UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
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Item Observed Social Problem Solving and Friendship Quality in Children with a Traumatic Brain Injury(2016) Heverly-Fitt, Sara; Rubin, Kenneth; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Children who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at risk for a variety of maladaptive cognitive, behavioral and social outcomes (Yeates et al., 2007). Research involving the social problem solving (SPS) abilities of children with TBI indicates a preference for lower level strategies when compared to children who have experienced an orthopedic injury (OI; Hanten et al., 2008, 2011). Research on SPS in non-injured populations has highlighted the significance of the identity of the social partner (Rubin et al., 2006). Within the pediatric TBI literature few studies have utilized friends as the social partner in SPS contexts, and fewer have used in-vivo SPS assessments. The current study aimed to build on existing research of SPS in children with TBI by utilizing an observational coding scheme to capture in-vivo problem solving behaviors between children with TBI and a best friend. The current study included children with TBI (n = 41), children with OI (n = 43), and a non-injured typically developing group (n = 41). All participants were observed completing a task with a friend and completed a measure of friendship quality. SPS was assessed using an observational coding scheme that captured SPS goals, strategies, and outcomes. It was expected children with TBI would produce fewer successes, fewer direct strategies, and more avoidant strategies. ANOVAs tested for group differences in SPS successes, direct strategies and avoidant strategies. Analyses were run to see if positive or negative friendship quality moderated the relation between group type and SPS behaviors. Group differences were found between the TBI and non-injured group in the SPS direct strategy of commands. No group differences were found for other SPS outcome variables of interest. Moderation analyses partially supported study hypotheses regarding the effect of friendship quality as a moderator variable. Additional analyses examined SPS goal-strategy sequencing and grouped SPS goals into high cost and low cost categories. Results showed a trend supporting the hypothesis that children with TBI had fewer SPS successes, especially with high cost goals, compared to the other two groups. Findings were discussed highlighting the moderation results involving children with severe TBI.Item PREFERENCE-FOR-SOLITUDE, FRIENDSHIP SUPPORT, AND INTERNALIZING DIFFICULTIES DURING EARLY ADOLESCENCE IN THE U.S.A. AND CHINA(2014) Wang, Jennifer M.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Social withdrawal has been associated with adjustment difficulties across development. Although much is known about shyness, little is known about preference-for-solitude; even less is known about how friendship might influence its relations with adolescent adjustment across different cultures. In particular, despite the significance of friendship for youth adjustment, not much is known about the ways in which friendship quality might lead to different adjustment outcomes for youth who prefer solitude; even less is known about these relations across different cultures. Accordingly, the overall goal of this research was to examine the relations between preference-for-solitude, friendship support, and internalizing difficulties during early adolescence in the U.S.A. and China. Specifically, this research examined the moderating role of friendship support in the relations between preference-for-solitude and internalizing difficulties (negative affect, negative self-esteem) in early adolescence across the U.S.A. and China. The U.S.A sample comprised 300 American youth (121 boys; M age = 14.28 years, SD = .51) from the greater Washington DC metropolitan area. The China sample comprised 201 youth living in Beijing, China (86 boys; M age = 14.21 years, SD = .62). Participants across both samples completed self- reports of social withdrawal (shyness; preference-for-solitude), friendship support, and internalizing difficulties (negative affect; negative self-esteem). Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that preference-for-solitude and shyness emerged as related but unique dimensions of withdrawal across both the U.S.A. and China. Consistent with previous research, preference-for-solitude was positively associated with negative affect and negative self-esteem across both samples. In the U.S.A., friendship support significantly moderated the link between preference-for-solitude and negative self-esteem: preference-for-solitude was most associated with negative self-esteem beyond shyness for American youth with low friendship support. This was not found for negative affect; friendship support did not significantly moderate the effect of preference-for-solitude on negative affect in American youth. In China, friendship support did not significantly moderate any of the relations between preference-for-solitude and internalizing difficulties. Rather, for Chinese youth, preference-for-solitude and friendship support contributed independently beyond the effects of shyness to negative affect and negative self-esteem. In summary, preference-for-solitude was positively associated with negative affect and negative self-esteem in early adolescence across the U.S.A. and China. In the U.S.A., preference-for-solitude was most associated with negative self-esteem for youth with low friendship support. In addition to contributing to the developmental literature on preference-for-solitude, findings highlight the role of close interpersonal relationships for understanding the heterogeneity of withdrawal in development and across different cultures.Item Group Norms and Intimacy Among Best Friends: A Normative Cross-Sectional Developmental Study(2012) Menzer, Melissa Mary; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The focus of the current dissertation was on 1) the prevalence and nature of observed gossip behavior in the friendships of children in grades five and six, and 2) the associations of observed gossip behavior and perceptions of friendship quality. Scholars have argued that gossip is a normal part of communicative development and it also has been linked to perceptions of close and positive friendship (Gottman & Mettetal, 1986). The findings of the current dissertation indicated that gossip was prominent in children's conversations with their best friends, and that different forms of gossip behavior were evident. Results also confirmed the association of gossip and perceptions of friendship quality (Parker & Gottman, 1989; Sullivan, 1953), and that these relations were stronger for girls than for boys (Foster, 2004; Gottman & Mettetal, 1986; Leaper & Holliday, 1995). In addition, these relations varied depending on other contextual factors, such as whom the gossip was about. Generally, gossip functioned in two apparently contradictory ways for the friendships of girls. On the one hand, gossip was associated with positive aspects of friendship quality. On the other hand, gossip was also associated with negative aspects of friendship quality, such as conflict. Perhaps gossip was more important for the friendships of girls due to the motivations and importance of friendships for girls. In other words, girls are argued to focus their relationship efforts on building close dyadic relationships that involve high levels of disclosure and conversation whereas boys are argued to engaged in more activities that do not require as much disclosure or conversation (e.g., sports, video games; Findlay & Coplan, 2008; Leaper & Smith, 2004; Schneider & Tessier, 2007). Moreover, it may be that conflict resulted from greater engagement and higher frequencies of interaction within the friendship and thus may not necessarily indicate relationship difficulties. The results of the current dissertation highlighted the complexity of the ways in which gossip and perceptions of friendship quality were inter-related in the friendships of children, as well as provided direction for further investigations of the general functions of gossip.Item The best friendships of young adolescents: The role of internalizing symptoms, characteristics of friends, friendship quality, and observed disclosure(2008-01-15) Buskirk-Cohen, Allison Anne; Rubin, Kenneth H; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The best friendships of emotionally distressed and typical young adolescents were investigated. A group of 5th and 6th grade young adolescents completed ratings on friendship quality and participated in videotaped friendship tasks. Emotional distress was identified using a T score cut-point of 60 on the Internalizing symptoms subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). There were 131 friendship dyads available for analyses. Of these, 48 were considered distressed dyads (24 female dyads; 24 male dyads) and 83 were considered typical dyads (47 female dyads; 36 male dyads). Results demonstrated similarity of internalizing symptoms between best friends of typical adolescents, but not distressed adolescents. Analyses on friendship quality ratings emphasized the importance of perspective. Distressed targets rated their friendships lower on validation/caring, help/guidance and total positive friendship quality than did typical targets. However, friends of distressed adolescents did not rate their friendships differently than friends of typical adolescents. Congruent with past research, females tended to rate their friendships higher on intimate disclosure than did males. No developmental differences emerged in analyses of friendship quality. Regarding observed disclosure, only half of the dyads engaged in spontaneous disclosure talk. The majority of disclosures involved negative speech about the self or dyad. Females tended to devote more time to disclosure talk and respond to disclosure in more positive ways than males. Fifth-graders tended to devote more time to disclosure talk, initiate more disclosures and respond in more negative ways than 6th graders. Differences between distressed and typical dyads did not emerge in analyses of observed disclosure. Finally, relations between reported friendship quality and observed disclosure were explored. Overall, a lack of relation among variables suggests that the ways in which adolescents think about friendship quality are not related to visible interactions that took place in the laboratory.Item Public and Private Self-Consciousness During Early Adolescence(2005-04-27) Wojslawowicz, Julie Catherine; Rubin, Kenneth H; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The associations between two types of self-consciousness (public and private) and indices of psychosocial distress (e.g., depression, anxiety) have been well-documented in the adult personality literature. However, little is known about these types of self-consciousness during early adolescence in spite of recent evidence that self-conscious thoughts and feelings peak during the early adolescent developmental period. The present study explored the distinction between public and private self-consciousness during early adolescence by examining the psychosocial correlates of public and private self-consciousness while considering the distinction between (public) self-conscious and fearful shyness. Friendship quality was examined as a possible moderator of the relation between self-consciousness and maladjustment. Early adolescents' (N=137, 87 girls; M age= 13.98 years) reported on their self-consciousness, internalizing problems, shyness, fearfulness, and the qualities of their best friendships. Results confirmed the existence of the two different types of self-consciousness during early adolescence. However, findings indicated greater similarities than differences in the psychosocial correlates of private and public self-consciousness, suggesting that the distinction between these two types of self-directed attention may still be developing during adolescence. Contrary to expectations, evidence revealed that intimate friendship qualities may exacerbate the difficulties associated with self-consciousness. Few adolescents were able to be identified as (public) self-consciously or fearfully shy, calling into question the meaningfulness of the distinction between these two different types of problematic shyness during early adolescence. Findings from the present study highlight the importance of considering the role of self-consciousness in internalizing problems and shyness. Results pertaining to friendship quality add to the growing literature on the "dark side" of friendships.