NYU Applied Psychology OPUS

online publication of undergraduate studies

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY

FALL 2011

EDITORS Alyssa Deitchman Javanna Obregon

EDITOR IN TRAINING Kara Duca

STAFF WRITERS Sammy Ahmed Brit Lippman Josephine Palmeri

STAFF Coralie Nemhe

FACULTY MENTORS Dr. Diane Hughes Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda

CONTRIBUTORS Anthony Cavalier Justin Conway Lana Denysyk Steven Roberts

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT Justin Conway

SPECIAL THANKS NYUSteinhardt Department of Applied Psychology

COVER PHOTO Emily Gallagher

Applied Psychology OPUS was initiated in 2010 by a group of undergraduate students in NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Applied Psychology. The ideas and opinions contained in this publication solely reflect those of the authors and not New York University. All work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works License.

To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org

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Contents LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Alyssa Deitchman & Javanna Obregon | 4

STAFF ARTICLES Mirror Neurons and Autism: A Social Perspective | Sammy Ahmed | 6 Misdiagnosis of Deaf Individuals: Toward a Culturally Sensitive Approach

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Brit Lippman | 9 Peer Pressure and Alcohol Use amongst College Students | Josephine Palmeri | 12

SUBMISSIONS The Masculine Experience in Psychotherapy: An Examination of Clinical Processes and Outcomes | Anthony Cavalier | 16 Effects of Supervisor-Employee Relationship on Job Performance | Justin Conway | 21 How can unipolar depression and externalizing disorders in urban youth in America be prevented by school interventions? | Lana Denysyk | 27 Reconsidering Parental Involvement: Implications for Black Parents | Steven Roberts | 32

STAFF & CONTRIBUTOR BIOS | 39

Letter from the Editors |

Letter from the Editors

Thank you for your interest in New York University’s Applied Psychology’s very own semiannual publication, OPUS, the Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies. As students at a large research university in the heart of the most vibrant city in the world, it would be impossible not to acknowledge the applicability and versatility of our field as it permeates our world. We know that psychological studies do not just exist in the pages of our textbook, but can be applied toward our understanding of individuals, cultures and societies at large.

As students of psychology, we strive to present a diverse array of undergraduate work. To present such an interesting collection of work would not be possible without the efforts of our dedicated staff and enthusiastic contributors and the support of our faculty mentors, Dr. Hughes and Dr. Tamis-Lemonda as well as the department of Applied Psychology at large. The present issue explores various topics, including deaf culture in the clinical setting, peer-pressure amongst college students, and the role of mirror neurons in autism research among others.

As this is the first issue of OPUS under new leadership, we endeavor to maintain the level of excellence as established by our predecessors. OPUS exists to serve as a platform for the abundance of passion, talent and creativity that surges throughout the student body in the department of Applied Psychology. As you embark on reading this issue, we hope that it inspires you to think critically, ask questions, and to challenge your own knowledge about the breadth of topics this publication highlights.

Alyssa Deitchman Editor

Javanna Obregon Editor

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Staff Writer articles

Ahmed | Mirror Neurons and Autism

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A Social Perspective

A Different Kind of Bully Sammy Ahmed I can understand another person by crying when they cry, laughing when they laugh, or like Bill Clinton by ‘‘feeling their pain’’. Not only that, but learning is facilitated by imitation, so much so that many regard imitative learning across cognitive domains as an essential adaptation which enabled the human cognitive explosion (dance, tool making, language, cultural artifacts, and so on). If mirror neurons enable empathetic understanding and imitative learning then we may have discovered a key cognitive mechanism in the human social/cultural repertoire (Gerrands, 2010, p. 501).

The ability to interpret others’ behavior is crucial to everyday social functioning and enables learning about the world through interaction with other people. As early as 42 hours after birth, the ability to imitate others is evident, allowing imitation to develop as an innate form of learning (Kana, Wadsworth & Travers, 2011). Infants’ ability to imitate adult facial expressions, movements and vocalizations from within hours of birth is regarded by many theorists as the foundation from which more sophisticated forms of communication develop (Nagy & Molnar, 2004).

Therefore, early imitation is pivotal to human development, as it provides a sense of connectedness between an infant and its world, and more importantly serves as the platform for future social development and competence. More specifically, early imitation plays a substantial role in the development of motor control, communication, and social abilities (Kana et al., 2011). Early imitation also allows children to become capable not only of mimicking actions but also learning novel actions from others. Previous literature regarding imitation and social cognition emphasizes social aspects of imitative learning; however, most recent research has centered on the neural mechanisms that are responsible for imitation.

The recent shift in the literature from the social factors to the neural substrates responsible for imitation is a result of the recent discovery of mirror neurons. Originally studied in monkeys, mirror neurons are a system of neurons located in the premotor cortex, which is the part of the brain

relevant to the planning, selection and execution of actions. These neurons fired, not only when the monkey executed a certain action, but also when the monkey observed a similar action (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). Mirror neurons are thought to be responsible for certain imitative behaviors that allow the understanding of other’s actions by mapping them into motor pathways for similar actions performed by the self (McEwan, 2005).

Many studies since the discovery of mirror neurons in monkeys have been devoted to proving that they play the same role in humans as they do in monkeys. Although it is difficult to study this phenomenon in humans, numerous neuropsychological studies have found evidence that mirror neurons do in fact exist in humans (Iacoboni, Woods, Brass, Bekkering, Mazziotta, & Rizzolatti, 1999; Buccino, Lui, Canessa, Patteri, & Lagravinese, 2004). For example, Iacoboni et al.

(1999) found that the part of the brain that is activated when making a facial gesture is the same part of the brain that is working when observing others’ facial expressions. He further suggested that when people look at faces, they react according to whether expressions are positive or negative. Therefore, it appears as though by sending signals to emotional systems in the brain, mirror neurons also help facilitate and translate the emotions of others. ‚The mirror system seems also to be involved in the way that we tap into and harness our abilities and put them to use in the world. People are uncommonly adept at watching and translating what they see.

Perhaps that is why sports fans tense with the action of the game, grimace and jump up and down; when you know the game, then your neurons are firing as if you’re playing the game‛ (Mitrani, 2010, p. 248). It is apparent that mirror neurons play an important role in how humans view and understand the world. Furthermore, if mirror neurons truly operate in this manner, then we may have stumbled upon a psychological breakthrough that traces back to how humans socially developed and flourished.

According to Icoboni et al. (1999), ‚mirror neurons were likely selected during the evolutionary process because they provide the advantage of understanding the mental states of

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other people in an effortless and automatic way’’ (p. 132). Thus, it can be assumed that mirror neurons have meaningful implications on the way human socialize and learn through observation at both a conscious and unconscious level.

Furthermore, these neural mechanisms may underlie our ability to understand intentions, emotions and behaviors of other people, which render us empathetic and social beings.

While mirror neurons may enable us to understand and mimic other peoples’ behavior at a neurological level, all individuals may not be equally equipped to perform such action. For instance, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to lack essential action comprehension and imitative skills (Marsh & Hamilton, 2011). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), individuals with ASD markedly display impaired or abnormal social interaction and communication skills, as well as having difficulties engaging in simple imitation games or imaginative play. Although the onset of these disorders has not been fully discerned, understanding mirror neurons and their normal functions may provide insight about how individuals with ASD may lack certain neurological tools that enable normal social functioning.

One theory that may provide insight into the social difficulties experienced by individuals with ASD is the ‚Broken Mirror Hypothesis‛. The ‚Broken Mirror Hypothesis‛ claims that individuals with ASD have impairments to their mirror neuron system (Press, Richardson & Bird, 2010) and further suggest that the dysfunction of the mirror neuron system is a primary cause of the poor social skills in individuals with Autism (Marsh & Hamilton, 2011). The Broken Mirror Hypothesis has received widespread attention because numerous studies show the link between mirror neurons and socio-cognitive functions that enable individuals to understand another person’s perspective, emotions, behavior and theory of mind (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004).

The increase in the diagnosis of ASD and its relationship to mirror neurons has aroused the interest of scholars across various disciplines. For example, neuroscientists Ramachandran and Oberman (2006) designed an experiment by using electroencephalography (EEG) to test children’s brainwaves while performing and observing actions. For most children, the same brainwaves were detected whether they were performing or observing a specific action.

However, for children with ASD, brainwaves were only detected when they were performing an action and not detected when they were observing someone else perform the same action, or even when they were imitating another’s action. This finding supports the ‚broken mirror hypothesis‛ and clearly depicts the relationship between mirror neurons and the poor social skills observed in children with ASD (Ramachandran &

Oberman, 2006). Since mirror neurons systems are responsible for humans’ ability to understand and mimic other peoples’ behavior, the lack of this skill within individuals with ASD can be attributed to an impaired mirror neuron system.

Furthermore, the presence of markedly abnormal social interaction and communication skills in individuals with ASD can be a consequence of their ‚broken mirrors‛.

Despite the appealing straightforwardness of the Broken Mirror Hypothesis, empirical studies have provided mixed results and ambivalent evidence supporting the hypothesis. Although many studies clearly display the link between ASD and mirror neurons, there are many skeptics that believe studies examining the Broken Mirror Hypothesis do not make clear whether the low imitative skills displayed by individuals who have ASD are due to specific impairments in the mirror neuron system, or impairments in other neurological systems (Press et al., 2010).

Furthermore, some studies actually show that some individuals with ASD have functioning mirror neurons systems (Fan Decety, Yang, Liu, & Yawei, 2010) and believe that there is still much to learn about the ‚broken mirror hypothesis‛.

Numerous studies claim to have found the link between mirror neurons and ASD, however, an extensive amount of research needs to be done before making clear-cut claims and bridging the gap in the literature. Despite the controversy surrounding mirror neurons and autism, the findings within the literature offer a solid framework from which researchers can build upon. Furthermore, with the dramatic increase in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, gaining a clearer understanding of the role that mirror neurons play in human learning and sociality is essential and may offer an explanation for the core social and cognitive deficits in individuals with ASD. Firmly establishing the link between mirror neurons and ASD can enhance scientist’s understanding of this disorder and serve as platform in developing treatments and procedures to ‚fix the broken mirrors.‛ References American Psychiatric Association.

(2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.).

Washington, DC: Author.

Buccino, G., Lui, F., Canessa, N.,Patteri. I., & Lagravinese, G. (2004). Neural circuits involved in the recognition of actions performed by nonconspecifics: An fMRI study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscienc, 16, 1–14.

Fan, Y.T., Decety, J., Yang, C.Y., Liu, J.L., & Yawei, C. (2010). Unbroken mirror neurons in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 51(9), 981-988.

Gerrands, P. (2010). Mirror neuron systems: The role of mirroring processes in socialcognition.

Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 15(5), 501-504.

Ahmed | Mirror Neurons and Autism

doi:10.1080/13546800903320510 Iacoboni, M.,Woods, R.P., Brass, M., Bekkering, H., Mazziotta, J.C., & Rizzolatti, G. (1999). Cortical mechanisms of human imitation. Science 286, 2526–2528.

Kana, R., K., Wadsworth, H., M., & Travers, B.G. (2011). A systems level analysis of the mirror neuron hypothesis and imitation impairments in autism spectrum disorders. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 849-902.

Marsh, L.E., & Hamilton, C. (2011). Dissociation of mirroring and mentalising systems in autism.

Neuroimage, 56, 1511-1519. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.02.003 McEwan, F. (2005). Perspectives on imitation: From neuroscience to social science. Mind & Language, 22(2), 207-213.

Mitrani, J. (2010). Minding the gap between neuroscientific psychoanalytic understanding of autism. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 36(3), 240-258. DOI:10.1080/0075417X.2010.524774 Nagy, E., & Molnar, P. (2004). Homo imitans or homo provocans?: Human imprinting model of neonatal imitation. Infant Behavior and Development, 27, 54–63.

Press, C., Richardson, D., & Bird, G. (2010). Intact imitation of emotional facial actions in autism spectrum conditions. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3291–3297. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.

2010.07.012 Ramachandran, V.S., & Oberman, L., M. (2006).

Broken mirrors: A theory of Autism. Scientific American, 17, 20-29. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0607-20sp Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L., (2004). The mirrorneuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169–192. doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144230

Author’s Biography Sammy Ahmed is a senior in the Applied Psychology program and part of the newly developed Inside Scoop! peer mentorship program. He is currently conducting an independent study focusing on the ‚Immigrant Paradox‛ under Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s mentorship.

Aside from his interests in acculturation and immigration, he is also interested in medicine. He volunteers at the emergency room at New York Presbyterian and upon graduation plans on pursuing a medical degree, with hopes of conducting research in public health and biomedicine.

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Misdiagnosis of Deaf Individuals: Toward a Culturally Sensitive Approach BRIT LIZABETH LIPPMAN

Two summers ago, I stood as an intern in the hallway of a hospital’s psychiatric unit and silently observed a memorable interaction unfold among a psychiatrist, an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, and Joseph*—the first deaf patient I ever met. Joseph sat in a chair as the two hearing individuals stood around him in an attempt to have a meeting that was spontaneously scheduled to accommodate the interpreter’s packed agenda.

Other patients received daily visits from their doctors and social workers, but our resident deaf patient was dependent on an ASL interpreter who was nearly impossible to locate and seldom available to visit the unit. Joseph was frequently dismissed or met with hostility in his attempts to communicate via written notes; I often watched the nurses on duty scowl at the pieces of paper he left by the nurses’ station. I found this reaction curious considering how often the nurses tolerated questions and complaints from their hearing patients.

During the meeting that I witnessed—conducted publicly rather than in the privacy of the conference room— Joseph tried to describe his recent hallucinatory experiences to the psychiatrist.

He grew frustrated by the doctor’s failure to fully understand his descriptions as he stated, “Deaf culture is different than hearing culture.” Again a few moments later, he repeated, “Deaf culture is different.”

As aspiring psychologists and scientists, we are encouraged to approach our work with an open mind and a willingness to learn. We are taught we cannot work as clinicians or as researchers until we are aware of our cultural biases and address the areas in which we lack knowledge. Despite this fact, not once have I ever been exposed to the term Deaf culture in a formal educational setting. It was only through my own personal experience and interest that I began to learn about the unique experience of deafness. As I began to learn, I also began to wonder—how much do mental health professionals know about caring for deaf individuals?

With the limited understanding that many Americans have about deafness, it is no wonder that the literature on psychiatric diagnosis of deaf individuals expresses concern about inaccurate diagnoses.

In fact, psychotic disorders, developmental disorders, and mental retardation are over-diagnosed among deaf psychiatric patients, (Pollard, 1994; Shapira, DelBello, Goldsmith, Rosenberger, & Keck 1999; Black & Glickman, 2006; Landsberger & Diaz, 2010) while other illnesses such as mood or personality disorders are less frequently recorded. Some studies indicate that the usual signs of Bipolar Disorder and mood disorders are sometimes misunderstood and consequently mistreated as psychotic illnesses when they appear in deaf people (Shapira et al., 1999; Black & Glickman, 2006).

Most of the literature points to the clinician’s lack of cultural sensitivity as the major factor in misdiagnosis of deaf patients, especially considering that these patients are usually

Lippman

assessed and treated in places dominated by hearing professionals (Misiaszek, Dooling, Geiseke, Melman, Misaszek, & Jorgensen 1985; Steinberg, 1991; Pollard, 1994; Black & Glickman, 2006; Glickman, 2007; Landsberger & Diaz, 2010).

One factor contributing to miscommunication between deaf patients and hearing clinicians is language. Language dysfluency, or poor delivery of language, presents a challenge for deaf patients that are assessed for psychiatric disorders. Often, hearing clinicians unfamiliar with Deaf culture mistakenly assume that their deaf patients are able to communicate in written English and consequently pathologize poor writing skills as symptoms of disordered thinking or low intelligence (Misiaszek et al., 1985; Pollard, 1994; Glickman, 2007). This issue is especially pertinent among individuals who became deaf before mastering a spoken language, a phenomenon known as prelingual deafness (Steinberg, 1991).

Prelingually deaf people very often lack the ability to write fluently in English. When a person with prelingual deafness uses written English, his or her sentences are likely to appear different from those produced by a hearing person. To a hearing clinician who expects writing will solve the language barrier, a deaf person’s sentences may come across as disjointed or bizarre (Glickman, 2007). For this reason, a clinician must never rely on written text when assessing a deaf client, for a language discrepancy may be wrongly interpreted as a sign of psychotic thought processes. In addition to possible misdiagnosis, the clinician also runs the risk of causing shame or embarrassment for a deaf client who might be uncomfortable with writing (Steinberg, 1991).

During an assessment that may already be nerveracking or frightening, conjuring up such negative feelings is likely detrimental to the treatment process.

To further complicate the issue, some prelingually deaf people were not raised in homes that use conventional sign language, and instead use gestures or specialized signs that are distinct from the unique grammatical structure of ASL (Glickman, 2007). Since these individuals are marginalized from both the Deaf and hearing worlds, they are more likely to exhibit poor selfcare or lack of social skills typically associated with developmental disorders (Landsberger and Diaz, 2010). In such cases, what appears to be inappropriate behavior is actually understandable considering the client’s isolated upbringing (Landsberger and Diaz, 2010). With these clients, detecting thought disorder is tremendously difficult and communication issues must be considered very cautiously so as not to assign an inaccurate diagnosis.

For those deaf clients who use ASL, it may seem as if the language problem is easily solved by the presence of an interpreter. However, the use of an interpreter has both advantages and pitfalls. In order to ensure clarity between a hearing clinician and a deaf client, the clinician

| Misdiagnosis of Deaf Individuals | 10

must communicate openly and effectively with the ASL interpreter.

Effective communication requires interpreter’s input on how the client is expressing himself or herself (Glickman, 2007).

For example, through verbal communication, a psychiatrist may notice that a hearing client has rapid, pressured speech that may be attributed to a manic episode. An interpreter can often detect similar communication styles in the signing patterns of a deaf client that might otherwise go unnoticed by the clinician.

In this way, an interpreter contributes a valuable perspective to the assessment process.

Despite the helpfulness and necessity of an interpreter during mental health assessments, the mere presence of a third party in the room presents its own challenges.

Reliance on an interpreter interrupts the therapeutic alliance and may hinder the level of comfort and trust between client and clinician.

Furthermore, the deaf community tends to be small and tight-knit, which may be problematic if the interpreter turns out to be someone the client knows personally. When friends, family members, or familiar individuals serve as interpreters, the potential for a secure and confidential atmosphere becomes fragile and potentially ruptured (Steinberg, 1991).

It is impossible to tell how this potential discomfort may affect the honesty of the client during an interview, or how a client’s uncomfortable or superficial behavior may ultimately impact the given diagnosis.

Beyond basic language and communication issues, there is a more complex cultural barrier between the hearing and Deaf worlds that may very well jeopardize the accuracy of psychiatric diagnosis.

Specifically, Glickman (2007) emphasizes the complexity of recognizing delusional thoughts among deaf clients.

He asserts that the problem with identifying delusions in Deaf patients is that culturally Deaf views are at risk of being misunderstood as a distortion of reality rather than a common cultural belief that hearing people may not be aware of.

For instance, many deaf individuals that are well assimilated into Deaf culture embrace the experience of deafness and do not see it as a hearing “impairment” or a physical disability. A clinician who lacks exposure to this idea may wrongly classify this positivity toward being deaf as a delusional thought (Glickman, 2007). In the same vein, a deaf client preoccupied with his or her safety on a psychiatric unit or is suspicious of mental health providers is not necessarily exhibiting diagnosable paranoia. Clinicians must consider that perhaps reluctance and distrust of hospital staff is logical or even warranted for deaf patients who are put into treatment settings where no one can understand them—in such a case, Glickman proposes, feeling unsafe should not be pathologized.

The cultural issues associated with diagnosing deaf individuals speak volumes about the challenges of cross-cultural diagnosis in all clinical

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contexts. Although clinicians seek to better the lives of their patients, they can just as easily do harm if they are insensitive to the unique background and culture of the person whom they are treating. According to personal interviews, deaf individuals often mistrust mental health providers and feel they are at a disadvantage compared to hearing patients (Steinberg, Sullivan, & Loew, 1995). The literature on misdiagnosis suggests that perhaps their concerns are valid.

Even more importantly, it reveals a pressing need for mental health providers to reevaluate the ways in which they approach deaf clients and, more broadly, the amount of caution they assume when constructing guidelines for what is “normal” and what is not. The complexity of diagnosing deaf people is by no means an isolated subject; in fact, it demonstrates the greater importance of cultural awareness in psychology. Further cross-cultural research involving deaf populations would be highly beneficial for clinicians to better understand how to best treat patients.

References Black, P.A. and Glickman, N.S. (2006).

Demographics, psychiatric diagnoses, and other characteristics of North American deaf and hard-of-hearing inpatients. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 11(3), 303-321.

Glickman, N. (2007). Do you hear voices?

Problems in assessment of mental status in deaf persons with severe language deprivation.

Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12(2), 127-147.

Landsberger, S.A. and Diaz, D.R. (2010). Inpatient psychiatric treatment of deaf adults: demographic and diagnostic comparisons with hearing inpatients. Psychiatric Services, 61(2), 196-199.

Misiaszek, J., Dooling, J., Geiseke, M., Melman, H., Misaszek, J.G., & Jorgensen, K. (1985).

Diagnostic considerations in deaf patients.

Comprehensive Psychiatry, 26(6), 513-521.

Pollard, R.Q. (1994). Public mental health services and diagnostic trends regarding individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Rehabilitation Psychology, 39(3), 147-160.

Shapira, N.A., DelBello, M.P., Goldsmith, T.D., Rosenberger, B.M., & Keck, P.E. (1999).

Evaluation of bipolar disorder in inpatients with prelingual deafness. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1267-1269.

Steinberg, A.G., Sullivan, V.J., and Loew, R.C. (1998). Cultural and linguistic barriers to mental health service access: the deaf consumer’s perspective. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 982-984.

Steinberg, A. (1991). Issues in providing mental health services to hearing-impaired persons.

Hospital Community Psychiatry, 42, 380-389.

Author’s Biography Brit Lizabeth Lippman is a senior in the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Program. She is a research assistant for Dr. Niobe Way on the Indian Adolescent Study. She is also part of the PhotoCLUB project under the supervision of Drs. Alisha Ali and Randy Mowry. Her research interests include mental illness, bias in diagnoses, mental health of people with disabilities, and trauma. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue her interests in graduate study and attain a PhD in clinical psychology.

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Peer Pressure and Alcohol Use amongst College Students Josephine M. Palmeri In the United States, over 80% of college students have at least one alcoholic drink over a two week time period (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2009). Of these college students, 40% are binge drinking (i.e., having four or more drinks) on occasion, which greatly surpasses the rate of their non-college peers.

Research suggests that this discrepancy between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the college environment (Johnston et al., 2009). More specifically, college students must transition from depending on their parents at home to depending on their peers on campus (Borsari & Carey, 2001; Teese & Bradley, 2008).

Peer interactions may be essential for college students in that peers provide the guidance and support needed to circumvent this transitional period (Teese & Bradley, 2008). In addition, the freshman population is particularly reliant on peer groups because they are new to the college environment and are attempting to adapt to the college lifestyle. Although peers may be an essential coping mechanism during this transitional period, the increase of peer involvement in a student’s everyday life may influence the increase of peer pressure as well.

Peer pressure, or the direct or indirect encouragement from one’s own age group to engage in activities that they may or may not want to engage in (Santor, Messervey, & Kusumakar, 2000), is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors (e.g., alcohol use, drug use, and tobacco use; Lewis & Lewis, 1984). Peers act as an influential model by introducing, providing, or pressuring risky activities (i.e., alcohol use) to other peers (Kinard & Webster, 2010). By modeling these behaviors to their peers, college students are viewing alcohol use as a positive and socially acceptable experience (Kinard & Webster, 2011). However, what college students fail to take into consideration are the negative consequences that are related to alcohol use, especially within a peer group context. For example, the leading cause of death for adolescents 17 to 20 years old is alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011).

In addition, about 400,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 have unprotected

A Different Kind of Bully

Palmeri

| Peer Pressure and Alcohol Use amongst College Students| 12

sex due to drinking. More than one forth of those students report being too intoxicated to know if they even consented to have sex (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Therefore, it is imperative to understand peer pressure, as well as which groups of college students are more susceptible to it, in order to decrease these negative consequences from occurring.

The social identity theory may help to explain why college students are influenced by peer pressure (Regan & Morrison, 2011). The social identity theory suggests that a significant portion of an individual’s self-concept is formed through their peer groups, with the in-groups being viewed more positively than the out-groups. In a college environment, it is essential for students to be associated with the in-group in order to be socially accepted. Out-groups, such as freshmen college students and non-drinkers, may lack the social support needed during this transitional period because they are not fitting in with the majority of their peers. More specifically, nondrinkers would be considered an out-group because they are not participating in the normative behavior of alcohol use. Subsequently, students who enter college determined to remain non-drinkers often give into peer pressure in order to become a part of the in-group (Borsari & Carey, 2001). This experience of feeling like an out-group is prevalent in freshmen college students as well.

Freshmen are highly at risk for alcohol consumption because they are adapting to the college lifestyle and attempting to develop new friendships (Bosari & Carey, 2001). Furthermore, vulnerable college groups (e.g., freshmen and non-drinkers) will give in to peer pressure in hopes to be socially accepted and have a successful transition to college.

Research disentangles peer pressure into three dimensions: active offers of alcohol, modeling of others’ drinking, and perceived drinking norms (Borsari & Carey, 2001; Crawford & Novak, 2007).

Active offers of alcohol may be the most obvious and direct form of peer pressure. These offers range from a simple gesture to highly encouraging a peer to drink (Borsari & Carey, 2001). Some examples include being offered a drink, being bought a drink, or having your drink refilled without asking (Wood, Read, Mitchell, & Brand, 2004). Explicit offers are more prominent for those students who attend parties and decide not to drink. This is because these students are seen as abnormal (i.e., the out-group) from the rest of the college community (i.e., the in-group); thus, non-drinkers are an easy target for drink offers and teasing from their peers (Borsari & Carey, 2001).

The second and third dimensions of peer pressure are less obvious because students are influenced indirectly. The second dimension, modeling of others’ drinking, is defined as a temporary imitation of peer’s behaviors (Borsari & Carey, 2001). College students will often imitate the level of drinking of the peer within their

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immediate environment that is drinking the heaviest and is the most sociable. Borsari and Carey (2001) reviewed the literature on this topic and found that college students who were exposed to heavy-drinking models consumed more than college students exposed to lightdrinking models or no models at all. In addition, freshmen college students are more likely to binge drink than any other year in school (Borsari & Carey, 2001). The likelihood of binge drinking steadily decreases as a student’s grade level increases. These findings suggest that freshmen students are highly susceptible to modeling and are at the highest risk for the negative consequences of alcohol use.

Similar to modeling, perceived drinking norms influence a college student’s level of drinking through the observation and comparison of their peers drinking levels. This process is comprised of both descriptive norms and injunctive norms (Borsari & Carey, 2001, 2003). Descriptive norms are the student’s perceptions of the frequency and amount of alcohol consumed by their peers, whereas injunctive norms are the student’s perceptions of their peers’ approval of drinking.

Students’ perceptions are often skewed in that they overestimate the amount of alcohol that their peers drink and the amount of approval that they are receiving from their peers. Students believe that they drink less than the majority of their peers, yet they are actually consuming more than them (Borsari & Carey, 2003; Crawford & Novak, 2007; Neighbors, Lee, Lewis, Fossos, & Larimer, 2007). Additionally, this overestimation of their peers level of alcohol consumption is consistent across all reference groups—close friends, best friend, typical student, average student, or fellow fraternity/sorority member (Borsari & Carey, 2003). However, those students involved in the Greek lifestyle (i.e., fraternities and sororities) are more susceptible to peer pressure through perceived drinking norms than any other college group (Borsari & Carey, 2001). Greek parties are often associated with heavy and pervasive drinking. The college students that attend Greek parties observe their peers drinking heavily, which influences heavier drinking in the individual (i.e., modeling). Therefore, students who attend Greek parties view their drinking levels as less than their heavy-drinking Greek peers, yet their levels are actually a lot higher.

Research has found that perceived drinking norms are one of the most reliable predictors of college students’ alcohol consumption (Neighbors et al., 2007). In addition, the interventions developed for perceived drinking norms are very sufficient and cost effective. The interventions often involve making college students aware of the actual rate at which college students consume alcohol compared to their own level of consumption. For example, the Social Norms Marketing Advertising (SNMA) intervention was designed to inform students through media advertisements (e.g., television advertisements,

radio advertisements, newspaper advertisements, posters, flyers, etc; Neighbors et al., 2011). These advertisements often include statistics about the number of drinks a typical student at a specific university consumes per week (Neighbors et al., 2011). The non-confrontational tone of SNMA’s allows this intervention to receive less resistance from college students because there is no effort to control their consumption and behaviors (Wechsler et al., 2003). According to a review by Neighbors et al. (2011) on the SNMA, there have been mixed findings on its effectiveness. Wechsler et al. (2003) conducted a national study on 118 colleges examining the quantity, frequency, and volume of alcohol consumption before and after the implementation of SNMA. The results show that there were no decreases in alcohol consumption after SNMA was implemented. These findings are consistent with various older studies of SNMA; however the majority of recent research is in support of the SNMA intervention and has found it to be productive in reducing alcohol consumption (Perkins, Linkenbach, Lewis, & Neighbors, 2010; Turner, Perkins, & Bauerle, 2008). Turner et al. (2008) found that freshman college students specifically benefit from the implementation of SNMA. The freshman college students who were exposed to SNMA reported a 22 percent reduction in alcohol consumption over a 6 year period, as well as were associated with fewer negative consequences. These findings are important because freshman students are highly susceptible to peer pressure (Bosari & Carey, 2001). Therefore, any interventions that can help buffer this susceptibility is valuable and should be taken into consideration by all colleges.

Another intervention for perceived drinking norms is the Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) intervention (Neighbors et al., 2011). The PNF influences individual students personally, whereas the SNMA targets a large amount of students at once.

Specifically, the PNF intervention provides individual students with feedback in regards to their own drinking, their perceived drinking of their peers, and the actual rate at which their peers are drinking (Neighbors et al., 2011). The PNF intervention is typically computerized and the feedback is delivered through an online survey. For example, the student will enter their information in the online survey, and they will receive instant feedback on their levels of drinking compared to their peers. A PNF intervention might read as follows: “You said you drink an average of 10 drinks per week and that you think the typical University of X student drinks about 15 drinks per week. Based on a recent survey of 2,500 UX students, the actual average number of drinks per week for UX students is 4.6 drinks” (Neighbors et al., 2011).

Overall, the PNF has received a large amount of support from researchers and has been found to be very efficient in alcohol reduction (Neighbors et al., 2011).

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Although the SNMA and PNF interventions have been found to decrease alcohol consumption amongst smaller groups of college students, the rate of alcohol consumption throughout the United States remains constant. Therefore, future interventions should be designed on a national level in hopes to dramatically decrease alcohol consumption as a whole. Although it is important to target all college students with interventions and preventive measures against peer pressure and alcohol use, it may be useful to focus on the freshman population when implementing these interventions into colleges. By doing this, the freshman students will become aware of the pressures that they may face as a new student within the college environment, yet these interventions will hopefully provide them with the tools to resist temptation to conform to these pressures throughout their college years.

References Borsari, B., & Carey, K. B. (2001) Peer influences on college drinking: A review of the research.

Journal of Substance Abuse, 13, 391-424.

Borsari, B., & Carey, K. B. (2003). Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: A metaanalytic integration. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 64(3), 331–341.

Crawford, L. A., & Novak, K. B. (2007). Resisting peer pressure: Characteristics associated with other-self discrepancies in college students’ levels of alcohol consumption. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 51(1), 35-62.

Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2009). Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2008: Volume II, college students and adults ages 19–50 (NIH Publication No. 097403). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monogra phs /vol2_ 2008.pdf.

Kinard, B., & Webster, C. (2010). The effects of advertising, social influences, and self-efficacy on adolescence tobacco use and alcohol consumption. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(1), 24-43. doi:10.1111/j.17456606.2010.01156.x Lewis, C. E., & Lewis, M. (1984). Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children. American Journal of Public Health, 74(6), 580-584.

Neighbors, C., Lee, C. M., Lewis, M. A., Fossos, N., & Larimer, M. E. (2007). Are social norms the best predictor of outcomes among heavydrinking college students? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68, 556–565.

Neighbors, C., Jensen, M., Tidwell, J., Walter, T., Fossos, N., & Lewis, M. A. (2011). Social-norms interventions for light and nondrinking students. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14(5), 651-669. doi: 10.1177/1368430210398014

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Perkins, H. W., Linkenbach, J. W., Lewis, M. A., & Neighbors, C. (2010). Effectiveness of social norms media marketing in reducing drinking and driving: A statewide campaign. Addictive Behaviors, 35, 866–874.

Regan, D., & Morrison, T. G. (2011). Development and validation of a scale measuring attitudes toward non-drinkers. Substance Use and Misuse, 46, 580-590. doi:10.3109/10826084.2010.518748 Santor, D. A., Messervey, D., & Kusumakar, V. (2000). Peer pressure, popularity, and conformity in adolescent boys and girls: Predicting school performance, sexual attitudes, and substance use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 163-182.

Teese, R., & Bradley, G. (2008). Predicting recklessness in emerging adults: A test of a psychosocial model. The Journal of Social Psychology, 148(1), 105-126.

Turner, J., Perkins, H.W., & Bauerle, J. (2008).

Declining negative consequences related to alcohol misuse among students exposed to social norms marketing intervention on a college campus. Journal of American College Health, 57, 85−93.

US Department of Health and Human Services (2011). Report to congress on the prevention and reduction of underage drinking. Retrieved from http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/ SMA11-4645/SMA11-4645.pdf Wechsler, H., Nelson, T. E., Lee, J. E., Seibring, M., Lewis, C., & Keeling, R. P. (2003). Perception and reality: A national evaluation of social norms marketing interventions to reduce college students’ heavy alcohol use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64, 484–494.

Wood, M. D., Read, J. P., Mitchell, R. E., & Brand, N. H. (2004). Do parents still matter? Parent and peer influences on alcohol involvement among recent high school graduates. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(1), 19-30. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.18.1.19

Author’s Biography Josephine M. Palmeri is a senior in the Applied Psychology Honors program. She is currently a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin's Meta-Analysis of the Paradox (MAP) research team. Her main research interest lies in mental health counseling. After graduating, she plans to continue her studies in a counseling psychology graduate program.

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Submissions

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The Masculine Experience in Psychotherapy:

An Examination of Clinical Processes and Outcomes ANTHONY CAVALIER

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Recent decades have seen an abundance of attention towards the subject of women’s mental health, with a trend emerging that recognizes the influence of gender on both research in the field and on the therapeutic process. Contemporary psychologists such as Carol Gilligan and Jean Baker Miller, for instance, published numerous works in past decades that have aimed to elevate the construct of femininity to the forefront of current theory, and to inform the field of its unique implications for the clinical treatment of women. However, the subject of masculinity has received far less attention in psychological literature, perhaps representing a pushback against the male-centered theories that for so long dominated the field. Consequently, far less is known about the male experience in psychotherapy and how the pressures and confines of masculinity affect the clinical process.

Thus, this review aims to synthesize the current research regarding the interaction between masculinity and psychotherapy, with a specific focus on the presenting problems associated with masculinity, the effect of masculinity on the therapeutic relationship, and masculinity’s association to clinical outcomes. Finally, this paper will suggest future directions for research and comment on the limitations of the current research.

Objectives of this Review This review will present an overview of the literature regarding the male experience in psychotherapy. It will expound upon three specific aspects of the therapeutic process: the presenting problem that has brought the client into psychotherapy, the construction of the therapeutic relationship, and finally the clinical outcomes. The interaction of a masculine-oriented client with these processes will be of specific interest, and conclusions regarding the unique masculine experience in psychotherapy will ultimately be drawn based upon an examination of the current research.

What is Masculinity?

For the present review, masculinity is assumed to encompass all traits that past research has systematically associated with maleness.

Traditionally, these traits include, but are not limited to, independence, stoicism, aggression, competiveness, and rationalism, and together these traits compose the typical western archetype of a masculine individual (Ogrodniczuk, 2006). While examining the origin of these gendered traits would be beyond the scope of this review, researchers generally agree that they result primarily from socialization (Addis & Mahalik, 2003). Therefore, although this review will use the terms “masculine” and “male” interchangeably, this is notably not always the case. This review instead embraces a nuanced understanding of gender in which it is assumed that any individual has the capacity to express a range of both traditionally masculine and feminine behaviors. Thus, the conclusions reached about

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masculine individuals will presumably apply to anyone who displays such traits, including women.

The Unique Presenting Problems of Masculinity With the exception of the feminist school of psychotherapy, very few psychological paradigms comment on the influence of gender and gender role adherence on a client’s development of symptomology, with most theories focusing on the interpersonal, contextual, or biological correlates of a client’s symptoms. As such, few clinical treatments involve an examination of a client’s adherence or resistance to a masculine gender role despite current research suggesting that our concept of our gender role influences a wide array of psychological functioning ranging from our own self-concept to the quality of our external relationships. Tyson, Baffour, and DuongTran (2010) for instance, argue that one’s adherence to gender roles norms significantly affects an individual’s self-concept, psychological well-being, and pathology, This is further confirmed by the research of Werner Kierski, who has conducted numerous exhaustive studies on the subject. He concludes, “taken as a whole, men’s conflicted gender roles can lead to dysfunction in many realms impacting work and love” (Kierski & Blazina, 2009).

Moreover, the experience of gender role conflict - a pattern of negative consequences related to one’s adherence to or rejection of a masculine gender role - has been linked to numerous pathological behaviors, and research has shown that clients often benefit from the therapist’s examination and discussion of how interaction with a masculine gender role has contributed to the client’s presenting problem (Mahalik, Talmadge, Locke, & Scott, 2005).

Specifically, Kierski identifies “substance abuse, learning problems, long-term problems following divorce, perpetration of physical violence and higher suicide levels” (Kierski & Blazina, 2009, p.60) as being linked to such gender role conflicts.

Additionally, research has found evidence for a link between gender role conflict and increased incidences of anxiety, depression, intimacy problems, relationship and job satisfaction, and such conflicts were also related to a decreased willingness to seek help on behalf of the client (Pederson & Vogel, 2007).

The issue of men’s reluctance to enter psychotherapy has been the focus of the multitude of research on masculinity and psychotherapy, as it is recognized that men currently enter therapy at significantly lower rates than do women. This trend has also been of particular interest to clinical researchers, who worry that the current mental health system is inadequately and unevenly serving clients. There have therefore been numerous explanations for why this phenomenon occurs, with many interpretations focusing on the purported conflicts between therapeutic techniques (introspection, disclosure, etc.), and masculine ideals. Pederson and Vogel (2007), for example,

concluded that there exists empirical support for the argument that gender role conflict leaves men less willing to enter counseling, particularly when they are uncomfortable about disclosure and when they “self-stigmatize” about therapy.

Additionally, a study by Park and Hatchet (2006) concluded that clients who scored higher on a masculinity inventory had more negative views about psychotherapy when compared to more feminine clients. Kierski and Blazina (2009) also suggested that “many men…are likely to disregard counseling…as the antithesis of masculine success” (p. 156). Therefore, it can be concluded that a correlation exists between masculinity and the decreased likelihood of entering a therapeutic setting.

Certainly, it appears that the masculine emphasis on traits such as self-reliance, stoicism, and autonomy often conflicts with many men’s perceptions of what it means to be in psychotherapy, which often includes ideas of extreme emotional disclosure and submission to analysis by a clinician. However the body of literature suggests that men are more willing to undertake the process of therapy when they find that their preconceived notions are incorrect and that, in fact, therapy need not be an emotionally demanding task. Thus, Pederson and Vogel (2007) suggest that men may be more willing to enter therapy when they are able to focus not on emotions but rather on cognitions, which are more stereotypically “gender-aligned” for males.

Ultimately, the research describes a tenuous relationship between masculinity and one’s development of pathological behavior and consequently their willingness to enter psychotherapy. Research has demonstrated that gender role conflicts are significantly related to psychological disorders and distress, and that numerous instances of psychological disturbances are related to one’s experience of gender (Kierski & Blazina, 2009; Pederson & Vogel, 2007). Thus, it becomes an increasingly important task for clinicians to recognize the symptoms that are related to a conflict in gender roles, as it is probable that few clinicians recognize seemingly common problems (anxiety, depression, substance abuse, etc.) as originating due to one’s conflict over their adherence to a masculine gender role. Therefore, clinicians should become familiar with recognizing the signs of a masculine gender role conflict before applying the appropriate treatment.

The Therapeutic Relationship The therapeutic relationship is a fundamental aspect of the clinical process, referring to the unconditional helping alliance between a therapist and his/her client. This relationship remains an integral part of the clinical process, as the degree to which a client derives benefit from therapy is almost always contingent upon the quality of interaction with one’s therapist. Therefore, therapy is unlikely to succeed if a trusting relationship between the client and the therapist

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fails to develop. However, conformity to a masculine gender role presents many challenges to the construction of this relationship, and research has found that men who conform strictly to masculine norms often face difficulties in therapy related to the quality of the relationship with their therapist (Tyson et al., 2009; Owen, Wong, & Rodolfa, 2010).

In search of gender differences in the therapeutic process, Tyson et al. (2009) conducted a study examining the coping strategies of men and women in times of crisis.

They argue that, in accordance with multiple therapeutic models, clients are thought to bring to therapy a powerful collection of strengths, coping strategies, and resilient traits that can be accessed to produce positive change in times of distress.

While the researchers hypothesized that men and women would display distinct coping strategies, they found that, in fact, they were more similar in their choices of coping styles than dissimilar. One of the most interesting findings from this study suggested that men use relational coping strategies as often as women (Tyson et al., 2009), suggesting that the construction of a therapeutic relationship can be critical to the development of beneficial clinical outcomes.

As for the content of the therapeutic relationship, research has suggested that a client’s perceptions of the therapist can be influenced by one’s adherence to a masculine gender type. For instance, studies conducted by Owen et al. (2010) confirmed that a client’s perceived helpfulness of therapist techniques typically fluctuates in accordance with their conformity to masculine norms. This has significant implications for clinical practice, as it suggests that therapists must remain cognizant of the way that their clients perceive them and how those perceptions are related to the client’s gendered experience.

Further research has suggested that men have particular difficulty with the aspects of therapy that relate to emotional disclosure. Pattee and Farber (2008), for instance, posit that, “men tend to feel more exposed and vulnerable than women when revealing strong emotions.” They go on to argue that the lesser the degree to which one adheres to masculine norms, the greater their willingness is to commit to disclosure (Pattee & Farber, 2008). In spite of this, several researchers have proposed that therapists should provide clinical services that correspond to the client’s perceptions of therapy, so as not to force a novel and perhaps even frightening task on an already hesitant client. John Ogrodniczuk (2006), who remains a highly cited academic in the field, is one such researcher who supports this interpretation.

He argues that the construction of a successful therapeutic relationship is contingent upon the client’s ability to trust the therapist, and that the development of trust can only occur when therapy unfolds in a manner that corresponds to the client’s distinct inclinations and needs. He writes that “providing relationships that are

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consistent with the preferences of women and men facilitate trust and willingness to work…in turn…enabling women or men to tackle different issues and engage in new coping strategies that otherwise would have been avoided” (Ogrodniczuk, 2006).

Subsequent studies have shown that is often the clinical techniques that clients find most challenging that are actually the ones that provide for the best therapeutic outcomes and for the most enriching therapeutic relationships, a fact that Ogrodniczuk alluded to above. He argues that, while a “neutral relationship” between the client and the therapist may best serve traditionally masculine clients, they also benefit greatly from “introspection and examination of uncomfortable emotions” (Ogrodniczuk, 2006).

He suggests that this is largely due to the novelty of these measures to masculine-oriented clients who typically resist exposure to such therapeutic techniques. Indeed, these findings were replicated in observations of same-sex counseling groups, in which all-male groups were shown to exhibit counter-productive masculine behaviors such as aggression and dominance, while mixed-gender groups displayed more integrated therapeutic methods leading in turn to greater “cohesion” and “therapeutic evolution” (Currat & Michel, 2006).

The research of Owen et al. (2010) confirms this, as they concluded that, when working with more masculine clients, therapists need not avoid therapeutic approaches that are “incongruent” with masculine values. In fact, such measures may be the therapeutic components that masculine clients find most useful. Therapists should take care, however, not to introduce these “incongruent” measures before a client is ready and able to sufficiently benefit from them.

In sum, the type of therapeutic relationship that traditionally masculine clients often find to be most helpful involves the gradual introduction of the clinical techniques that are typically perceived to be at odds with the masculine gender type (i.e. emotional introspection and disclosure). However, such clinical techniques should be instituted only after the construction of a therapeutic environment that is conducive to the client’s exploration of these “gender atypical” behaviors.

Additionally, special care should be taken by clinicians not to overwhelm or discourage new clients by presenting them with therapeutic techniques with which they aren’t familiar or which they find initially discomforting.

Therapeutic Outcomes Perhaps the majority of the research conducted on clinical settings in recent decades has focused on outcomes and so-called “evidence-based treatment.” Research on gender differences among therapeutic outcomes has received particular attention, with the overwhelming consensus being that therapeutic outcomes are not significantly affected by the client’s gender (Ogrodniczuk, 2006). However, the body of research on the subject has produced

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other findings of interest in regards to gender-role conformity, as evidence has emerged linking adherence to a masculine gender role with poorer therapeutic outcomes. For instance, Owen et al.

(2010) concluded definitively that clients who recounted greater adherence to masculine roles experienced inferior therapeutic outcomes. This trend likely results from the challenges described in the previous section pertaining to the construction of a healthy therapeutic relationship, and in particular from masculine clients’ traditional rejection of introspection and disclosure.

Moreover, other researchers have found evidence for clinicians’ gender competency in treating clients, and have linked this competency to improved therapeutic outcomes (Owen & Wong, 2009; Heru, Strong, Price, & Recupero, 2006). Concepts of a therapist’s gender competency, by definition, encompasses his/her ability to effectively treat clients of both genders, and it assumes that clinicians are often better at treating either male or female patients. Owen & Wong (2009) conducted an empirical search for evidence that such competency is reflected through clinical outcomes, and concluded that the “findings suggest that psychotherapists’ ability to work effectively with men or women do account for a meaningful proportion of psychotherapy outcomes.” A study by Williams and McBain (2006) lends further support for these findings, as the authors argued that internalized concepts of gender significantly affect the work of therapists.

They proposed that therapists develop concepts of appropriate client behavior based on the client’s gender, which in turn manifests itself in counseling. In support of these assertions the authors cited past studies that have found evidence for therapists’ differential treatment of clients as a function of their gender, for instance reporting findings that showed that therapists interrupted male clients less than they did female clients in counseling (Williams & McBain, 2006).

Moreover, other studies have linked the development of a stronger therapeutic alliance to both the gender of the therapist and of the client, suggesting that there may indeed be an ideal therapist “match” for each client based around their gender or gender-role conformity (Wintersteen, Mensinger, & Diamond, 2005).

Together these findings can perhaps explain the lack of evidence suggesting differential outcomes for men and women in psychotherapy, as previous studies assumed that therapists were equally competent to treat both men and women (Owen & Wong, 2009).

Current research has identified other factors that have been linked to gender-related therapeutic outcomes, with evidence existing that the effect of transference interpretations accounts for meaningful differences in therapeutic outcomes among men and women (Ulberg, Marble, & Hoglend, 2009). Transference, which represents a client’s tendency to reconstruct past or current relationships in the person of the

therapist, is an important part of many psychotherapeutic models, and is especially important in the psychodynamic tradition. Thus Ulberg, Johansson, Marble, and Hoglend (2009) conducted a study that aimed to determine if men and women respond differently to transference interpretations. The researchers found that men and women had different responses to transference, with women apparently being the greater beneficiary of such a technique. Sex, according the researchers, was discovered to be a moderator of the effects of transference interpretations, suggesting that women benefit more from therapy involving transference interpretations, whereas men improve more when therapy does not feature transference interpretations (Ulberg, Johansson, et al., 2009).

These findings provide further evidence for the existence of differential clinical outcomes in regards to male and female patients.

Ultimately, a client’s adherence to a masculine model appears to have an inhibitory effect on the success of psychotherapy. While research has failed to provide a definitive link between one’s anatomical gender and their success in psychotherapy, it has identified a relation between one’s conformity to a masculine gender role and decreased therapeutic efficacy. Thus, the task for therapists is one of recognizing and accommodating for the masculine patterns of cognition and behavior among clients that are related to these deficient outcomes. Furthermore, therapists would be well advised to be aware of the interaction between masculinity and therapeutic outcomes when analyzing their own efficacy in treating clients.

Suggestions for Future Research The body of research on the topic of masculinity and its relation to psychotherapy is far from exhaustive, and there remain numerous gaps to be filled by future researchers. One of the most glaring limitations of the current research is its sample, as most studies recruit participants who were previously hoping to enter therapy or who were already enrolled. Thus there are likely to be systematic differences between those who voluntarily seek therapy and those who do not.

Additionally, the vast majority of the studies reviewed focused on adult populations, and much less attention has been devoted to children, adolescents, and the elderly and their experiences with masculinity in therapy. Indeed, future research should focus on identifying longitudinal trends regarding the development of a masculine gender role and its interaction with psychotherapy.

The current research also lacks variability in the types of therapies selected for study.

Specifically, interpersonal psychotherapies are well represented while cognitive-behavioral therapy has been all but neglected. Therefore the literature would be greatly enriched by studies that seek to examine the efficacy of multiple types of therapy in regards to masculinity. In addition,

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the majority of studies reviewed did not attempt to disentangle “masculinity” from “maleness,” and instead assumed that the two terms are equivalent. Thus future research should focus less on the male vs. female dichotomy, and instead on the outcomes and processes associated with masculinity and femininity.

Conclusion Gender is one of the defining constructs affecting our perceptions and our experience of the world around us. As such, it is logical to conclude that adherence to a masculine gender role interacts significantly with the clinical process to produce a distinct therapeutic experience for masculine clients. The research undeniably supports this assertion, as the male experience in psychotherapy has been shown to be unique in terms of masculine clients’ presenting problems, as well as in terms of the therapeutic relationship and clinical outcomes. Thus therapists should remain cognizant of the interactions between a client’s masculine world-view and their experience in therapy, and should aim to tailor their therapeutic practices to the concerns of a masculine-oriented client.

References Addis, M.E., & Mahalik, J.R. (2003). Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking.

American Psychologist, 58(1), 5-14.

Currat, T., & Michel, L. (2006). Groups and gender: The effects of a masculine gender deficit.

Group Analysis, 39, 133-142.

Heru, A,M., Strong, D., Price, M., & Recupero, P.R. (2006). Self-disclosure in psychotherapy supervisors: Gender differences. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60(4), 323-334.

Kierski, W., & Blazina, C. (2009). The male fear of the feminine and its effects on counseling and psychotherapy. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 17(2), 155-172.

Mahalik, J., Talmadge, T., Locke, B., & Scott, R. (2005). Using the conformity to masculine norms inventory to work with men in a clinical setting. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(6), 661-674.

Ogrodniczuk, J.S. (2006). Men, women, and their outcome in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 16(4), 453-462 Owen, J., Wong, Y.J., & Rodolfa, E. (2010). The relationship between clients’ conformity to masculine norms and their perceptions of helpful therapist actions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(1), 68-78.

Owen, J., & Wong, Y.J. (2009). Empirical search for psychotherapists’ gender competence in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 46(4), 448-458.

Park, H. & Hatchett, G. (2006). Do sex, sex-role orientation, and exposure to gendercongruent therapy models influence receptivity to psychotherapy? Journal of

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College Student Psychotherapy, 20(3), 3-17.

Pattee, D. & Farber, B.A. (2008). Patients' experiences of self-disclosure in psychotherapy: The effects of gender and gender role identification. Psychotherapy Research, 18(3), 306-315.

Pederson, E.L., & Vogel, D.L. (2007). Male gender role conflict and willingness to seek counseling: Testing a mediation model on college-aged men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(4), 373-384.

Tyson, E., Baffour, T.S., & Duong-Tran, P. (2010).

Gender comparisons of self-identified strengths and coping strategies: A study of adolescents in an acute psychiatric facility.

Child Adolescent Social Work Journal, 27, 161175.

Ulberg, R., Johansson, P., Marble, A., & Hoglend, P. (2009). Patient sex as moderator of effects of transference interpretation in a randomized control study of dynamic psychotherapy.

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54(2), 78-86.

Ulberg, R., Marble, A., & Hoglend, P. (2009). Do gender and level of relational functioning influence the long-term treatment response in dynamic psychotherapy? Nord Journal of Psychology, 63(5), 412-419.

Williams, L., & McBain, H. (2006). Integrating gender on multiple levels: A conceptual model for teaching gender issues in family therapy.

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 32(3), 385-397.

Wintersteen, M., Mensinger, J., & Diamond, G. (2005). Do gender differences between patient and therapist affect therapeutic alliance and treatment retention in adolescents? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), 400-408.

Author’s Biography Anthony Nicholas Cavalier is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. His main research interests include gender studies and clinical practice outcomes. After graduating, he plans to take time off before pursuing a graduate degree.

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Effects of Supervisor-Employee Relationship on Job Performance Justin Conway Employee job performance is one of the most important factors within business analytics for maintaining and increasing productivity for companies (Elangovan, & Xie, 1999; Spreitzer, 1995). Employee job performance is operationally defined as the extent to which an individual completes the duties that are required in order to occupy a given position, which s/he assumes within an organization. Some of the most common responsibilities of supervisors are to delegate work, and to give information or advice to subordinates. In acknowledging that it is the duty of supervisors to ensure that employee job performance is at maximum potential, it would be advantageous for managers in all trades and industry sectors worldwide to understand what types of employee-supervisor interactions are associated with employee job performance.

Knowledge regarding the possible association between supervisor-employee relationship and job performance would enable the implementation of more effective systems for management, and subsequently, better productivity for the company through increased job performance. This assessment seeks to evaluate examples from current research to understand the relationship between four dimensions of employee-supervisor interaction [perceived organizational support (POS), trust in the supervisor (TS), leader-member exchange (LMX), and reward systems (RS)], and employee job performance. Research on the associations of these variables shows varied results because of the difficulty in ruling out extraneous variables in the workplace. However, researchers generally agree that POS can act as a foundation for interaction with supervisors that allows other beneficial constructs, such as trust, to begin to develop.

Perceived Organizational Support Perceived Organizational Support (POS) is operationally defined as: the extent to which an employee believes that his/her company cares about them and appreciates his/her contributions to the company (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986). Moreover, employees tend to measure interactions with their superiors as positive or negative to create a global POS assessment of how they rank at their company

(Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). An organization is really a complex system that has no physical body of its own, so if an employee is to feel a sense of support, it will result from interactions with other individuals within the company. Supervisors act as the face of the organization, giving employees feedback and advocating on behalf of their company. High POS is established when an employee feels that s/he has more desirable interactions with their supervisors than nondesirable ones (eg: more compliments than complaints). In this respect, Rhodes and Eisenberger (2002) stated that favorable treatment from a supervisor is synonymous with support from the organization, which raises POS among employees. They continued to explain that increasing POS is generally achieved through better treatment of employees in areas such as fairness, support, rewards, and favorable job conditions, and that extending these gestures seems to be recognized as a sign of high POS by the employees who receive them, regardless of the reward or managerial system in place at that organization (Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). In other words, whether the company has an organizational hierarchy, team management, positive reinforcement, or negative reinforcement method of management, employees tend to view fairness, support, rewards, and favorable job conditions as signs of POS. When employees feel that they are appreciated and receive rewards for service to their company, their motivation to continue receiving rewards increases, and levels of job performance increase (Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). POS acts as an emotional reward to employees for their continued loyalty and high job performance. These effects are exaggerated if the employee feels that the reward/support was voluntarily given to them (eg: a promotion for accomplishment in work duties), and reduced if the employee feels that such reward or support was simply a matter of policy (eg: government imposed mandatory pay increases; Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). In this respect, the psychological state of employees acts as a moderator in the POS to job performance relationship. Furthermore, current mood often affects the way support is received. For example,

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an employee that is usually grateful to receive help from a supervisor may see the help as annoying or unnecessary if the employee were in an unsociable mood.

Additional benefits of POS include a ‚positive relationship between POS and organizational commitment (Eisenberger, Fasolo, & DavisLaMastro, 1990; Shore & Tetrick, 1991; Shore & Wayne, 1993), in-role performance (Eisenberger, Huntington, et al., 1986; Eisenberg, Fasolo, et al., 1990), organizational and citizenship behavior (Moorman, Blakely, & Niehoff, 1998; Shore & Wayne, 1993; Wayne, Shore, & Liden, 1997) and a negative relationship with absenteeism‛ (Eisenberger et al., 1986 as cited in Coyle-Shapiro & Conway, 2005, p. 775). Furthermore, research concludes that high POS is a predictor of happier, more productive employees, and when high POS is present, employees report higher levels of perceived established trust (Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002; Eisenberger, Rhoades, & Cameron, 1999).

Trust in the Supervisor Trust is defined by Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, and Camerer (1998) as, ‚a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behavior of another‛ (p. 395). To operationalize the definition of trust in a way that that is directed specifically toward the supervisor, we will simply replace the word ‚another‛ with the words ‚a supervisor‛ (ie: trust in the supervisor is: a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behavior of a supervisor). Trust is an essential factor in the acceptance of duties and information from supervisors. Generally, whether an action was performed on an employee’s own volition, or it was requested by a superior, an employee is expected to ‚know better‛ than to act in ways that are unfavorable to the company and will be held accountable for any resulting consequences.

If an employee feels that his/her supervisor may give incorrect information or a task that will not benefit the company, the employee may take extra precautions and/or be reluctant to perform when working (Elmuti, 1997). This behavior could result in slower task completion (Elmuti, 1997). In this scenario, the lack of trust established acts as an impediment to employee productivity, and consequentially results in losses for the company in the form of wasted employee time. McAllister (1995) stated that trust is ‚a variable seen as critical to organizational coordination‛ (as cited in Gómez & Rozen, 2001, p. 57). When TS is very low subordinates may disregard directives from their supervisors out of fear that the information given to them is unreliable. In order to optimize the efficiency of the delegation of duties, it is important for supervisors to gain the trust of their employees.

Showing competence is one of the first and most important things that a supervisor can do to

begin establishing trust with subordinates.

Elangovan and Xie (1999) reported that perception of supervisors has an impact on many employee outcomes related to production. They went on to explain that perception of a supervisor has a positive correlation with motivation and a negative correlation with stress in employees (Elangovan and Xie, 1999). The hiring process is the first sign of trust and acceptance of an employee by a manager, and it is generally expected that trust will be reciprocated by the employee. Quinn, Reed, Browne, and Hiers (1997) explained, ‚When one moves into the managerial structure of the large corporation or firm, one is not just moving into a ‘job’ but into a bureaucratic setting that contains its own social and cultural environment and rules of behavior‛ (p. 1426).

Employees are allowed to take on responsibilities that are important to the company, and acquire roles within the social framework of the organization, but they are expected to always act with the best interests of the company in mind.

The supervisor is responsible for insuring that work performed by subordinates effectively adds to the productivity of the company, so if the employee fails in his/her duties, so does the supervisor. As trust in an employee increases, supervisors tend to respond by providing the employee with job enlargement, the intentional increase in the duties and responsibilities of the employee. To ensure that employees recognize job enlargement as a sign of trust, the assigned work must be given with a corresponding increase in responsibility. When employees are given more work duties without increased responsibility, it may indicate to the employees that they did not do enough work or that they are being punished.

On the other hand, if more work is delegated and responsibility is increased, employees are likely to see it as a sign of appreciation and trust in their performance, which translates to a boost in selfesteem and motivation to perform (Gómez, & Rosen, 2001). In assessing the necessary factors for trust in the workplace, it is apparent that trust accumulates over time through events that allow the respective parties to evaluate and reevaluate each other based on their actions. The goal for the supervisor is to keep the employees’ interest in remaining a part of this system, and the goal of the employees’ is to gain more power within it (Henderson, Wayne, Shore, Bommer, & Tetrick, 2008). In the organizational hierarchy, the only way to gain power is through empowerment bestowed by a supervisor.

Hierarchical structuring of a company keeps power situated within individuals who maintain higher ranking. When a superior feels that a subordinate employee can be trusted to take on more responsibility, more duties may be delegated to that employee, thus s/he becomes empowered through the corresponding increase in power and authority. Elmuti (1997) explained how allowing employees a level of control and authority within an organization improves ‚both

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individual motivation and organizational productivity‛ (p. 237). Additionally, Gómez and Rozen (2001) stated that ‚The LMX theory builds in the constructs of managerial trust and subsequent employee empowerment,‛ and went on to explain that empowerment is born of a combination of trust and LMX, and (p. 54).

Leader-Member Exchange Leader-member exchange (LMX) is operationally defined as the degree to which an employee feels that he/she is in the manager’s ingroup, and has a quality relationship with their manager(s) (Gómez & Rozen, 2001). Due to the fact that the method of rating LMX and the way in which one views his/her manager’s in-group relies on personal opinion that differs across individuals, for the purpose of this paper it will be operationally defined as: an employee feeling that s/he is accepted by his/her supervisor, and is given preferential treatment. The implication here is that managerial trust in employees gives those employees special treatment in the form of information and a certain level of autonomy (Gómez & Rozen, 2001). Research shows that employees are selected to be a part of managerial in-groups based on managers’ assessments of employees’ skills, motivation, and the level of trust that the managers feel the employee deserves (Liden & Graen, 1980). Once LMX has begun to be established, the supervisor will delegate more responsibility to the employee, which is associated with an increase in employee empowerment. Empowerment is a key factor in creating innovation within a company (Spreitzer, 1995) because it serves as an indication to employees that they are responsible for and have the right to control certain aspects of his/her company. If employees are motivated to increase company productivity or make systems more efficient, empowerment will serve as a license to innovate. Managers use empowerment as a method of increasing organizational effectiveness (Conger & Kanungo, 1988; Kanter, 1989) and quality of exchange (Spreitzer, 1995, 1996).

Without LMX: …employees and managers at lower levels perceived senior management as distant and formal in their communications with employees. This was thought to impede motivation and make communications more difficult...‛ (Winter & Jackson, 2006, p. 429) Effective managing involves the issuance of the proper responses to actions performed by employees and effective communication to insure that employees understand supervisors’ instructions and intentions. When employees misunderstand supervisors’ intentions, managerial efforts can become ineffective, or even counterproductive.

In order to use LMX in management techniques, it is important to know how they operate from the employee’s perspective.

Research has shown that perceptions of LMX among subordinates are subject to the frog-pond effect, or the effect that referents have on an individual’s perception. In other words, ‚Individuals may engage in comparisons and may use social information derived from referents when evaluating the fulfillment of their PCs‛ (psychological contracts; Henderson et al., 2008).

The more variation of LMX within a group, the more subordinates with high LMX will feel that they are treated special in comparison to their peers (Erdogan & Liden, 2002). Therefore, a pleasant interaction with a superior holds extra significance if other employees did not receive the same level of interaction. Henderson et al. states, ‚Frog-pond effects and their associated comparison processes engender a positive relationship between RLMX (LMX relative to a within-group average) and PC fulfillment‛ (2008).

It is important to note however, that LMX must first be established by creating a relationship with a give and take nature. The exchange element in LMX is fundamental because it allows for the conceptualization of mutual trust and respect, which encourages information exchange. In this respect trust and LMX are intertwined, acting as both source and product of the other. When a subordinate is accepted into a manager’s ingroup, it can be perceived as a reward because it is typically the result of good job-performance and fulfillment of the psychological contract on behalf of the employee (Henderson et al., 2008).

Rewards Systems A reward is commonly known as, ‚something given or received in return or recompense for service, merit, hardship, etc.‛ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Dictionary.com).

Reward Systems (RS) are groups of standardized responses that are designed to give benefits to employees who perform tasks specified by their company or superior (Businessdictionary.com). A RS is another form of supervisor-employee interaction in the sense that a reward is typically created by a manager to give to subordinates, and subordinates respond to those rewards verbally or behaviorally. In fact, all of the constructs previously discussed are heavily connected to RS by either being rewards themselves (POS, LMX), or acting as a part of the measurement of the construct trust in supervisor (TS). POS and LMX are methods of positive reinforcement because they are increased as an employee fulfills their psychological and occupational contracts.

Employees typically want to be included in their manager’s in-group and feel that they are supported by their organization. Thus, increases in support areas such as POS and LMX that correspond to job productivity are seen as rewards (Gómez & Rozen, 2001). When employees determine their level of TS, reward distribution is considered because employees must feel that they are rewarded properly for their contributions in order to know that their supervisors have their best interest in mind.

Conway| Effects of Supervisor-Employee Relationship on Job Performance |

Research shows that most RS methodology has a positive correlation with job productivity in employees (Elangovan and Xie, 1999). Employees can be rewarded in a variety of ways that stimulate their intrinsic and/or extrinsic desires, and an effective RS is built from a combination of knowing which rewards are most effective for which employees and distributing those rewards properly. The primary forms of rewards are psychological (eg: compliments); material/tangible (eg: pay increases, bonuses); and intangible (eg: preference in receiving company perks, privilege of using company property such as cars, boats, houses, etc., promotions), but a reward can be anything that employees enjoy, which their companies can supply to them in exchange for good employee performance. Rewards act as both a way for organizations to show their gratitude to employees for work well done and as motivational factors for those employees to produce at high levels (Elangovan & Xie, 1999). In order to increase company productivity, it is common for managers to implement a system in which employees receive more rewards for a corresponding increase in job productivity; however, this system is only effective under certain circumstances, usually dictated by the psychological state of the employee. This tends to be where Industrial/Organizational practices are preferred over typical managerial methods because of their effectiveness in accounting for psychological factors.

Elangovan and Xie (1999) found that RS had a positive correlation with motivation, but selfesteem served as a moderator. Moreover, participants with low self-esteem were motivated more by the implementation of an increased RS (R2 =0.029; F(l,150)= 5.02, p < 0.05), but those who had high self-esteem did not have increased motivation when rewards were increased (Elangovan, & Xie, 1999, p. 366). This data demonstrates that familiarity with subordinates, particularly with regard to the self-esteem construct, is imperative for implementing effective RS. The bare essentials for implementing an RS involve: designing a system, the process of distributing information about the new system, supplies and processes for distributing the rewards to employees, and a method of tracking the completion of certain tasks that are to be rewarded. Setting up these features within a company can be a costly enterprise, and if the reward system does not cause a significant increase in employee production, the system will simply serve as a loss to the company. For this reason, LMX, and employee testing procedures are invaluable in allowing superiors to gain critical information about their subordinates, so that the RS can be designed with high confidence of leading to increased revenue for the company.

In addition to the direct effects of RS on employees, Elangovan and Xie (1999) demonstrates how employees also benefit from

feeling empowered through receiving rewards.

They posit that rewards are part of the five bases of social power (i.e. reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent), which implies that as rewards are distributed, employees’ social power is raised. They continued to explain that rewards also had a significant positive correlation with motivation, and work effort, which are predictors of employee job performance (Elangovan, & Xie, 1999).

Discussion The sum of research on employee-supervisor interaction implies that POS, TS, LMX, and RS have positive correlations with employee job performance. Supervisors that maintain high levels of positive interaction and support for their subordinates will increase POS, which acts as a reward for employee fulfillment of occupational obligations, and the psychological contract (Rhodes & Eisenberger, 2002). Trust is mutually established through significant interactions, and acts as the foundation for building POS and LMX in the employee-supervisor relationship, and that relationship is rated more positively when employees feel that they have more positive interactions with supervisors than negative interactions. ‚According to LMX theory, those employees who are considered part of a manager’s in-group have a high-quality exchange (Dansereau, Graen, & Haga, 1975 as seen in Gómez & Rozen, 2001, p. 54),‛ and LMX has a significant impact on employee in-role (within the expected range of job requirements) and extra-role (outside the expected range of job requirements) behaviors (Gerstner & Day, 1997; Ilies, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007), which translates to increased company productivity.

Although studies have shown a positive correlation between RS and job performance, psychological states of employees, particularly with regard to self-esteem moderate the relationship. In order to have a high degree of confidence in a RS; LMX, and superior’s knowledge about subordinate’s psychological states must first be established. Then RS serves as another form of supervisor-employee interaction upon which POS, LMX, and TS can continue to be built.

Limitations Although evaluations of employee performance are highly correlated with LMX (Bauer & Green, 1996), research has not yet determined cause and effect, which suggests the possibility that managers who have good relationships with their employees tend to rate their performance higher due to the managers’ feelings toward those employees. Furthermore, this positive rating may be independent of actual employee performance levels. Future studies would benefit from a cross-lagged panel design that could use time as a quasi-experimental variable in order to derive statements that imply cause and effect between the variables LMX, and employee job performance.

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Additionally, the prevalence of research that indicate associations between the constructs studied in this paper (ie: POS, TS, LMX, RS), and empowerment may be an indication that said constructs are mediating or moderating the relationship between empowerment and job performance. In the case of a mediating relationship, the ability of empowerment to predict job performance should exist at some level independently of the other constructs.

Future research would benefit from testing the levels of employee empowerment in addition to POS, TS, LMX, and RS. For data analysis, a hierarchical multiple regression with the other constructs (POS, TS, LMX, RS) put into the equation before empowerment could be used in order to test the effect of empowerment on job performance after the other constructs have been accounted for.

References Bauer, T.N., & Green, S.G. (1996). Development of leader-member exchange: A longitudinal test.

Academy of Management Journal, 39, 15381567.

Conger, J.A., & Kanungo, R.N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-482.

Coyle-Shapiro, J., & Conway, N. (2005). Exchange relationships: Examining psychological contracts and perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4),774–781. DOI: 10.1037/00219010.90.4.774 Dansereau, F., Graen, G., & Haga, W.J. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organization: A longitudinal investigation of the role making process.

Organizational Behavior and Human Preformance, 13(1), 46-78.

Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500–507.

Eisenberger, R., Rhoades, L., & Cameron, J. (1999).

Does pay for performance increase or decrease perceived self-determination and intrinsic motivation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1026–1040.

Elangovan, A.R., & Xie, J.L. (1999). Effects of perceived power of supervisor on subordinate stress and motivation: The moderating role of subordinate characteristics. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(3), 359-373.

Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3100295 Elmuti, D. (1997). Self-managed work teams approach: Creative management tool or a fad?

Management Decision, 35(3), 233-239.

Erdogan, B., & Liden, R.C. (2002). Social exchange in the workplace: A review of recent

developments and future research directions in leader–member exchange theory. In L. L. Neider & C.A. Schriesheim (Eds.), Leadership (pp. 65–114). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Gerstner, C.R., & Day, D.V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader–member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827–844.

Gómez, C., & Rosen, B. (2001). The leader-member exchange as a link between managerial trust and employee empowerment. Group & Organization Management, 26(1), pp. 53-69. doi: 10.1177/1059601101261004 Henderson, D., Wayne, S., Shore, L., Bommer, W., & Tetrick, L. (2008). Leader–member exchange, differentiation, and psychological contract fulfillment: A multilevel examination.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(6), 1208– 1219 Ilies, R., Nahrgang, J.D., & Morgeson, F.P. (2007).

Leader–member exchange and Citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 269–277.

Kanter, R.M. (1989). The new managerial work.

Harvard Business Review, 66, 85-92.

Liden, R.C., & Graen, G. (1980). Generalizability of the vertical dyad linkage model of leadership.

Academy of Management Journal, 23, 451-465.

McAllister, D.J. (1995). Affect- and cognitionbased trust as foundations for interpersonal cooperation in organizations. The Academy of Management Journal, 38(1), 24-59. = Moorman, R.H., Blakely, G.L., & Niehoff, B.P. (1998).

Does perceived organizational support mediate the relationship between procedural justice and organizational citizenship behavior? The Academy of Management Journal, 41(3), 351-357.

Quinn, J.K., Reed, J.D., Browne, M.N., & Hiers, W.J. (1997). Honesty, individualism, and pragmatic business ethics: Implications for corporate hierarchy. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(12/13), 1419-1430.

Reward. (nd). In Dictionary.com online. Retrieved From http://dictionary.reference.com/ browse/reward.

Reward. (nd). In Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/reward Reward Systems. (nd). In BusinessDictionary.com.

Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition /reward-system.html Rhoades, L., & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 698–714. DOI: 10.1037//00219010.87.4.698 Rousseau, D.M., Sitkin, S.B., Burt, R.S., & Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: Acrossdiscipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23, 393–404.

Conway| Effects of Supervisor-Employee Relationship on Job Performance |

Shore, L.M., & Tetrick, L.E. (1991). A construct validity study of the survey of perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(5), 637-643.

Shore, L.M., & Wayne, S.J. (1993). Commitment and employee behavior: Comparison of affective commitment and continuance commitment with perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(5), 774-780. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.78.5.774 Spreitzer, G.M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1442-1465.

Spreitzer, G.M. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 483-504.

Wayne, S.J., Shore, L.M., & Liden, R.C. (1997).

Perceived organizational support and leadermember exchange: A social exchange perspective. The Academy of Management Journal, 40(1), 82-111.

Winter, R., & Jackson, B., (2006). State of the psychological contract: Manager andemployee perspectives within an Australian credit union.

Employee Relations, 28(5), 421–434.

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Author’s Biography Justin Conway is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. He is currently assisting Dr. Elise Cappella on the BRIDGE research team studying the effects of social interactions and child behaviors within the classroom. While studying at NYU Justin has provided counseling services to inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility and mentoring services to high-school students at Upward Bound. He was previously published for his literary works, and is a recipient of the QSA Presidential Service Award. Justin’s focus is primarily based in organizational development and management consulting and his main research interests include the supervisoremployee relationship, motivation, and decision making. After graduating he plans to work within a consulting firm while pursuing his MA degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

VolumeIIII Fall Spring Volume 2011 2011

School Based Interventions

How can unipolar depression and externalizing disorders in urban youth in America be prevented by school interventions?

Lana Denysyk

With high rates of mental illnesses in schoolaged children, earlier prevention and intervention methods need to be executed in order to decrease the level of dysfunction children experience and prevent delinquency and criminality, common outcomes of disruptive behavior disorders. Due to possible genetic predisposition of developing mental illness, for the purposes of this paper, prevention will be defined as intervening and minimizing the risk of the illness developing further. While prevention programs occur before the onset of a disorder and treatment intervention programs take place after the diagnosis of the disorder, in current research it is hard to distinguish between prevention and treatment efforts (Collins, & Dozois, 2008). Interestingly, many prevention methods utilize cognitive behavioral therapy and in fact should be considered treatment rather than prevention (Horowitz & Garber, 2006). Both preventative and intervention-based treatments share the aim of reducing symptoms and use similar means to get there. Children who suffer from both conduct problems and depression have a higher risk for violence, delinquency, substance abuse, and suicide compared to children who suffer from depression or conduct disorders separately. (Drabick, Beauchaine, Gadow, Carlson, & Bromet, 2006). In addition, children who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have access to early assistance will experience additional difficulties and then require more intensive services, thereby making prevention and treatment necessary for current and future success (Sheppard, 2008).

Among school-aged children, rates of depression have increased over the past few years. Depression as defined by the DSM IV- TR includes symptoms of a depressed or irritable mood, loss of interest in activities, and problems with attention and social functioning (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text rev; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Of children diagnosed with depression, 20% require mental health interventions, 11% have significant functional impairments, and 5% suffer from extreme impairment (Lyon & Budd, 2010). More than 70% of children and adolescents with depression do not receive proper treatment or diagnosis (Bhatia & Bhatia, 2007). During adolescence depression can have a negative impact on growth and development and school performance. In extreme cases, depression can lead to suicide (Bhatia & Bhatia, 2007). It is important to intervene as early as possible in children with depressive symptoms because children have limited communicative abilities and may not be able to identify how they are feeling.

Aside from depression, the diagnoses of externalizing or disruptive disorders have also recently increased. Children with externalizing disorders have an increased risk of academic failure, juvenile delinquency, and social problems, which in turn places strains on mental-health and

Denysyk | School Based Interventions |

educational services (Jaffee et al., 2002).

Externalizing disorders include conduct disorders (CD), oppositional defiant disorders (ODD), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), however, for the purposes of this paper, only ODD and CD will be investigated. Externalizing disorders are among the most common reasons to refer a child to receive mental health services (Lyon & Budd, 2010). For instance, ODD and CD are usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence (DSM–IV–TR, 2000). ODD involves patterns of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior, while CD involves patterns of behavior that violate the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules (DSM–IV– TR, 2000). Due to the prevalence of externalizing disorders in school- aged children, prevention and intervention programs should be funded so that children with oppositional defiant disorder do not grow to have conduct disorder and these children do not present harm to society from their increased risk for juvenile delinquency and social maladjustment (Hudziak, Copeland, Stanger & Wadsworth, 2004).

Due to the increase in prevalence of depression and externalizing disorders in schoolaged children, schools are being recognized as critical intervention sites for mental health service delivery due to the amount of time children spend in these institutions (Powers, Bower, Webber, & Martinson, 2011). Most notably, schools have the unique potential to provide settings for targeting children's mental health, academic performance, and witness how mental health can affect academic performance (Reinke, Stormont, Herman, Puri, & Goel, 2011). How can unipolar depression and externalizing disorders in urban youth in America be prevented by school interventions will discuss the public health framework approach to mental illness prevention as the method schools districts should aim for in establishing prevention and intervention programs in their schools. A public health framework will be suggested and then this paper will discuss how school personnel and risk factors fit within the proposed framework. Current programs already in place at schools will be critiqued per their strengths and limitations, and future implications will be discussed.

Proposed Public Health Framework Whereas previously schools approached mental health illness prevention using an individual focus, researchers are currently advocating a public health framework (Dowdy, Ritchey, and Kamphaus, 2010). The public health approach focuses on the population rather than the individual due to the belief that even one individual’s illness can threaten the health of the entire population and, therefore, change must occur at the level of the population rather than the individual for lasting change in the community, (Dowdy et al., 2010). Dowdy et al. (2010) propose a three-tiered approach, where the third tier involves universal services for everybody in the

school, such as prevention taught in health classrooms. The second tier would provide selective or targeted service to those students who are deemed to be at risk, while the first tier would provide intensive interventions for students with the greatest need.

The three-tiered approach seems to be financially feasible and not overly time consuming because it does not involve superfluous one- on- one psychiatric interview with every student. In addition, the students who do not seem to have as high a risk would still receive preventative information and resources to help them should they develop risk factors. This three-tiered proposal accounts for all who fall on a continuum of mental health without wasting resources or time spent by teachers and school psychologists.

Teachers and School Psychologists Teachers play an important role in the public health framework because they are the front line in observing student behavior and noting unhealthy behaviors, such as acting out or becoming withdrawn and depressed.

For example, in a study by Reinke et al. (2011) to determine teacher perspectives on mental health needs and service in school districts and their role in supporting mental health in their students, teachers indicated that the most concerning mental health issues in their respective schools were behavior problems, hyperactivity and inattention problems, students with significant family stressors, social skills deficits, and depression. Teachers overwhelmingly agreed that more needs to be done about students' mental health needs, but only 4% of teachers indicated that they felt they have the ability and knowledge required to meet the mental health needs of their students (Reinke et al., 2011).

The teachers’ inability to help their students is disheartening considering the fact that teachers had undergone workshops and graduate courses to gain the knowledge and skills to meet mental health needs.

While interventions for depression and externalizing disorders at public schools are reasonable in theory, there are many obstacles that refute a successful method. The obstacles to providing comprehensive mental health assessments and treatment in schools include a lack of mental health identification and support training for teachers, as well as a lack of resources such as finances and time involved (Powers et al., 2011).

Although it would be ideal to train every teacher to identify and support students with mental illnesses, most of the workload would rest on the shoulders of school psychologists and social workers. School psychologists and social workers provide another outlet within the school system to help students with mental illnesses.

School counselors have been identified as the ideal members of the school to provide support for students because they can focus on student needs and interests and are aware of the developmental stages through which these

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students are progressing. In fact, Hains, Jandrisevits, Theiler, and Anders (2001) suggest that school psychologists and social workers address student problems and concerns through counseling relationships both individually and with small-groups as a method of preventative care.

However, once at-risk students are identified, it is unclear as to what the treatment should be and who should be responsible. School counselors do not have the training required to conduct longterm therapy with their students, and many school districts do not believe that it is their role to do so (Hains et al., 2001). On the other hand, Stice, Shaw, Bohon, Marti, and Rohde (2009) found that shorter prevention programs produce significantly larger outcome effects than longer programs Although prevention programs are more effective when delivered by professional interventionists, teachers may also be trained in prevention skills to aid in personal, career, and academic growth by organizing and overseeing large-group, developmental skill-building activities (Baranowski, Cullen, Nicklas, Thompson, & Baranowski, 2002). Unfortunately, there are usually only a handful of school psychologists and social workers in large public schools. Currently, these mental health workers are bogged down with daily time-consuming tasks, such as tracking studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attendance, that do not directly impact the mental health of their students (Powers et al., 2011). Although it is important to identify which student attend class, psychologists and social workers should take on more meaningful work within their school districts, such as teaching healthy coping skills or conducting therapy sessions for students in need.

Risk Factors In order for prevention programs to be effective, risk factors need to be universally agreed upon by researchers and clinicians in order to identify risk factors that may help predict mental illnesses. Otherwise, prevention and intervention programs cannot be fully valid because researchers will not know whether or not certain risk factors do in fact lead to exacerbation of mental illnesses. However, it should be noted that development is very complex, and children who have similar identifiable risk factors may not develop a similar disorder (Greenberg, Domitrovich, & Bumbarger, 2001). The intricacies of how a disorder develops further complicate the design of effective prevention programs.

In terms of risk factors for psychopathology in adolescents, Tully, Iacono, and McGue (2008) found that being the child of a depressed mother, but not a child of a depressed father, increases the likelihood of being diagnosed with a mental illness. Risk factors for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder include low socioeconomic status, child abuse, being male, and parental mental illnesses such as mood or substance abuse disorders (Alan, 2011).

Risk factors for depression in children and adolescents include poor parenting or family discord, poor

school performance, being female, stressful life events, elevated depressive symptoms, a pessimistic explanatory style, parental mood disorders, and chronic illness (Bhatia & Bhatia, 2007; Jaffee et al., 2002; Stice, Shaw et al., 2009).

It may be useful to survey young children before they enter school for aggressive behavior, as aggressive behavior can be witnessed as early as two years of age and is fairly consistent in males (Shaw, Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, 2003).

However, other researchers disagree, arguing that screening should not be done for only certain disorders such as depression, oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder because many students with other disorders may be missed (Dowdy et al., 2010). Dowdy et al. (2011) assert that surveys should be given out to students and screen only for broad measures of maladjustment that have the potential to lead to disorders. By measuring for all maladjustments, schools can more readily identify all students who seem to be at risk for any mental illness, not just depression or externalizing disorders.

While it would be beneficial to survey all students within the school for risk factors, not all students will require intensive intervention. There are stronger effects in outcomes when the preventions and interventions are given to highrisk students rather than everybody in the school because students who do not have risk factors will not be motivated to work in the program (Stice et al., 2009). Students had the best outcomes in treatment when treatment was limited to those who were deemed at risk for depression, eating pathology, anxiety, and behavior problems (Stice et al., 2009). Outcomes in depression prevention programs were considered successful if they could reduce negative cognitions, promote problem-solving skills and social skills, and encourage the participant to engage in pleasant activities (Stice et al., 2009). Researchers found that cognitive, parent or family, and interpersonal interventions are potential mediators of prevention outcomes for depression (Collins, & Dozois, 2008). It has been shown that programs that involve teaching students cognitivebehavioral approaches to problems are successful in preventing depressive symptoms.

Current Programs in Place A current technique further studied by Lyon and Budd (2010) is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy to help parents strengthen their relationship with, and set limits for, their disruptive children. Parents are taught skills to help increase their childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prosocial behavior and decrease their disruptive behavior through child directed interaction where the child directs the parent in play, and parent directed interaction where parents utilize behavior management that they have learned (Lyon, & Budd, 2010). Lyon and Budd (2010) focus on moving beyond controlled research settings and into community mental health centers, where

Denysyk | School Based Interventions |

ethnic minorities typically receive their health care services. Although Parent –Child Interaction Therapy has been shown to work in controlled research settings, it has not yet been studied outside of the clinical setting. Even within a clinical setting, many parents dropped out of the treatment before it ended.

It is of utmost importance to study the financial and cultural barriers preventing parents from fully participating in their children’s treatment because parent training has been found to be the best treatment for children with externalizing disorders (Lyon & Budd, 2010). While the attrition rate of this study was high, the researchers found that the parent-child dyads that completed treatment had clinically significant results in decreasing their externalizing behaviors.

Much like Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, The Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) is a program that attempts to intervene on groups of students in middle and elementary schools. The program attempts to mediate by teaching cognitivebehavioral problem solving skills, as well as social skills (Collins, & Dozois, 2008). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a popular methodology in psychotherapy, and this prevention teaches students skills that they would learn after suffering from a mental disorder. Only six to ten students were in the fifteen-session course, and the results indicated that there was a reduction in depressive symptoms after the intervention and during the follow-up period (Collins & Dozois, 2008). A majority of interventions utilized the Penn framework with positive results for a reduction in depressive symptoms.

The Coping with Depression Course is another cognitive–behavioral intervention program that has shown significant post-treatment effects (Collins & Dozois, 2008). The depression course includes teaching coping skills such as cognitive evaluation, relaxation, and pleasant activity scheduling. Negative thoughts and self-esteem scores mediated participants’ depressive symptoms post-treatment which suggests that the cognitive interventions used accounted for the changes in depressive symptoms, while it remains unclear which aspect of treatment may have contributed to changes in self-esteem (Collins, & Dozois, 2008).

It is suggested that stronger emphasis on cognition may make depression prevention more effective.

While the Penn Resiliency Program and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy programs seem to have significant results in prevention and intervention, they are not currently used in schools or administered by school personnel. Part of the reason may be that including a parent component to interventions with students may increase the efficacy of prevention programs, and results may not be seen if only the students receive care (Collins, & Dozois, 2008).

Conclusion Current research indicates that prevention and

intervention programs have the potential to improve mental health outcomes in school-aged children. However, more research needs to be done to study the risk factors that are most predictive of future mental health problems in school-aged children so that more children can receive help. While all students may not benefit from prevention programs, the amount that will benefit makes these programs a success from the public health standpoint. Determining risk factors that have the highest predictive rate for future mental illness is of utmost importance for the advancement of prevention in schools. Without knowing what to look for, researchers, clinicians, and school personnel will not be able to effectively help.

Despite its success, the Penn Resiliency Program, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and the Coping with Depression Course still have flaws that need to be addressed by adding new methods of intervention and treatment. Penn Resiliency Program also suffers in a real world setting, as do most interventions. As with ParentChild Interaction Therapy, the Penn Resiliency Program relies heavily on parental involvement for its success. The Parent-Child Interaction Therapy study showed significant findings when participants stayed with the program, but it is necessary to find a way to entice parents and have a lower attrition rate for the general public who are not as motivated or dedicated to helping their children.

However, stable parental involvement in a child’s treatment is taken for granted in a laboratory setting, as it does not translate well into the real world.

Further research should be done to determine exact risk factors of unipolar depression and externalizing disorders as well as the settings in which prevention and intervention programs take place. While many prevention and intervention programs show significant results within a laboratory setting, such perfect conditions of parental involvement, free treatment for research purposes, and cultural attitudes towards psychotherapy are not seen in typical urban America. Research should focus on how to make the programs work in the real world, after they have established that prevention and intervention programs produce significant results in the laboratory.

References Alan, R. (2011, September 26). Oppositional defiant disorder. Retrieved from http://psych.med.nyu.edu American Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of MentalDisorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision.

Washington, DC: Author Baranowski, T., Cullen, K., Nicklas, T., Thompson, D., & Baranowski, J. (2002). School-based obesity prevention: A blueprint for taming the epidemic. American Journal of Public Health,

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26, 486–493.

Bhatia, S. K., & Bhatia, S. C. (2007). Childhood and adolescent depression. American Family Physician, 75(1), 73-80.

Collins, K.A., & Dozois, D. (2008). What are the active ingredients in preventative interventions for depression? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 15, 313-330.

Dowdy, E., Ritchey, K., & Kamphaus, R.W. (2010).

School-based screening: a population-based approach to inform and monitor children’s mental health needs. School Mental Health, 2,166-176.

Drabick, D.A.G. , Beauchaine, T.P. , Gadow, K.D. , Carlson, G.A. & Bromet, E. J.(2006). Risk Factors for Conduct Problems and Depressive Symptoms in a Cohort of Ukrainian Children.

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 35(2), 244-252.

Greenberg, M. T., Domitrovich, C., & Bumbarger, B. (2001). The prevention of mental disorders in school-aged children: Current state of the field. Prevention & Treatment, 4, Article 1.

Hains, A.A., Jandrisevits, M.D., Theiler, S.C., & Anders, K. (2001). On preventing mental disorders in school-age children. Prevention & Treatment, 4(1).

Horowitz, J. L., & Garber, J. (2006). The prevention of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 17, 401–415.

Hudziak, J. J., Copeland, W., Stanger, C., & Wadsworth, M. (2004). Screening for DSM-IV externalizing disorders with the child behavior checklist: A receiver-operating characteristic analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(7), 1299-1307.

Jaffee, S.R., Moffitt, T.E., Caspi, A., Fombonne, E., Poulton, R., & Martin, J (2002). Differences in early childhood risk factors for juvenile-onset and adult-onset depression. Archive of General Psychiatry,58, 215-222.

Lyon, A.R., & Budd, K.S. (2010). A community mental health implementation of parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 654-668.

Powers, J. D. , Bower, H. A. , Webber, K. C. & Martinson, N. (2011). Promoting school based mental health: Perspectives from school practitioners. Social Work in Mental Health, 9(1), 1-21.

Reinke, W.M., Stormont, M., Herman, K.C., Puri, R., & Goel, N. (2011). Supporting children's mental health in schools: Teacher perceptions of needs, roles, and barriers. School. Psychology Quarterly, 26(1), 1-13. DOI: 10.1037/a0022714 Shaw, D.S., Gilliom, M., Ingoldsby, E.M., & Nagin, D.S. (2003). Trajectories leading to school-age conduct problems. Developmental Psychology, 39(2), 189-200.

Sheppard, M. (2008). How important is prevention? High thresholds and outcomes for

applicants refused by children’s services: A six-month follow-up. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 1268-1282.

Stice, E., Shaw, H., Bohon, C., Marti, C.N., & Rohde, P. (2009). A meta-analytic review of depression prevention programs for children and adolescents: Factors that predict magnitude of intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(3),486503.

Tully, E.C., Iacono, W.G., & McGue, M. (2008). An adoption study of parental depression as an environmental liability for adolescent depression and childhood disruptive disorders.

The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(9), 1148-1154.

Author’s Biography

Lana Denysyk is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. Her main professional and academic interests include public health, and creating programs and policies geared towards helping those with mental illnesses. After graduating from NYU, she plans to go to graduate school to receive a Master's in Public Health.

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Reconsidering Parental Involvement: Implications for Black Parents

Steven O. Roberts A preponderance of studies operationally define parental involvement as specific acts of engagement, such as helping children with their homework, volunteering in schools, or attending parent teacher conferences (Jeynes, 2010). These measurements are often based on generalized conceptions that do not account for culturally distinct parenting techniques (see El Nokali, Bachman, & Votruba-Drazl, 2010; Izzo, Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1999). For instance, Black parents may deliberately employ unique behaviors that seek to promote their children’s academic outcomes (Neblett, Chavous, Nguyen, & Sellers, 2009). Unfortunately, culturally distinct behaviors of Black parents are not represented in the current parental involvement literature. As a result, the current literature may suggest that Black parents are less involved in their children’s academic lives that they actually are. In light of this possibility, the purpose of this review is to shed insight into a more culturally sensitive conceptualization of parental involvement by furthering our understanding of how Black parents may seek to promote their children’s academic achievement. Of course, in order to understand parental involvement within the Black community, it is important to understand how experiences with racism can impair the academic achievement of Black students.

Racially Influenced Hindrances of Academic Achievement Racism - defined as “the beliefs, attitudes, institutional arrangements, and acts that tend to denigrate individuals or groups because of phenotypic characteristics or ethnic group affiliation” (Clark, Anderson, Clark, Williams, 1999, p. 805) - is commonly experienced by the Black community (Greene, Way, & Pahl, 2006; Seaton, Caldwell, Sellers, & Jackson, 2008). Acts of racial discrimination can take the form of either major events (e.g., being denied a bank loan, being fired

because of membership in a racial group) or dayto-day events (e.g., being treated with less courtesy than others, being called names because of membership in a racial group) (Soto, DawsonAndoh, & BeLue, 2010). Research suggests that individuals who experiences acts of racial discrimination are more likely to experience lower self-esteem and higher rates of depression and behavior problems (Cunningham, Swanson, Spencer, & Dupree, 2003; Neblett, Philip, Nguyen, & Sellers, 2008), which in turn are all negatively related to academic achievement (Ceballo, Dahl, Aretakis, & Ramirez, 2001; Lackeye & Margalit, 2006).

Another salient form of racial discrimination experienced by Black students is racially biased teacher expectations. Specifically, recent research suggests that teachers often hold lower academic expectations and provide poorer quality instruction to Black students than they do to White students, thus providing Black children with fewer resources to learn from (Bakker, Denessen, & Brus-Laeven, 2007; McKown & Weinstein, 2008). Black students may then internalize the low expectations of their teachers, leading them to experience lower self-esteem (McKown & Weinstein, 2008). As a result of this, Black students may become motivated to achieve according to the perceived low expectations of their teachers, which can result in decreased academic performance (Steele, 1997; Weinstein & Middlestadt, 1979).

Racially biased teacher expectations are also related to enhanced depression in Blacks (Odom & Vernon-Feagans, 2010). Depressed students are less likely to be behaviorally or emotionally engaged in academic activities, which has negative implications for academic performance (Eccles & Roeser, 2009). Furthermore, children who frequently experience racial biases can develop aggressive or anxious personalities

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(Copeland-Linder, Lambert, Chen, & Ialongo, 2011), which in turn lower the already low expectations teachers may have for Black students, as teachers are more likely to hold low expectations for children they find difficult to manage (Hinnant, O’Brien, & Ghazarian, 2009; McKown &Weinstein, 2008). In sum, racially biased teacher expectations catalyze various behaviors in Black students which then further lower teacher expectations, resulting in a vicious cycle of discrimination. With these facts in mind, it is no wonder that a large body of literature relates low teacher expectations with poor academic achievement (Hinnant et al., 2009; McKown &Weinstein, 2008). Of course, in addition to Black students’ efforts to combat the negative influence of racially biased teacher expectations, they must also often struggle to remain resilient to the effects of stereotypes.

Social stereotypes in the U.S. often place Blacks in a negative light relative to members of other racial groups (Chavous, Harris, Rivas, Helaire, & Green, 2004). Some common stereotypes about Blacks are that they are more likely to steal from others, act aggressively, or under perform academically (Beyer, Loeber, Wilkstrom, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 2001; Pauker, Ambady, & Apfelbaum, 2010). Research suggests that stereotypes about an individual’s intellectual ability are likely to have an especially negative influence on academic achievement (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Specifically, Steele and Aronson (1995) posited that the mere thought of a negative stereotype about one’s social group has the influence to lower the academic performance of individuals belonging to that group.

To test the stereotype theory, Steele and Aronson (1995) recruited college students to complete a test composed of items from the Graduate Record Exam. In the experimental condition, Black participants were exposed to an evaluative component (i.e., they were told that the test diagnosed intellectual ability). Students in the control condition received no such messages.

Results of this study revealed that Black students in the experimental condition performed significantly lower than Black students in the control condition, suggesting that being exposed to an evaluative component negatively influenced students’ academic performance. Steele and Aronson (1995) posit that the presence of the evaluative component may have activated awareness of negative stereotypes (e.g., that Blacks are more likely to underperform academically), which may have led to anxiety within the students. Support for this relation is

evidenced by the fact that after the experiment, participants were asked to complete word fragments and Black students who were in the experimental group were most likely to use words associated with negative stereotypes (e.g., __mb was filled as “dumb” instead of “numb”). This phenomenon is now understood as stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995; Aronson & Steele, 2005), and has been empirically validated in multiple studies (e.g., Fischer & Massey, 2007; McKay, Doverspike, & Bowen-Hilton, 2003).

By examining some of the negative experiences of Black students within academic settings, research shows that there are various ways in which race is related to academic achievement. Therefore, parental involvement in the Black community might involve acts that are aimed specifically towards racial issues (Cooper & Smalls, 2010). However, there exists a preponderance of studies that do not consider race in their conceptualization of parental involvement. As a result of this, parental involvement in the Black community may not be accurately represented in the current literature. It is therefore crucial that researchers reconceptualize parental involvement in order to accurately capture, and moreover, understand, parental involvement in the Black community. In doing so, researchers may develop the knowledge needed to create culturally inclusive parental involvement measures, and more importantly, may be able to measure parental involvement accurately and effectively within Black samples.

Becoming Culturally Inclusive In the past two decades, a more thorough conceptualization of parental involvement has emerged beyond the school-based concept (e.g., volunteering in schools, serving on school committees) to include a variety of motivated beliefs and behaviors that can occur in the home, community, or school setting (e.g., helping children with homework, visiting libraries and museums, speaking with other parents and school administrators, believing in a child’s ability) (Epstein, 1995; Fan & Williams, 2010; Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995; Jeynes, 2010). Although this multidimensional conception of parental involvement is important, it may not accurately capture culturally distinct aspects of parental involvement (Cooper & Smalls, 2010; Manz et al.

2004). Therefore, the current conceptualization of parental involvement may continue to evolve by examining alternative ways in which minority parents, Black parents in particular, seek to

Roberts | Reconsidering Parental Involvement

ameliorate their children’s academic wellachievement.

Research shows that children who receive certain types of racial socialization messages from their parents benefit academically (Neblett et al., 2008). More specifically, when parents emphasize enhancing their child’s self-worth (e.g., telling their children they are special no matter what anyone says), and express egalitarian messages (e.g., messages regarding racial equality and coexistence), their children are more likely to experience higher levels of academic curiosity and persist more on difficult school tasks (Neblett, Philip, Cogburn, & Sellers, 2006; Neblett et al., 2009). Neblett et al. (2006) speculates that this might be because self-worth and egalitarian messages enable Black children to feel safe and equally entitled to explore academia and apply themselves in the classroom, even in the presence of messages that suggest otherwise. This has important implications, as it suggests that selfworth and egalitarian messages may buffer the negative effects biased teacher expectations have on academic achievement. In addition, when parents socialize their children to develop knowledge about Black history and traditions, ingroup orientations, and racial pride, children develop the necessary tools and characteristics to counteract racist experiences (Chavous, RivasDrake, Smalls, Griffin, & Cogburn, 2008; Hughes, Witherspoon, Rivas-Drake, West-Bey, 2009; Neblett et al. 2006; Neblett et al. 2009).

Furthermore, specific types of racial socialization may be able to buffer the negative effects of stereotype threat (e.g., decreased academic engagement, decreased motivation) (Steele, 1997). Taken together, it is clear that there are many ways in which Black parents can utilize racial socialization messages to positively impact the academic performance of their children; however, not all forms of racial socialization lead to positive outcomes.

Research suggests that aspects of racial socialization that prepare children to experience discrimination are negatively associated with selfesteem, ethnic identity, positive behavioral outcomes, and academic well-being (Hughes et al., 2009). At first glance, it is plausible to consider that raising awareness of racial inequities and potential encounters with discrimination may serve as a protective factor. However, being overly attuned to biases may have deleterious effects on Black students. For instance, when children frequently receive messages that prepare them for experiences with discrimination, such as low expectations, children may internalize these

messages and become motivated to perform in ways that are academically and behaviorally consistent with the low expectations that others have of them (McKown & Weinstein, 2008; Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995; Weinstein & Middlestadt, 1979).

In light of the potentially positive and negative influences nuances aspects of racial socialization may have on Black students, Neblett et al. (2009) suggests that simultaneously expressing messages about possible negative outcomes Black people commonly experience (i.e., preparation for bias, racial barrier messages), emphasizing pride in Black history and culture (i.e., racial pride messages), affirming Black children’s personal and racial group identities (i.e., self-worth messages), and stressing the importance of positive relations with other racial groups (i.e., egalitarian messages) may be an optimal form of racial socialization. In other words, teaching children about the harmful effects of discrimination and stereotypes, while simultaneously emphasizing the child’s cultural background, self-worth, and equality among all people, may socialize Black children to become resilient to the negative effects of discrimination and stereotypes. In sum, racial socialization looks like a promising type of involvement that Black parents may engage in to enhance their child’s academic achievement. However, with 39% of Black families in the U.S. living below the poverty threshold, (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010), economically disadvantaged Black parents must often work to combat the negative aspects of poverty.

Combating the effects of socioeconomic status A disproportionate amount of Black children live in economically disadvantaged single parent households, and have parents with low levels of education and employment status (Castro et al., 2004). These negative aspects of poverty often hinder parents’ ability to be involved in their children’s schooling. For instance, parents with lower education levels may feel less competent to engage with professionals in the school context (Johnson, 2010; Manz, Fantuzzo, & Power, 2004).

Furthermore, single parents may not have the time to be actively involved in their child’s school (Manz et al., 2004). In light of these unfortunate circumstances, previous research suggests that Black parents from economically disadvantaged contexts may focus on dimensions of parental involvement that do not depend heavily on school contact (Dauber & Epstein, 1993).

In a recent investigation, Jeynes (2010) highlights more subtle aspects of parental

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involvement, which may be the most powerful predictors of children’s academic achievement.

Subtle types of parental involvement include believing in a child’s ability, communicating with a child about academia, and holding high expectations for a child’s academic achievement (Jeynes, 2010). Holding high educational expectations for Black children is particularly important, since just as these children are able to internalize the discriminatory expectations of their surroundings, they are able to internalize the positive and potentially uplifting expectations of their parents (Bandura & Walters, 1963; Jeynes, 2010; McKown & Weinstein, 2008). As a result, children whose parents expect them to achieve highly may adapt the qualities and beliefs of their parents, resulting in an increased feeling of competence and academic achievement (Bandura, 1995; Fan & Williams, 2010; Jeynes, 2010). Therefore, when measuring parental involvement within economically disadvantaged populations, it is important to acknowledge that parents with limited resources can still strengthen and support their children’s academic achievement through more subtle aspects of parental involvement (Jeynes, 2010).

Conclusion and Implications for Future Direction Black children are often exposed to multiple contextual hindrances that impair their academic achievement. In response to these hindrances, Black parents may become involved in a culturally distinct manner that aims to serve as a protective factor. The current conceptualization of parental involvement does not capture culturally distinct behaviors, which is a methodological shortcoming that needs to be addressed. More specifically, when examining parental involvement within Black populations, researchers should seek to identify the presence of racial socialization and more subtle aspects of parental involvement. By working towards a more culturally sensitive approach to measuring parental involvement, researchers may be able to determine nuanced aspects of parental involvement that may be more relevant to Black students. Potential findings can catalyze policy makers and schools to implement educational initiatives that inform Black parents about the contextual hindrances their children face, and of ways in which they can become involved to combat those hindrances. These policies and interventions would undoubtedly be an important contribution to the ongoing effort of reducing racial educational disparities in the U.S.

References Aronson, J., & Steele, C. M. (2005). Stereotypes and the fragility of academic competence, motivation, and self-concept. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of Competence and Motivation (pp. 436–456). New York: Guilford Publications.

Bakker, J., Denessen, E., & Brus-Laeven, M. (2007).

Socio-economic background, parental involvement and teacher perceptions of these in relation to pupil achievement. Educational Studies, 33(2), 177-192. doi:10.1080/03055690601068345 Bandura, A. (1995). Self-efficacy and educational development. In A. Bandura (Ed.), SelfEfficacy in Changing Societies (pp. 202-231).

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Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1963). Social learning and personality development. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

Beyer, J. M., Loeber, R., Wikstrom, P. H., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2001). What predicts adolescent violence in better-off neighborhoods? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 369-381. doi:10.1023/A:1010491218273 Ceballo, R., Dahl, T. A., Aretakis, M. T., & Ramirez, C. (2001). Inner-city children’s exposure to community violence: How much do parents know? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 927-940. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00927.x Chavous, T. M., Harris, A., Rivas, D., Helaire, L., & Green, L. (2004). Racial stereotypes and gender in context: An examination of African American college student adjustment. Sex Roles, 51, 1–16. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000032305.48347.6d Chavous, T. M., Rivas-Drake, D., Smalls, C., Griffin, T., & Cogburn, C. (2008). Gender matters too: The influences of school racial discrimination and racial identity on academic engagement outcomes among African American adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 44, 637-654. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.637 Castro, D. C., Bryant, D. M., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., & Skinner, M. L. (2004). Parent involvement in Head Start programs: The role of parent, teacher, and classroom characteristics. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 413–430. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2004.07.005 Clark, R., Anderson, N. B., Clark, V. R., & Williams, D. R. (1999). Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model.

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10.1037/0003-066X.54.10.805 Copeland-Linder, N., Lamber, S., Chen, Y., & Ialongo, N. (2011). Contextual stress and health risk behaviors among African American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(2), 158-173. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9520-y Cooper, S. M., & Smalls, C. (2010). Culturally distinctive and academic socialization: Direct and interactive relationships with African American adolescents’ academic adjustment.

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Eccles, J. S., & Roeser, R. W. (2009). Schools, academic motivation, and stage–environment fit. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., pp. 404 – 434). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

El Nokali, N. E., Bachman, H. J., & Votruba-Drazl, E. (2010). Parent involvement and children’s academic and social development in elementary school. Child Development, 8, 9881005. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01447.x Epstein, J. L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share.

In. J. Epstein (Ed.), School/Family/Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Preparing Schools (pp. 389-414). Colorado: Westview Press.

Fan, W., & Williams, C. M. (2010). The effects of parental involvement on students’ academic self-efficacy, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Educational Psychology, 30, 5374. doi:10.1080/01443410903353302 Fischer, M. J., & Massey, D. S. (2007). The effects of affirmative action in higher education.

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Hughes, D., Witherspoon, D., Rivas-Drake, D., & West-Bey, N. (2009). Received ethnic-racial socialization messages and youths’ academic and behavioral outcomes: Examining the mediating role of ethnic identity and selfesteem. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15, 112-124. doi:10.1037/a0015509 Izzo, C. V., Weissberg, R. P., Kasprow, W. J., & Fendrich, M. (1999). A longitudinal assessment of teacher perceptions of parental involvement in children’s education and school performance. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 817-839. doi:10.1023/A:1022262625984 Jeynes, W. H. (2010). Parental involvement and encouraging that involvement: Implications for school-based programs. Teachers College Record, 112(3), 747-774.

Johnson, O. Jr. (2010). Assessing neighborhood racial segregation and macroeconomic effects in the education of African Americans. Review of Educational Research, 80(4), 527-575. doi:10.3102/0034654310377210 Lackaye, T.G., Margalit, M. (2006). Comparisons of achievement, effort, and self-perceptions among students with learning disabilities and their peers from different achievement Groups. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 432-446. doi:10.1177/00222194060390050501 Manz, P. H., Fantuzzo, J. W., & Power, T. J. (2004).

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doi:10.1023/A:1025062703113 McKown, C., & Weinstein, R. (2008). Teacher expectations, classroom context, and the achievement gap. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 235-261. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2007.05.001 Neblett, E. W., Chavous, T. M., Nguyen, H. X., & Sellers, R. M. (2009). “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”: Parents’ messages about race, racial discrimination, and academic achievement in African American boys. The Journal of Negro Education, 78(3), 246-259.

Neblett, E. W., Philip, C. L., Cogburn, C. D., & Sellers, R. M. (2006). African American adolescents’ discrimination experiences and academic achievement: Racial socialization as a cultural compensatory and protective factor.

The Journal of Black Psychology, 32, 199-218. doi:10.1177/0095798406287072 Neblett, E. W., White, R. L., Ford, K. R., Philip, C. L., Nguyen, H. X., & Sellers, R. M. (2008). Patterns of racial socialization and psychological adjustment: Can parental communications about race reduce the impact of racial discrimination? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 477-515. doi:10.1111/j.15327795.2008.00568.x Noguera, P. (2003). City schools and the American Dream. New York and London: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Odom, E., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2010). Buffers of racial discrimination: Links with depression among rural African mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, (72), 346-359. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00704.x Pauker, K., Ambady, N. & Apfelbaum, E. P. (2010).

Race salience and essentialist thinking in racial stereotype development. Child Development, 81, 1799-1813. doi:10.1111/j.14678624.2010.01511.x Seaton, E. K., Caldwell, C. H., Sellers, R. M., & Jackson, J. S. (2008). The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black Youth.

Developmental Psychology, 44, 1288-1297. doi:10.1037/a0012747 Soto, J. A., Dawson-Andoh, N. A., & BeLue, R. (2010). The relationship between perceived discrimination and generalized anxiety disorder among Blacks, Afro Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 258-265. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.09.011 Steele, C. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-

29. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.52.6.613 Steele, C., & Aronson, J. (1998). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797-811. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797 U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Reports, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, P60-239, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Weinstein, R. S., & Middlestadt, S. E. (1979).

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Author’s Biography Steven O. Roberts is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. His main research interests include the contextual factors that hinder or promote the academic development of economically disadvantaged youth. After graduating, he intends to pursue a graduate degree in the field of psychology.

Staff & Contributor Bios |

Staff & Contributor Bios

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VolumeIIII Fall Spring Volume 20112011

Staff & Contributor Bios Sammy Ahmed is a senior in the Applied Psychology program and part of the newly developed Inside Scoop! peer mentorship program. He is currently conducting an independent study focusing on the “Immigrant Paradox” under Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s mentorship.

Aside from his interests in acculturation and immigration, he is also interested in medicine. He volunteers at the emergency room at New York Presbyterian and upon graduation plans on pursuing a medical degree, with hopes of conducting research in public health and biomedicine.

Anthony Nicholas Cavalier is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. His main research interests include gender studies and clinical practice outcomes. After graduating, he plans to take time off before pursuing a graduate degree.

Justin Conway is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. He is currently assisting Dr. Elise Cappella on the BRIDGE research team studying the effects of social interactions and child behaviors within the classroom. While studying at NYU Justin has provided counseling services to inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility and mentoring services to high-school students at Upward Bound. He was previously published for his literary works, and is a recipient of the QSA Presidential Service Award. Justin’s focus is primarily based in organizational development and management consulting and his main research interests include the supervisoremployee relationship, motivation, and decision making. After graduating he plans to work within a consulting firm while pursuing his MA degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

Alyssa Deitchman is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. She is currently a member of Dr. Elise Cappella’s research team and has been an intake counselor at The Door. She is working on an independent research project examining household economic shock in the academic experiences of college students. She is also

treasurer of APUG as well as a member of NYU’s 1831 fund leadership committee. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue research coordinator positions before applying to doctoral programs in clinical psychology as well as maintain her non-profit organization benefiting low-income children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Autism Intervention Alliance.

Lana Denysyk is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. Her main professional and academic interests include public health, and creating programs and policies geared towards helping those with mental illnesses. After graduating from NYU, she plans to go to graduate school to receive a Master's in Public Health.

Kara Duca is a junior in the Applied Psychology program. Her research interests lie primarily within the areas of self-esteem and identity development and the ways in which the multifaceted aspects of human behavior can be attributed to and influenced by these two constructs. After graduating, she plans to continue on to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology.

Brit Lizabeth Lippman is a senior in the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Program. She is a research assistant for Dr. Niobe Way on the Indian Adolescent Study. She is also part of the PhotoCLUB project under the supervision of Drs. Alisha Ali and Randy Mowry. Her research interests include mental illness, bias in diagnoses, mental health of people with disabilities, and trauma. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue her interests in graduate study and attain a PhD in clinical psychology.

Coralie Nehme is a junior in the Applied Psychology program. She is currently a member of Dr. Godfrey’s research team and is interested in doing research on immigrant populations and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is currently exploring those interests at her field site with NYU Langone/Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture. After graduating she plans to go to graduate school to become a counseling psychologist.

Javanna Obregon is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. She is a member of Dr. Gigliana Melzi’s research team as well as a member of the Applied Psychology Honors program. Currently, she is working on an honors

Staff & Contributor Bios |

research project investigating the gender differences in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fictional narrative development during the middle childhood years.

Upon graduation, she plans to continue her work with Dr. Melzi and obtain a position as a research coordinator. Furthermore, she will be applying for doctoral programs in clinical or social psychology.

Josephine M. Palmeri is a senior in the Applied Psychology Honors program. She is currently a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin's Meta-Analysis of the Paradox (MAP) research team. Her main research interest lies in mental health counseling. After graduating, she plans to continue her studies in a counseling psychology graduate program.

Steven O. Roberts is a senior in the Applied Psychology program. His main research interests include the contextual factors that hinder or promote the academic development of economically disadvantaged youth. After graduating, he intends to pursue a graduate degree in the field of psychology.

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