbersteinE.HuntJ. (2009). Mental health and academic success in college. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 9, 1-39. doi:10.2202/1935-1682.2191
9.
GianoutsosD.RosserV. (2014). Is there still a considerable difference? Comparing residential and commuter student profile characteristics at a public, research, commuter university. College Student Journal, 48, 613-628.
HallS.McKinstryC.HyettN. (2015). An occupational perspective of youth positive mental health: A critical review. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78, 276-285.
12.
HuriM.BağişN.ErenH.BaşibüyükO.ŞahinS.UmaroğluM.OrhanK. (2017). Burnout and occupational participation among dentists with teaching responsibilities in universities. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22, 693-700. doi:10.1080/13548506.2016.1210177
13.
IBM Corp. (2013). IBM SPSS statistics for windows (Version 22.0). Armonk, NY: Author.
14.
KeptnerK. M.HarrisA. L.MellynJ. C.NeffN. R.RassieN.ThompsonK. M. (2016). Occupational therapy services to promote occupational performance, performance satisfaction, and quality of life in university freshmen: A pilot study. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 32, 185-202. doi:10.1080/0164212X.2015.1135094
LarsonM.OrrM.WayneD. (2016). Using student health data to understand and promote academic success in higher education settings. College Student Journal, 50, 590-602.
17.
LawM.BaptisteS.CarswellA.McCollM. A.PolatajkoH.PollockN. (2014). Canadian occupational performance measure (5th ed.). Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
MaunderR.CunliffeM.GalvinJ.MjaliS.RogersJ. (2013). Listening to student voices: Student researchers exploring undergraduate experiences of university transition. Higher Education, 66, 139-152. doi:10.1007/s10734-012-9595-3
20.
McCollM. A.LawM.BaptisteS.PollockN.CarswellA.PolatajkoH. J. (2005). Targeted applications of the Canadian occupational performance measure. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72, 298-300. doi:10.1177/000841740507200506
21.
McCollM. A.LawM. C.StewartD. (2014). The theoretical basis of occupational therapy (3rd ed.). Thorofare, NJ: Slack.
22.
MilojevichH. M.LukowskiA. F. (2016). Sleep and mental health in undergraduate students with generally healthy sleep habits. PLoS ONE, 11(6), 1-14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156372
23.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). Figure 16 Actual and projected numbers for total enrollment in all postsecondary degree-granting institutions: Fall 1996 through fall 2021. In Projections of education statistics to 2021 (Fortieth ed.). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013008.pdf
24.
QuanL.ZhenR.YaoB.ZhouX. (2014). The effects of loneliness and coping style on academic adjustment among college freshmen. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 6, 969-977. doi:10.2224/sbp.2014.42.6.969
25.
RahatE.İlhanT. (2016). Coping styles, social support, relational self-construal, and resilience in predicting students’ adjustment to university life. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16, 187-208. doi:10.12738/estp.2016.1.0058
26.
RangulV.BaumanA.Lingaas HolmenT.MidthjellK. (2012). Is physical activity maintenance from adolescence to young adulthood associated with reduced CVD risk factors, improved mental health and satisfaction with life: The HUNT Study, Norway. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity, 9, 144-154. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-144
27.
RichardsonM.EvansC.GbadamosiG. (2014). The work–study nexus: The challenges of balancing full-time business degree study with a part-time job. Research Inpost-Compulsory Education, 19, 302-309. doi:10.1080/13596748.2014.920582
28.
SagesR. A.BrittS. L.CumbieJ. A. (2013). The correlation between anxiety and money management. College Student Journal, 47, 1-11.
29.
SalehiA.HarrisN.SebarB.CoyneE. (2017). The relationship between living environment, well-being, and lifestyle behaviours in young women in Shiraz, Iran. Health and Social Care in the Community, 25, 275-184.
30.
SandqvistG.EklundM. (2008). Daily occupations–performance, satisfaction and time use, and relations with well-being in women with limited systemic sclerosis. Disability & Rehabilitation, 30, 27-35.
31.
SullivanG. M.FeinnR. (2012). Using effect size—Or why the P value is not enough. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 4, 279-282. doi:10.4300/JGME-D-12-00156.1
32.
TownsendE.PolatajkoH. (2007). Enabling occupation II: Advancing an occupational therapy vision for health, well-being, & justice through occupation. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.
33.
Williamson WeinerN.TogliaJ.BergC. (2012). Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA): A performance-based assessment of executive function piloted with at-risk adolescents. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 699-708. doi:10.5014/ajot.2012.004754
34.
WinpennyE. M.PenneyT. L.CorderK.WhiteM.van SluijsE. F. (2017). Change in diet in the period from adolescence to early adulthood: A systematic scoping review of longitudinal studies. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity, 14, 1-16. doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0518-7
WynadenD.McAllisterM.TohotoaJ.Al OmariO.HeslopK.DugganR.. . . ByrneL. (2014). The silence of mental health issues within university environments: A quantitative study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 28, 339-344. doi:10.1016/j.apnu2014.08.003
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
