JUST AMONG FRIENDS: ASSOCIATIONS AMONG EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION, FRIEND BEHAVIOR, AND FRIENDSHIP QUALITY IN EARLY ADOLESCENT SAME-SEX FRIEND DYADS

To better understand emotional expression within the context of close same-sex friendships of young adolescents, this study examined emotional expressivity among 116 adolescents (58 friend dyads) in Grades 7-8 (12-14 years of age) utilizing a multi-method design that incorporates both observations and multi-informant ratings of emotional expression. A series of actor-partner interdependent models revealed similarities among close friends on parent-reported and observed emotional expressivity, although some of these findings were gender specific and varied according to how emotional expression was measured. Measures of friendship quality appeared unrelated to indicators of emotional expressivity. Loglinear analyses indicated that when friends responded to participants' emotional expressions supportively, rather than dismissively, participants were more likely to disclose emotions in subsequent utterances. Research and clinical implications for early adolescent emotional development are discussed

Analysis of children’s written responses to Hurricane Andrew

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Kansas, Clinical Child Psychology, 2007.As part of a longitudinal evaluation of children living in Dade County, Florida, during Hurricane Andrew, the current study examines children's ( n = 334) written perceptions of the worst aspects of the storm. Data were collected on the children's psychological adjustment three times within a year following the hurricane. Repeated measures general linear model (GLM) analyses were used to identify predictors of narrative elaborateness, narrative coherence, first-person pronouns, and internal states language in children's responses. Demographic variables, traumatic exposure, and coping were differentially related to these narrative characteristics. Additional repeated measures GLM analyses were used to examine whether these characteristics predicted psychological adjustment. Results indicated that children who frequently used internal states language in their descriptions had more symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Furthermore, children with more elaborate narratives had higher levels of PTSD symptoms, but only at the initial data collection period after the hurricane

Telemental Health in the Time of COVID-19: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Community Mental Health Clients

The outbreak of Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) rapidly became a global pandemic in early 2020 causing major shifts from traditional in-person services to telemental health in community mental health centers. Ten clients and 12 parents receiving services at a community mental health center were interviewed regarding their satisfaction and perception of barriers with telemental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. These interviews were coding for themes using a grounded theory framework. Various themes emerged relating to accessibility of services, parental involvement in therapy, and recommendations for other parents and providers. Suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness and public acceptance of telemental health services will be discussed

Social Cognitive Predictors of Engineering Students’ Academic Persistence Intentions, Satisfaction, and Engagement.

The demand for high quality engineers is of particular importance as engineering jobs are projected to grow in the next 10 years (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). More work is needed to understand factors related to academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions of Latino/as and women in engineering: 2 underrepresented groups in the engineering pipeline. We present findings that explored the role of social-cognitive, environmental, and personality variables in engineering persistence intentions, engagement and satisfaction of a diverse sample of 1,335 engineering students using an extension of the integrative social cognitive career theory model (SCCT; Lent et al., 2013). Results indicated that (a) the hypothesized model fit the data well for the full sample and across 8 subsamples based on gender-ethnicity (i.e., Latinas, Latinos, White women, and White men) and ethnicity-school type (i.e., Latina/os at Hispanic-serving institutions [HSIs], Latina/os at predominantly White institutions [PWIs], Whites at HSIs, and Whites at PWIs), (b) all but 5 model parameters were significant and positive for the full sample, (c) a subset of model parameters differed by the interactions of race/ethnicity-gender and race/ethnicity-school type groups, and (d) the relations within the model explained a significant amount of variance in engineering academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions for the full sample and 8 subsamples. Implications of the findings for educational and career interventions aimed at retaining Latina/os and women in engineering are discussed in relation to building on social cognitions in engineering academic engagement, satisfaction, and persistence intentions