Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item THE ROLE OF SIBLINGS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL RACIAL SOCIALIZATION AND OUTCOMES IN TRANSRACIAL ADOLESCENT ADOPTEES(2020) Lee, Jennifer Grace; Leslie, Leigh A; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Siblings are the longest relationship many people have in their lives, yet are often overlooked in research. Transracial adoptees, who may struggle with forming a sense of racial identity and experiencing low self-esteem, may benefit from the presence of a sibling of color. The research questions posed by this study are 1) What is the independent effect of having a sibling of color for transracial adolescent adoptees' racial identity and self-esteem? 2) Does having a sibling of color moderate the well-established relationship between parental racial socialization and outcomes of racial identity and self-esteem in transracial adoptees? Results of the present study indicated that having a sibling of color was negatively associated with a transracial adolescent adoptees’ self-esteem and having a sibling of color moderated the relationship between racial socialization and self-esteem. Higher racial socialization was associated with lower self-esteem for adoptees with no sibling of color.Item The Role of Self-Esteem in the Relationship Between Sexual Minority Status and Depressive Symptoms(2015) Ng, Diane; Lee, Sunmin; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sexual minority (SM) youth have been found to experience higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms compared with heterosexual youth. It has been suggested that there are mediators in the pathway between stigma-related stress and psychopathology, such as self-esteem. This study was interested in investigating whether self-esteem is a mediator between SM status by romantic attraction and the outcome depressive symptoms during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and whether sex moderated this mediation. Results showed that those who were both-sex attracted had significantly higher depressive symptoms than their opposite-sex attracted counterparts (β=0.04,p=0.049). Further, findings showed that self-esteem is a mediator in the pathway between both-sex attraction and depressive symptoms (p=0.007). Although females were found to have higher depressive symptoms than males, no significant interaction with sexual minority status was found. These results can have implications for possible interventions to reduce depressive symptomatology for sexual minority groups transitioning into adulthood.Item The Influence of Parental Racial Awareness on Transracially Adopted Children's Self-Esteem: A Mediation Model of Racial Socialization and Racial Identity(2013) Ott, Elizabeth Marie; Leslie, Leigh; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Recent years have seen an increased empirical focus on factors that affect the health and well–being of transracially adopted children. While there is significant research on the links between parental racial socialization and racial identity, racial identity and self–esteem of children, and self–esteem of transracially adopted children, there is less research on the links between all of these variables as a holistic model. The current study explores whether parental racial awareness impacts transracially adopted children’s self–esteem through a mediation of parental racial socialization and child racial identity. Seventy–one adoptive parents and their transracially adopted adolescents completed on–line self–reports of the study variables. Findings indicate no relationship between any of the independent, dependent, or mediating variables. Subsequently, a test of moderation was completed to determine if parental racial socialization moderated the relationship between parental racial awareness and child racial identity. This also had no significant results. The possible explanations for the lack of relationships in this sample are discussed.Item THE ROLE OF MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIP QUALITY IN THE LINK BETWEEN MATERNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL AND INTERNALIZED MALADJUSTMENT IN EARLY ADOLESCENCE(2010) Kovacs, Sarrit Michal; Rubin, Kenneth H; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Self-determination and attachment theorists and researchers have recently hypothesized about the role of parent-child relationship quality as a mediator or moderator in the relation between parental psychological control and child and adolescent internalized maladjustment. Thus, the overall purpose of the present study was to empirically investigate the interrelations among maternal psychological control, mother-child relationship quality, and young adolescent internalized maladjustment. Ninety 5th and 6th grade young adolescents and their mothers participated in videotaped shared activities and completed questionnaires in a laboratory visit. The study sample consisted of mostly middle class, well-educated, two-parent families. The following variables were assessed and were of primary importance to the present study: maternal-reported psychological control; observed positivity and negativity in the mother-child relationship; youth-perceived positivity and negativity in the mother-child relationship; youth-perceived attachment security to mother; youth-reported self-esteem; and maternal-reported youth internalizing problems. Both a mediation and moderation model were examined. Simple mediation analysis was conducted in order to examine mother-child relationship quality as a mediator of the relation between maternal psychological control and young adolescent internalized maladjustment. However, no evidence of mediating processes was found. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted examining mother-child relationship quality as a moderator of the relation between maternal psychological control and young adolescent internalized maladjustment. Results revealed significant maternal psychological control youth-perceived mother-child relationship quality interaction effects on young adolescent self-esteem and internalizing problems. More specifically, young adolescents who perceived the lowest levels of negativity their relationships also reported higher levels of self-esteem when their mothers reported using low levels of psychological control. In addition, young adolescents who perceived the highest levels of positivity in their relationships had mothers who reported using low levels of psychological control and reported observing lower levels of internalizing problems in their children. Another important finding of the present study was the significant main effect of observed positivity in the mother-child relationship on youth-reported self-esteem. This finding was obtained despite the greater difficulty in obtaining significance when using independent reporters for the constructs of interest.Item Gender socialization and family influences on body image and weight loss behaviors among adolescent girls: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health(2007-04-26) Liechty, Janet Marie; Hofferth, Sandra L; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The rise in preoccupation with weight and dieting among adolescent girls in the last 30 years has produced a plethora of clinical research on body image and other correlates of disordered eating. However, there have been few longitudinal population studies investigating precursors and prevalence of actual cognitive distortion in body image among girls or its health consequences. Data on U.S. girls (ages 12-21) were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Using Symbolic Interaction and Feminist Sociocultural theories, logistic regressions were conducted to test theoretical propositions and investigate possible pathways of risk from gendered self-concept to body image distortion (BID), and from BID to risky weight loss behavior (e.g., diet pills, vomiting, and laxatives) and more common weight loss behaviors such as dieting and exercising to lose weight. Family social support, parent traditional attitudes, and background variables (race/ethnicity, age, parent education, and BMI status) were also considered. Multivariate analyses at Time 1 suggest that self-esteem is negatively associated with BID and high appearance investment is positively associated with BID. Multivariate longitudinal analyses suggest that BID at Time 1 predicts the onset of both risky weight loss behaviors and dieting by Time 2 (one year later), controlling for weight loss behavior at Time 1. High self-esteem is also associated with decreased risk of engaging in risky weight loss behaviors and decreased dieting behavior. Self-esteem has a direct effect on BID and an indirect effect on unhealthy weight loss behaviors, mediated through BID. There is no evidence that BID mediates the relationship between self-esteem and dieting to lose weight, however. Parent traditional attitudes are associated with girls' higher social passivity, but are unrelated to self-esteem and appearance investment. Results suggest that universal, developmentally appropriate prevention programs addressing body image, realistic body weight self-assessment, and self-esteem are needed, as well as targeted programs for girls at risk for BID or who already display BID, in order to curb risky and unnecessary weight loss practices. Suggestions for designing screening and prevention programs based on theory and current research are discussed.Item Being Single in Late-Life: Single Strain, Moderating Resources, and Distress(2004-05-06) Pudrovska, Tetyana; Schieman, Scott; SociologyUsing a sample of 532 nonmarried adults over age 65 residing in the District of Columbia and two adjoining Maryland counties, this study examines "single strain"--the strain of not being married or not living with a partner in late-life. First, I consider how social and economic statuses affect exposure of nonmarried elders to single strain. Second, I study how sociodemographic characteristics and psychosocial resources moderate the effect of single strain on mental health. Results of multiple OLS regression analyses indicate that while social statuses influence elders' exposure to single strain, the differential emotional responsiveness of nonmarried older adults to single strain is largely unaffected by their sociodemographic characteristics. In contrast, mastery and self-esteem are powerful moderating resources: Nonmarried elders with high mastery and self-esteem are less adversely affected by single strain than those with lower levels of intrapsychic resources.