Our study aims to understand trans students' perceptions of campus climate, with a particular focus on students' demographics, academic experiences, and cocurricular experiences. We use Bhabha's concept of third space as an epistemological lens and Rankin and Reason's transformational tapestry model as a theoretical framework. Using a national sample of 207 trans collegians from the National LGBTQ Alumnx Survey, we utilize regression analysis supplemented by an analysis of open-ended responses to highlight the experiences of trans respondents. Results demonstrate the relationship between trans students' campus climate perceptions and year of graduation, outness, academic training, and LGBTQ academic/cocurricular experiences. We close by discussing campus climate experiences and the third space that trans students must navigate within colleges and universities, and we provide recommendations for higher-education practitioners and scholars.

This paper provides a framework for understanding the emotional and behavioral responses of college and university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. It builds on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Phases of Disaster Model and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Additionally, we conceptualize a new phase in the Phases of Disaster Model, which we refer to as the “Sandbar Phase,” to address the unique factors of COVID-19 for college and university students. For each phase, we discuss the expected timeline and the associated emotional reactions, behaviors, and applications of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs during COVID-19 for college and university students. Our proposed model aims to reveal short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of college and university students and be a resource in the development of effective mitigation efforts to diminish any psychological deficits as the result of future disasters and/or traumatic events.

Physical risk-taking is associated with increased risk of unintentional injury, a global health challenge and the leading cause of death for children in the United States. To assess risk and develop prevention programs, valid tools to assess children’s physical risk-taking are needed. No ecologically valid behavioral measures are widely available. This study describes the development and validation of the “Activity Room” to measure children’s physical risk-taking while presenting low risk of actual injury. Participants were 59 children aged 4 to 6 years old (51% female; 51% non-Hispanic White) and their parents. Children completed two tasks to assess physical risk-taking: (a) vignettes (short stories presenting risk situations) and (b) the “Activity Room” (unsupervised engagement for 5 min in a room with apparatus designed to stimulate potential physical risk-taking). Parents responded to a questionnaire concerning children’s active play behaviors. Correlational analyses evaluated convergent validity of the Activity Room risk-taking outcome. The Activity Room proved feasible; all children engaged eagerly and safely. Convergent validity was demonstrated through two strategies. First, risk-taking in the Activity Room correlated with observed play behaviors, such as climbing and falling. Second, risk-taking in the Activity Room correlated with children’s risk-taking responses in the vignettes and with parent-reported child risk-taking. Results indicate the Activity Room task is a valid technique to assess young children’s risk-taking in an ecologically valid real-world behavioral task. Incorporation of the task as an assessment tool may benefit a range of studies investigating children’s physical risk-taking behavior, risky decision-making, and child injury prevention strategies.

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The purpose of the study is to understand how undergraduate, graduate, and professional students were affected by the events of racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic. Data gathered from an online campus-wide survey administered during July and August 2020 indicated high levels of stress and rates of depression across all stages of training. A majority of these students also indicated that, while events around racism negatively impacted their mental health, such events did not affect student academic success as COVID-19 did. Although previous studies have demonstrated that student mental health has been negatively affected during COVID-19, this study shows that student mental health is also impacted by events driven by racism and racial injustice concurrent to the pandemic. In light of these findings, it is recommended that institutions adopt an intersectional approach toward addressing such contemporaneous stressors with initiatives that can adapt to multiple events simultaneously.