Melissa R. Witkow

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Names Will Make Me Feel Sick: The Psychosocial, Somatic, and Scholastic Consequences of Peer Harassment

This study examined associations among peer victimization, psychosocial problems, physical symptoms, and school functioning across the 1st year in middle school. An ethnically diverse sample of urban 6th graders (N = 1,526) reported on their perceptions of peer victimization, psychosocial adjustment, and physical symptoms during fall and spring. Objective measures of school functioning (i.e., grade point average and absences) were also collected. In Model 1, peer victimization in the fall was associated with spring psychosocial maladjustment and physical symptoms, which in turn predicted poor spring school functioning. Model 2 suggested that psychosocial difficulties increase the risk of victimization, although physical symptoms did not predict victimization. No sex or ethnic group (African American, Asian, European American, and Latino) differences were found in the model structure or the strength of the path coefficients for either model, suggesting that the process is the same for boys and girls and students from different ethnic groups.

Beyond the Individual: The Impact of Ethnic Context and Classroom Behavioral Norms on Victims' Adjustment.

With a sample of 1,630 sixth-grade students from 77 classrooms, the authors used hierarchical linear modeling to examine how ethnicity within context and classroom social disorder influenced the association between peer victimization and social-psychological adjustment (loneliness and social anxiety). Victimized students in classrooms where many classmates shared their ethnicity reported feeling the most loneliness and social anxiety. Additionally, classroom-level social disorder served as a moderator such that the association between victimization and anxiety was stronger in classrooms with low social disorder. Both findings were interpreted as evidence that problem behavior deviating from what is perceived as normative in a particular context heightens maladjustment. The authors discuss implications for studying ethnicity and classroom behavioral norms as context variables in peer relations.

Normative Changes in Ethnic and American Identities and Links with Adjustment among Asian American Adolescents.

Identity development is a highly salient task for adolescents, especially those from immigrant backgrounds, yet longitudinal research that tracks simultaneous change in ethnic identity and American identity over time has been limited. With a focus on 177 Asian American adolescents recruited from an emerging immigrant community, in the current study, we used hierarchical linear modeling and found that ethnic identity tends to remain fairly stable across the 4 years of high school, whereas American identity increases over time. When ethnic identity and American identity were examined simultaneously, consistent with existing research, ethnic identity was positively associated with positive relationships, high self-esteem, academic motivation, and lower levels of depression over time. Although American identity was not significantly associated with depression, positive links with relationships, self-esteem, and academic motivation were found. Both identities were interactively associated with academic motivation. Acculturative implications and the importance of considering the dual construction of ethnic identity and American identity in light of adolescent adjustment are discussed.

Mutual antipathies during early adolescence: More than just rejection

Recent research suggests that having a mutual antipathy, in comparison to not having an antipathy, is associated with a host of negative outcomes. However, the methods used may not have adequately controlled for rejection and therefore may have provided an incomplete description of the psychosocial correlates of having a mutual antipathy. With a sample of approximately 2000 sixth-grade students, the goal of the present study was to disentangle the effects of rejection from those of having mutual antipathies and assess whether or not involvement in a mutual antipathy reflects maladaptive behaviour for young adolescents. When controlling for rejection, and including only students who received at least one rejection nomination, having a mutual antipathy was not necessarily associated with increased maladjustment. Additionally, when compared to boys and girls with no antipathies, those involved in at least one same-sex antipathy had different psychosocial adjustment profiles than those involved in at least one opposite-sex antipathy. The results indicate the need to carefully choose comparison groups when examining the correlates of mutual antipathies.

Understanding Differences in College Persistence: A Longitudinal Examination of Financial Circumstances, Family Obligations, and Discrimination in an Ethnically Diverse Sample.

Ethnic and generational differences in motivation and achievement have been well-established. However, minimal research has examined the role of social factors on educational outcomes among individuals from diverse backgrounds. With a longitudinal sample of 408 Latino, Asian, and European-American students, we examine family, discrimination, and financial factors in 12th grade and two years later as predictors of persistence four years after high school, and as mediators of ethnic and generational differences in persistence. Results indicate that family obligations, discrimination, and financial burdens are associated with reduced rates of persistence, while high school GPA, SES, and financial aid are associated with higher rates of persistence. Ethnic differences in persistence are related to high school GPA and SES, as well as financial circumstances. Reducing ethnic disparities in college persistence should thus involve attention not only to academic factors, but also to family circumstances that may cause college attendance to be a hardship.

Mismatches in Self-Reported and Meta-Perceived Ethnic Identification across the High School Years

Ethnic identification (i.e., one’s self-reported ethnicity) is a social construction and therefore subject to misperceptions by others. When adolescents’ self-views and others’ perceptions are not aligned, adolescents may experience adjustment challenges. The present study examined mismatches between adolescents’ ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) and meta-perceptions (i.e., what ethnicity they believed their schoolmates presumed them to be), as well as longitudinal associations between mismatches and adjustment across the high school years. Participants (Mage = 14.5; 57% girls) were an ethnically diverse sample of 1151 low-income high school students who had participated in an earlier longitudinal study during middle school. Although ethnic identification was largely consistent across the high school years, many students (46%) experienced at least occasional mismatches between their self-reported ethnic identification and meta-perceptions, with students who ever identified as multiethnic experiencing more mismatches than their monoethnic counterparts. Experiencing a mismatch was associated with more depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and lower self-worth.

Training Scientific Thinking Skills Evidence From an MCAT2015-Aligned Classroom Module

The present study reports on the development and evaluation of a classroom module to train scientific thinking skills. The module was implemented in two of four parallel sections of introductory psychology. To assess learning, a passage-based question set from the medical college admissions test (MCAT2015) preview guide was included as extra credit on the final exam in all sections. This provided an outcome that was distinct in content from the module, while tapping the same underlying scientific thinking skills. Students in the experimental classrooms answered more questions correctly on targeted scientific thinking skills than students in the comparison classrooms. These data support the benefit of targeted activities for training scientific thinking skills in introductory psychology.

Early Adolescents’ Peer Experiences with Ethnic Diversity in Middle School: Implications for Academic Outcomes

As the U.S. becomes increasingly ethnically diverse, opportunities for cross-ethnic interaction at school may be increasing, and these interactions may have implications for academic outcomes for both ethnic minority and White youth. The current study examines how cross-ethnic peer relationships, measured using peer nominations for acceptance and daily lunchtime interactions, relate to academic outcomes for an ethnically diverse sample of 823 (45% boys and 55% girls; Mage = 11.69) public middle school sixth graders across one Midwestern and two Western states. For White, Black, Asian, Latino/a, and Multiethnic students, self-reported daily cross-ethnic peer interactions were associated with higher end-of-year GPAs in core academic courses and teachers’ expectations for educational attainment, but not self-reported school aversion. Making cross-ethnic acceptance nominations was not associated with any academic outcomes. Thus, daily opportunities for cross-ethnic interactions may be important school experiences for early adolescents.

Daily Associations Between Adolescents’ Race-Related Experiences and Family Processes

This chapter explores how adolescents’ race-related experiences, both positive and negative, cross over into the family context and subsequently structure family-level processes. Using micro-longitudinal daily diary data from 180 Asian American adolescents (58% female, 74% U.S.-born), we found that, on days when adolescents report something bad happening due to their race or ethnicity (e.g., teased, picked on, called names), they also report spending significantly more time with their families. Greater family engagement was also found in the context of positive race-related experiences (e.g., complimented for an outfit, rewarded for participating in a Hmong dance group). Although ethnic identity did not moderate any daily associations, main effects were found whereby strong levels of ethnic identity were related to more family interactions, both in terms of leisure activities and assistance behaviors, as well as getting along with the family. Collectively, our analyses point to critical and complex ways in which adolescents’ daily race-related experiences are intricately linked to their daily family interactions, providing crucial knowledge about the overall cultural and social development of Asian American youth. We discuss further nuances by gender and generational status, as well as the deeper implications of our results, particularly in light of developing effective parenting interventions and programs to best serve Asian American youth and families in the face of possible discrimination and race-related rejection.

Daily School Context of Adolescents' Single Best Friendship and Adjustment

ABSTRACT Research on adolescent best friendships typically focuses on school-based friendships, ignoring important differences between classroom-based and out-of-school friendships. With data from 156 ninth-grade students, many of whom named more than 1 best friend across the 14-day period, the authors examined associations between the daily school context of ones best friendship and adjustment. Benefits of in-grade best friendships were found in academic engagement when a composite was assessed across the 2-week period. Daily findings were more complex and were different between weekends and school days. Out-of-grade best friends were named more frequently on weekends, and on weekend days in which they named an out-of-school best friend participants spent more time with that friend but felt like less of a good student. Implications for our understanding of friendship context and for the measurement of friendship itself are discussed.