Jessica M. Dennis

The Role of Motivation, Parental Support, and Peer Support in the Academic Success of Ethnic Minority First-Generation College Students

The role of personal motivational characteristics and environmental social supports in college outcomes was examined in a longitudinal study of 100 ethnic minority first-generation college students. Personal/career-related motivation to attend college in the fall was a positive predictor and lack of peer support was a negative predictor of college adjustment the following spring. Lack of peer support also predicted lower spring GPA.

Reasons to Attend College Among Ethnically Diverse College Students

A survey of 713 ethnically diverse university freshmen (463 Latino, 167 Asian American, 54 African American, 29 European American) assessed reasons for attending college, ethnic identity, family interdependence, and college adjustment. Results revealed three reasons for attending college not reported in previous research: to help ones family, to prove ones self-worth, and because of encouragement. Attending college to help the family was stronger among students from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds. Ethnic identity and family interdependence contributed positively to some reasons for attending college, but did not mediate ethnic differences; with cultural factors and socioeconomic status included as predictors, ethnic minority students still gave greater importance to family oriented motives than did European Americans. Career/personal and humanitarian motives contributed positively to college adjustment.

Intergenerational conflicts among Latinos in early adulthood: separating values conflicts with parents from acculturation conflicts

An investigation of Latino and non-Latino college students sought to examine the ways in which perceived intergenerational conflicts with parents are related to acculturation, family dynamics, and psychosocial functioning. Participants reported the extent to which they experienced two types of intergenerational conflicts with parents: values/expectations conflicts and acculturation conflicts such as their parents’ perception that they are “too American”. First- and second-generation Latinos reported experiencing more acculturation conflicts than third-generation Latinos and European Americans or African Americans. Regression analyses within the Latino sample indicated that both types of conflicts with parents were predicted by acculturation variables, lower family cohesion, and increased family control. Both types of conflicts were significant predictors of depression and lower self-esteem, even after controlling for generation status and family variables.

Research Report: Can you tell who I am? Neuroticism, extraversion, and online self-presentation among young adults

The present study examined the link between neuroticism, extraversion, as well as presentation of the real, the ideal, and the false self on Facebook. Self-reports were collected from 261 young adults (ages 18-30) about personality, online self-presentation, and Facebook use. Level of extraversion was positively associated with Facebook activity level. A series of regression analyses revealed that young adults high in neuroticism reported presenting their ideal and false self on Facebook to a greater extent whereas those low in extraversion reported engaging in greater online self-exploratory behaviors. Findings suggest that young adults who are experiencing emotional instability may be strategic in their online self-presentation perhaps to seek reassurance, and those who have self-doubt further explore their self online.

Can You Guess Who I Am? Real, Ideal, and False Self-Presentation on Facebook Among Emerging Adults

Emerging adulthood is an important period for self-development, and youth use online contexts for self-exploration and self-presentation. Using a multiple self-presentation framework, the present study examined emerging adults’ presentation of their real self, ideal self, and false self on Facebook, and the relation between their identity state, psychosocial well-being, and online self-presentation. Participants (N = 261; 66 males, 195 females M age 22) completed self-report measures of identity state, well-being, and self-presentation on Facebook. Respondents reported presenting their real self more than their ideal self and false self on Facebook. A path analysis suggested that emerging adults who reported having more coherent identity states also reported presenting their real self on Facebook to a greater extent. However, those with a less coherent sense of the self and lower self-esteem reported presenting their false self on Facebook to a greater extent. Implications for methodology and future directions are discussed.

College Orientation Profiles of Latino Students From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds: A Cluster Analytic Approach

This study used cluster analysis to identify college orientation profiles of 115 Latino college freshmen from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds and examined the relationship of profiles to adjustment and academic outcomes. Participants were surveyed on personal and cultural types of motivation and college degree goals, degree confidence, and college self-efficacy. College GPA was collected from school records. Three distinct and valid profiles were identified: a family and personally oriented group, a group committed to college, and a default group. The groups differed on college self-efficacy and degree confidence, which may influence future academic progress, but did not differ on GPA. The results suggest alternative approaches to college among Latino college students.

Measuring Acculturation Gap Conflicts Among Hispanics Implications for Psychosocial and Academic Adjustment

This study examined the factor structure and validity of the Acculturation Gap Conflicts Inventory (AGCI), a new instrument developed to measure the types of recurring conflicts that young people experience as part of the parent–child acculturation gap. Participants included 283 Hispanic young adults who completed the AGCI and existing measures of acculturation, family dynamics, psychosocial, and academic adjustment. Principal axis factor analysis revealed three factors with good internal consistency: Autonomy Conflicts, Conflicts over Preferred-Culture, and Dating/Being Out Late Conflicts. These factors correlated in the expected direction with acculturative stress and family dynamics variables.  Autonomy Conflicts explained more than 25% of the variance in the acculturation gap conflicts items investigated, and this factor demonstrated incremental validity in predicting psychosocial and academic adjustment beyond the variance accounted for by other acculturative stress variables. The AGCI can be valuable to researchers from a variety of disciplines interested in measuring acculturation-related intergenerational conflicts among Hispanic youth that may be predictive of adjustment.

Neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes in Latino childhood cancer survivors.

Children with brain tumors and leukemia are at risk for neurocognitive and behavioral late effects due to central nervous system‐directed therapies. Few studies have examined these outcomes in ethnic minority samples, despite speculation that socio‐demographic factors may increase vulnerability for adverse neurobehavioral outcomes. We evaluated the neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes and their impact on the health‐related quality of life in survivors of childhood cancer drawn from Latino families in the Los Angeles region.

Chinese parents’ involvement in sexuality education for adolescents

ABSTRACT Objectives and Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to examine a model of factors related to the level of involvement of Chinese parents in sexuality education for adolescents. Results: Greater parental education was indirectly related to parental engagement in sexuality education through its relationship with more traditional cultural values, greater perceived knowledge of sexuality, and increased quality of the parent-child relationship. The model was found to be largely consistent regardless of the gender of the parent or child and the residence of the family. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that there are multiple pathways to consider within the topic of Chinese parental involvement in sexuality education.

Bicultural Competence and the Latino 2.5 Generation: The Acculturative Advantages and Challenges of Having One Foreign-Born and One U.S.-Born Parent

The 2.5 generation refers to individuals who have one parent born in the United States and one born in another country. The presence of both native-born and foreign-born parents has the potential to enhance bicultural adaptation. Across two studies with Latino young adults, we examine the extent to which the 2.5 generation is distinct from members of other generations with regard to cultural orientation, acculturative stress, and parent ethnic socialization. Results suggest that the 2.5-generation individuals report greater native cultural orientation, ethnic identity, and parental socialization compared with third-generation individuals, along with greater American orientation than first-generation individuals. The 2.5 generation also reports less language use and more acculturative stress due to Spanish competency pressures than first- and second-generation individuals. These results demonstrate that the 2.5-generation individuals may have some bicultural advantages compared with third-generation individuals; however, they may also experience similar challenges with regard to language maintenance.