State farm intership explanation. What I learned and did day to day.  

Self-efficacy, simply defined, is one’s belief about what they can do (Bandura, 1977). Rooted in social cognitive theory, this concept highlights the interactions among three sets of influences: personal, behavioral, and environmental (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2014). Self-efficacy is tied to one’s belief in the ability to perform a specific task or behavior. These beliefs then drive related actions that support the attainment of a goal, which is situated within the supports and barriers of a specific setting. Social cognitive theory is the foundation for social cognitive career theory (SCCT), which similarly explains the connection between cognitive-person variables (e.g., thoughts and behaviors) and environmental factors and how they relate to an individual's academic and career interests, goals, and motivations (Lent et al., 2005).

 According to SCCT, self-efficacy is positively associated with one’s interests, outcome expectations, and available support (Lent et al., 2003; 2005; 2008). In addition, it has been found to be associated with academic and career choice objectives, such as the selection of and persistence in an academic major (Lent et al., 2003). Similarly, academic self-efficacy was associated with academic performance and personal adjustment to college in first year students (Chemers et al., 2001). In this study, academic self-efficacy was tied to academic expectations and performance, even when controlling for high school GPA. In addition, academic self-efficacy was indirectly tied to students’ perceptions of their abilities to handle academic challenges. Consequently, students with higher academic self-efficacy likely exhibit beliefs and behaviors that support their adaptation to and success in college. Understanding the role of academic self-efficacy beyond the first semester of college, however, may be important for understanding and supporting student success throughout the college experience.  

Although academic self-efficacy has been identified as a factor associated with academic and career goals and outcomes (Lent et al., 2003; 2005) and academic adjustment (Chemers et al., 2001), the majority of research on academic self-efficacy examines this variable at one point in time. Those that have examined it longitudinally were limited in scope of time frame, such as one academic year (Chemers et al., 2001) or within one semester (Lent et al., 2009). Additionally, much of the research has focused on first-year students, who are juggling the transition to college with potential uncertainty about their current and future academic and career goals. Knowing that academic self-efficacy is tied to one’s beliefs, behaviors, and the interaction of these with environmental factors, it would be beneficial to understand how these factors may change over the course of one’s undergraduate education.

Students’ experiences shape the development of new or different goals or beliefs. Through their college career, it is expected that they will need to acclimate to challenges and make adjustments as needed to attain their goals.  Consequently, it is expected that dimensions of self-efficacy will likely change over time, but increase in their senior year. The aim of our exploratory study is to examine academic self-efficacy across time, from first to fourth year, during their undergraduate education.

The Association Between Systemic Inflammation and Balance Function in the U.S. Adult Population
   Shubh Sethia, Georgios A. Stylianides, Andrew R. Heckel
Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA

In the United States (US), the leading cause of injury related emergency room visits are fall related injuries. Balance function has been shown to be a good indicator of fall risk, with individuals that performed poorly on the Modified Romberg Test (MRT) of Standing Balance on Firm and Compliant Support Surfaces having a greater than 3 fold increase in the odds of falling. Higher levels of systemic inflammation are related to worsened function of the systems that govern balance function. However, no study has investigated the relationship between systemic inflammation and balance function.   PURPOSE: To investigate whether C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of systemic inflammation, is significantly associated with balance function in the US adult population. METHODS: A total of 2,040 participants from the 2021-2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included in this study (44.3 ± 13.2 years, female: 55.2 %). Systemic inflammation was defined as serum CRP levels measured using a two-reagent immunoturbidimetric system. Balance function was defined via the total number of trials passed on the MRT. The following covariates were included due to their potential effects on the relationship between systemic inflammation and balance function: age, gender, race/ethnicity, education level, socioeconomic status (SES), alcohol consumption, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels. Multivariate linear regression was used to determine whether CRP was significantly associated with balance function in the US adult population. RESULTS: Simple linear regression showed that CRP was significantly and inversely related to balance function (ß =-0.071, p<0.001). After adjusting for covariates our multivariate linear regression indicated that CRP was significantly and inversely associated with balance function (standardized ß = -0.088, p < 0.001). Other significant contributors to the model included age, education level, SES, BMI (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found that higher levels of CRP are associated with lower scores on the MRT. These findings suggest that higher systemic inflammation may contribute to increased fall risk in the US adult population. 
   The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

We are looking at food insecurity in our age group and how it can affect physical and mental health outcomes. We hypothesize that food insecurity increases chances for harmful physical and/or mental health outcomes. We are currently conducting our research and will be presenting our findings at LAS. 

Discusses the data and results of Psychophysiological Responses to Primed Intrasexual Competition Vignettes Lab, data collected since 2025.