Browsing by Author "Asher, Steven R"
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Item Open Access Embracing Culture and Connection: Asset-Based Approaches and Multilingual Learner Parent-Teacher Relationships(2023-04-25) Zimmerman, SarahAlthough strong parent-teacher relationships are pertinent to students’ achievement and well-being, there are many common barriers to effective parent-teacher relationships, such as miscommunication and misalignment of beliefs or expectations. This study investigates one possible way to overcome these challenges: increasing teachers’ understanding of families’ cultural wealth and the application of that knowledge utilizing asset-based approaches. Through a secondary analysis of survey data collected from 23 classroom teachers and 44 parents, this study examined how teachers’ incorporation of families’ cultural wealth into the classroom and their interactions with families impacts parent perspectives on the parent-teacher relationship (as measured by communication, cultural wealth, parental engagement). The results of multi-level modeling showed no significant effects of teachers’ inclusion of cultural wealth (specifically familial or linguistic capital) into the classroom or relationships on parent sentiments regarding communication, cultural wealth, or parental engagement. The findings showed meaningful medium-sized effects of teachers speaking a little bit of Spanish on all three measured aspects of the parent-teacher relationship. These findings suggest measuring specific components of cultural wealth requires complex and nuanced measures with multiple sources of information (e.g., qualitative interviews, observational data) to capture the relationships between multilingual families and teachers.Item Open Access Gender, Loneliness, and Friendship Satisfaction in Early Adulthood: The Role of Friendship Features and Friendship Expectations(2013) Weeks, Molly StroudThree studies focus on an intriguing paradox in the associations between gender, friendship quality, and loneliness, and examine whether gender differences in friendship expectations help explain why the paradox occurs. Study 1 (n = 1761 college undergraduates) documents the three elements of this paradox: (1) females reported higher levels of various positive features in their friendships than did males; (2) higher levels of positive friendship features were associated with lower levels of loneliness; and (3) males and females reported similar levels of loneliness. Consistent with this paradox, when friendship features were statistically controlled, a statistical suppression effect was found such that females reported higher levels of loneliness than did males.
Study 2 (n = 1008 young adults aged 18 to 29) replicated each of the findings from Study 1 using a revised and expanded measure that reliably assessed a broader set of distinct friendship features. In addition to measuring friendship features and loneliness, Study 2 also examined friendship satisfaction, and here too a striking suppression effect emerged. Specifically, although females reported slightly higher levels of friendship satisfaction than did males, females reported lower levels of friendship satisfaction than did males when friendship features were statistically controlled. Another noteworthy finding was that several friendship features were more strongly related to friendship satisfaction for females than they were for males, suggesting that females may be more "sensitive" to subtle variations in friendship features than are males.
Study 3 (n = 419 young adults aged 18 to 29) further replicated the suppression effects observed in Studies 1 and 2, and was designed to learn whether gender differences in friendship expectations would help explain the paradox and suppression effects. Two different facets of friendship expectations were hypothesized and assessed with newly developed, highly reliable measures of each facet. The first facet, referred to as "feature-specific friendship expectations," focused on the degree to which individuals expect a best friendship to be characterized by each of the friendship features that were assessed in Study 2. The second facet, referred to as "feature-specific friendship standards," focused on identifying where individuals "set the bar" in deciding whether or not a friend's actions have fulfilled expectations in various friendship feature domains.
Gender differences were found for both facets of friendship expectations with females generally having higher expectations for their friends than did males. The two facets were only moderately correlated, and related in distinct ways to other variables of interest. Findings indicated that higher levels of feature-specific friendship expectations were generally associated with more positive functioning in the social domain (i.e., higher levels of positive friendship features and friendship satisfaction), whereas higher levels of feature-specific friendship standards were associated with potentially more problematic functioning (i.e., more negative responses to ambiguous violations of friendship expectations).
Study 3 also tested the hypothesis that discrepancies between feature-specific friendship expectations and the quality of a person's best friendship on each of the same features are associated with loneliness and also with friendship satisfaction. Polynomial regression analysis, rather than the traditional difference score approach, was used to test this hypothesis. The discrepancy hypothesis was not supported with regard to either loneliness or friendship satisfaction; possible explanations for this finding are discussed.
Together, findings from the three studies provide evidence of the replicability of the observed paradox, identify friendship quality as a suppressor variable on gender differences in loneliness and friendship satisfaction, and provide evidence for the existence of two distinct facets of friendship expectations. Results from this dissertation suggest important directions for future research designed to better understand the linkages among gender, social cognition, and social experience in contributing to emotional well-being for young adults.
Item Open Access Interpretations and Beliefs Associated with Children's Revenge Goals in Conflict Situations(2008-04-24) McDonald, Kristina McDonaldPrior research has found that children who pursue revenge goals in minor conflicts with peers are less accepted, have fewer friends, and have friendships of lower quality. Very little research has been devoted to understanding what factors might increase a child's tendency to seek revenge in minor conflicts of interest or in more provocative situations. The present study was designed to assess several variables that may increase revenge motivations in two contexts: minor conflicts of interest and major provocation situations. Of particular interest were the interpretations that children make in conflict, especially interpretations of rejection and disrespect. Two personal dispositions were also investigated, rejection sensitivity and disrespect sensitivity. The latter was assessed using a measure designed for this study. The study also examined whether beliefs about the legitimacy of aggression and beliefs about negative reciprocity moderate the association between negative interpretations and revenge goals.
Participants were seventh-grade adolescents (n = 367) from a middle school in a midwestern suburban school district. Students were shown vignettes (hypothetical situations) depicting conflict-of-interest situations and major provocation situations. In response to each vignette, participants rated how they would feel, how they would interpret the person's behavior, what their goals would be in the situation, and what behavioral strategies they would enact. Students also completed measures of rejection sensitivity, disrespect sensitivity, reciprocity beliefs, and beliefs about the legitimacy of aggression. Additionally, students indicated which of their grademates were sensitive to rejection and which were sensitive to disrespect.
Results indicated that adolescents endorsed more rejection and disrespect interpretations, revenge goals, and aggressive strategies in the major provocation situations than in the conflict-of-interest situations. Boys more strongly endorsed revenge goals and aggressive strategies than did girls, although there were not gender differences in rejection or disrespect interpretations. Both rejection and disrespect interpretations were significantly related to revenge goals in both types of situations. In both conflicts of interest and major provocation situations, rejection interpretations mediated the link between rejection sensitivity and revenge goals. In conflicts of interest, disrespect interpretations partially mediated the association between disrespect expectations and revenge goals. In major provocation situations, disrespect interpretations mediated the link between situational disrespect and revenge goals. Although rejection and disrespect interpretations were highly related, when their shared variance was partialed out "disrespect-free" rejection interpretations were associated with revenge goals in both conflicts of interest and in major provocation situations, whereas "rejection-free" disrespect only remained associated with revenge goals in conflict-of-interest situations. Additionally, both legitimacy of aggression beliefs and negative reciprocity beliefs were independently associated with revenge goals in both conflicts of interest and major provocation situations, even after controlling for gender differences and negative interpretations. Further, negative reciprocity beliefs moderated the association between negative interpretations and revenge goals such that adolescents who were high on negative reciprocity beliefs and negative interpretations were much more likely to seek revenge than adolescents who were low on negative reciprocity beliefs and high on negative interpretations. These findings suggest that the continued comparison of disrespect and rejection experiences is warranted and highlight the need to study the personal dispositions and beliefs that may increase revenge goals and vengeful behavior.
Item Open Access The Cost of Co-Rumination: Excessive Problem Discussion is Linked to Anxiety, Depression, and Negative Friendship Features in College Students(2016-05-01) Gold, Caitlyn ElisabethCo-rumination is the extensive discussion and speculation about problems that occurs in dyadic relationships, and has been found to be linked to both positive friendship quality and internalizing symptoms for youth (Rose, 2002). To date, most research on co-rumination has focused on the associations between co-rumination and anxiety, depression, and composite measures of positive friendship quality. The present study (n = 283 college students; 57% women) examined whether gender differences in and correlations between co-rumination and anxiety, depression, and friendship quality observed in research with adolescents would replicate with a college-aged sample. In addition, the study expanded on previous research by examining links between co-rumination and two additional adjustment outcomes: friendship satisfaction and loneliness, and by examining links between co-rumination and specific positive and negative features of friendship in addition to overall positive friendship quality. Finally, the study examined the degree to which friendships high versus low in co-rumination were characterized by a variety of activities, topics of discussion, and topics of conflict. Participants responded to questionnaires online assessing emotional adjustment and aspects of their closest same sex friendship, including co-rumination. Results indicated that co-rumination was not linked to loneliness or to friendship satisfaction, but was linked to anxiety for women, and to depression for both women and men. Additionally, co-rumination was correlated with four of the 10 positive features studied, and with all 15 of the negative friendship features examined in the study. Friendships differing in frequency of co-rumination also differed in the activities, conflicts, and topics of discussion in which they engaged. Overall, the results suggest that co-ruminating with friends can be problematic for college students, especially for women, and that friendships high in co-rumination are higher in negative features and not just in the positive features previously studied.Item Open Access Variability in the Quality of College Students’ Friendships: Associations with Loneliness, Belonging, and Representations of Friendships(2021) Yust, Paula Kathryn SchuttHaving a high-quality friendship has been consistently related to lower feelings of loneliness and greater feelings of belonging in college. Yet many students report having several close friendships and the contributions of the quality of these additional close friendships, and the variability between them, for loneliness and belonging in college is unclear. Furthermore, students’ representations of friendship may help explain variation in friendship quality across multiple friendships and between college students. This dissertation examines the quality of and satisfaction with three close friendships in college using both variable- and person-centered approaches to characterize within- and between-person friendship variability. It also considers connections between these friendships and loneliness, belonging, and representations of friendship. Both studies are drawn from a larger survey-based study of college students’ relationships (N = 674 undergraduates). Study 1 first provides descriptive information about the quality of and satisfaction with college students’ three closest friendships. Between- and within-person variability in friendship quality and satisfaction are examined and person-centered analyses are used to identify different profiles of multiple friendships. Study 1 considers the implications of each of these friendships, of within-person variability (range scores) across these friendships, of between-person variability in average and of maximum quality across friendships for loneliness and belonging, as well as examining person-centered friendship profile differences in loneliness and belonging in college. Findings from Study 1 indicated that college students’ friendships were generally high in positive quality and satisfaction. These friendships are similar in many ways, but the very best friendship also stood out in terms of positive friendship quality and satisfaction. Gender-specific friendship profiles were identified for positive quality, shared activities, and conflict, but not satisfaction, and having certain friendship profiles also corresponded to differences in loneliness and belonging. Additive effects for the quality of and satisfaction with additional friendships beyond the very best friendship in predicting loneliness and belonging were consistently found. For positive quality, the range of positive quality across friendships moderated the effect of the mean level of positive quality in buffering against loneliness, but no other within-person variability effects were found. Average and maximum quality across friendships did predict well-being, however, these aggregate metrics of multiple friendship quality and satisfaction were not better predictors of well-being than the quality of and satisfaction with the very best friendship alone. Collectively, these findings suggest that multiple friendships matter for well-being and to some degree, variability across friendships is also associated with well-being. Study 2 considers two types of friendship representations—friendship beliefs and friendship feature value—and their connections with between- and within-person variability in friendship quality and satisfaction. Overall maladaptive beliefs and average friendship feature value are examined as predictors of average quality, range in quality, maximum quality, and covariates of friendship profile membership. Additional exploratory analyses examine whether specific beliefs or features especially predict friendship quality or satisfaction. Findings indicated that beliefs and feature value were each unique predictors of between-person differences in average and maximum friendship quality and satisfaction across friendships. Furthermore, when looking at certain beliefs, the associations between those beliefs and friendship quality and satisfaction were stronger for men than for women. To a lesser degree, beliefs or feature value (depending on the friendship feature) were associated with within-person variability (range scores) in friendship quality and satisfaction. Beliefs and feature value also covaried with friendship profile membership. Collectively, this dissertation highlights the importance of the quality of and satisfaction with multiple friendships in college, links the quality of and satisfaction with multiple friendships with loneliness and belonging, and demonstrates the relevance of friendship representations for the quality of college students’ closest friendships.