Representing Radcliffe: Perceptions and Consequences of Social Class

Using retrospective data from a sample of women who graduated from Radcliffe College in 1964, this paper examines the perceptions (what women notice) and consequences (how it makes them feel) of social class during college in these women's lives. The majority of women acknowledged that social class was salient at Radcliffe by stating so directly, by noticing members of different class groups, and/or by mentioning their own class backgrounds. In addition, women consistently perceived two markers of social class: exclusivity and the differences between public and private high school graduates. Surprisingly, there were no differences by social class background in the rates of these perceptions; social class indicators were equally apparent to women from different social class backgrounds. However, most commonly among women from working-class backgrounds, there were psychological consequences of social class that were manifested in feeling bad about themselves. In order to understand the psychology of social class most fully, it seems important to distinguish between perception and consequence in the psychological study of social class, and to pay attention to the impact not only of people's backgrounds, but of social class cues in the environments in which they operate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44635/1/10804_2004_Article_420095.pd

Middle Aging in Women: Patterns of Personality Change from the 30s to the 50s

This three-sample study focused on changes in four key features of women's personalities (identity, generativity, confident power, and concern about aging) over the course of middle age. Based on women's retrospective and concurrent feelings about their lives in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, scales were developed and validated for the four themes. We found that identity certainty, generativity, confident power, and concern about aging all were experienced as more prominent in middle age (the 40s) than in early adulthood (the 30s). We also found that these elements of personality were rated even higher in the 50s than the 40s. Scores seemed to be a function of age more than historical period or particular experiences in social roles. Scores on identity certainty, generativity, and confident power were positively related to well-being, while concern about aging was negatively related to well-being.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44636/1/10804_2004_Article_228798.pd

Review of Deaf and Hearing Siblings in Conversation

No abstract availabl

Social class and belonging: Implications for college adjustment

(2005) reported on why large numbers of low-income students drop out of college (if they enroll in the first place). The primary subject of his article, who left college after his first year in favor of working for pay, said that among other reasons for leaving, “college never felt like home ” (p. 88). This paper examines both the ways in which social class background may serve systematically to structure a sense of belonging among current college students and the implications of this relationship for their adjustment to and performance at college. The importance of a sense of belonging for both psychological and physical well-being has been well established (Barden, Garber, Leiman, Ford, &amp

"One lady was so busy staring at me she walked into a wall": Interability Relations from the Perspective of Women with Disabilities

Psychology research and intervention in intergroup relations has been largely influenced by Allport's (1954) contact theory. Intergroup attitudes in the domain of disability have also been well established. These research areas, however, tend not to take into account the perspective or experiences of target group members. The current research attempts to take such an insider's perspective (Oyserman & Swim, 2001). This study presents data from in-depth interviews with 19 women with disabilities who were asked to describe the qualities of negative and positive interactions and relationships with non-disabled people. The women reported being treated with condescension and pity in their general interactions with non-disabled people. While many of the interviewees had difficulty thinking of specific positive interactions with non-disabled people in their day-to-day lives, they could easily enumerate the qualities of such interactions: eye contact was made and maintained, tone of voice was not condescending, non-disabled people were respectful and knowledgeable

Guest editors' introduction to special issue

The guest editors of this special issue on researcher identity offer reflections and an overview of the issue

Reflections on the K-12 years in public schools: Relations with hearing teachers and peers from the perspective of deaf and hard-of-hearing adults

This study explores how members of systematically disadvantaged groups describe their interactions with members of dominant groups. In an effort to examine both positive and negative intergroup relations, this paper reports on a study of deaf and hard-of-hearing adults’ retrospective accounts of their best and worst experiences with hearing teachers and peers when they attended their local public schools during their K-12 years (Oliva, 2004). Written accounts from 60 deaf and hard-of-hearing adults were content analyzed. Their most positive experiences occurred when hearing teachers and peers were accommodating, encouraging, supportive, and interested in deafness. Negative reflections described hearing teachers and peers who were discriminatory, non-accommodating, and insensitive

Class and the classroom: The role of individual- and school-level socioeconomic factors in predicting college students’ academic behaviors

This study examines how, for emerging adults attending residential colleges, family incomes and the SES composition of high schools are jointly associated with academic behaviors in college

College-educated women's personality development in adulthood: Perceptions and age differences.

Adulthood encompasses a large time span and includes a series of psychosocial challenges (E. H. Erikson, 1950). Five aspects of personality (identity certainty, confident power, concern with aging, generativity, and personal distress) were assessed in a cross-sectional study of college-educated women who at the time of data collection were young adults (age: M 26 years), middle-aged adults (age: M 46 years), or older adults (age: M 66 years). Respondents rated each personality domain for how true it was of them at the time, and they then rated the other 2 ages either retrospectively or prospectively. Results are discussed with attention to the ways in which women’s adult development may have been shaped by experiences particular to both gender and birth cohort, and to how these women fit with E. H. Erikson’s theory of adult development. The developmental period of adulthood covers a large time span, from age 18 or 21 to death. A variety of strategies for dividing this long period into shorter age-based periods have been recommended. For example, Erikson’s (1950) theory of psycho-social development includes distinctive stages defined by person-ality developmental tasks; for example, young adulthood (the 20s) is characterized as a time of concern with identity and intimacy issues, whereas middle age (the 40s) is characterized as a time of concern with generativity. Other theorists (e.g., Neugarten, 1968) have emphasized the notion of “executive personality ” in middle age, or a confident sense of command. Older adulthood in Erik-son’s theory is characterized as a time of personality integration in which the key accomplishment is a sense of integrity. Recent theorists have noted that these issues (identity, intimacy, genera-tivity, and integrity) preoccupy adults to varying degrees at all ages, although they may be particularly intense during specific periods and may take different forms at different adult ages (e.g.

Predicting Depression and Anxiety Among Adults with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose/Objective: Emerging research has highlighted sources of magnified stress and trauma for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to others in the general population. However, little research has examined the mental health impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities in relation to disability-related stigma, social isolation, and demographic characteristics. The present study therefore sought to identify predictors of depression and anxiety symptoms among U.S. adults with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Methods/Designs: Data were collected online between October and December 2020. U.S. adults with disabilities (n = 441) completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, psychosocial processes, and a range of demographic and disability characteristics. Results: In our sample, 61.0% and 50.0% of participants met criteria for a probable diagnosis of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, respectively. Participants also experienced significantly higher levels of disability-related stigma and social isolation compared to pre-pandemic norms. Hierarchical regression analyses identified higher social isolation, presence of chronic pain, younger age, higher disability-related stigma, and higher worries about contracting COVID-19 as significant predictors of both depression and anxiety symptoms. Conclusion/implications: This study highlights important demographic and psychosocial predictors of mental health risks for people with disabilities in the context of COVID-19. Findings further underscore the need to attend to those at elevated risk within the disability community as rehabilitation professionals, disability organizations, and policymakers work to support people with disabilities in post-pandemic recovery and create a more equitable response to ongoing and future public health crises