OPUS Spring 2014

OPUS

online publication of undergraduate studies Department of Applied Psychology Spring 2014

EDITORS Kelsey Block David Freedman Vera Stiefler Johnson FACULTY MENTOR Dr. Elise Cappella STAFF WRITERS Emily Gallagher Eunice Lau Samantha Pratt Donna Poon Jazmine Russell Tyler Sabourin Yimkwan Tsang CONTRIBUTORS Elisa Angevin Rania Mustafa Amanda Rohr Prairna Sethi EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Samantha Pratt LAYOUT DIRECTOR Amelia Chu PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER Emil Hafeez SPECIAL THANKS NYU Steinhart Department of Applied Psychology Dr. Gigliana Melzi FOUNDERS Vanessa Victoria Volpe Jackson J. Taylor Sibyl Holland 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

Cover Photo by Nora Blake

nyu applied psychology

OPUS

online publication of undergraduate studies Volume VI | Spring 2014

Contents LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Kelsey Block David Freedman Vera Stiefler Johnson | 4 STAFF ARTICLES Teacher-Student Conflict and Student Aggression in Kindergarten Emily Gallagher | 08 Factors Influencing Academic Motivation in Asian American Adolescents Eunice Lau | 18 Ethnic Identification of Asian American Urban Youth: The Role of Generational Status in Predicting Psychological Well-Being Donna Poon | 22 The Impact of Childhood Adversity on Later Anxiety Samantha Pratt | 27 Children’s Implicit Theories of Intelligence: Attributions, Goals, and Reactions to Challenges Jazmine Russell | 31 Music and Leisure: The Use of Music in its Physical, Social, and Cognitive Modalities for Alzheimer’s Intervention Tyler Sabourin| 35 Korean American Language Ability: Cultural Identification and Willingness to Sacrifice Yimkwan Tsang | 39

SUBMISSIONS Selective Mutism: Motivation within Varying Treatment Approaches Elisa Angevin | 46 American Muslim Youth Identity Rania Mustafa | 52 A Cultural Examination of the Predictive Relation Between Latino Parental Engagement and Children’s School Readiness Amanda Rohr | 56 The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Anxiety and Aggression Prairna Sethi | 61

ABSTRACTS Sophie Barnes | Emily Gallagher | Rania Mustafa | Amanda Rohr | 68

STAFF & CONTRIBUTOR BIOS | 71

Letter from the Editors | 4

Letter from the Editors New York University’s Applied Psychology Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, also known as OPUS, was founded in 2009 to give Applied Psychology students a forum through which to share their independent work.

OPUS is written, edited, and designed by Applied Psychology students, and as such, often takes on the character of the program. This edition touches on three important themes within the Applied Psychology program: developmental psychology, cultural contexts, and the link between theory, research, and practice.

The Spring 2014 edition of OPUS paints a compelling picture of many aspects of the minority experience in the United States; specifically, managing multiple or intersecting identities. In her article, Amanda Rohr addresses the unique challenges that recent immigrants face in their transition to the United States. Donna Poon and Yimkwan Tsang expand our view of this process by delving into differences in ethnic identification across generations and language ability, respectively. Donna, Yimkwan, Eunice Lau, and Rania Mustafa all explore how individuals with intersecting cultural identities navigate their lives, as well as how their conceptions of their own identities influence their experiences. Finally, both Eunice and Amanda examine effects of the quality of interactions between majority society and minority groups. Certainly, this interest in the experiences of individuals from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds reflects both the concern for context that characterizes the Applied Psychology program, as well as the unique and diverse character of the city in which we study.

Children and adolescents are also of particular interest in this edition of OPUS. Experiences in these formative years can have long-term consequences in various areas of functioning and personality. Education, a hallmark of the youth experience, is the foundation of articles by Jazmine Russell, Amanda, and Eunice. All three authors explore factors influencing school performance, with Jazmine looking at theories of intelligence, Amanda looking at parental engagement, and Eunice looking at motivation. Additionally, the long-term implications and potential treatments of childhood anxiety are explored, with Elisa Angevin examining Selective Mutism and Samantha Pratt examining anxiety caused by adverse experiences. This focus on children and minority populations reflects our program’s emphasis on effectively addressing the particular needs of at-risk and underserved populations.

The link between theory, research, and practice is crucial in the study of psychology and takes on particular importance when working with people whose well-being is at stake. In this regard, Tyler Sabourin and Prairna Sethi explore two under-utilized therapeutic techniques: music therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), respectively. Prairna examines the theory and research behind how MBSR can be an effective therapy to reduce anxiety, whereas Tyler focuses on the use of music therapy to delay and reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms in the elderly.

We would like to congratulate the staff writers and contributors on their excellent work for this edition of the journal. We would like to thank the administrative staff of OPUS, Samantha Pratt and Amelia Chu, who made this edition possible. Additionally, we would like to extend a special thanks to our faculty mentor, Dr. Elise Cappella, for guiding us through both the organizational and editorial processes of the journal throughout this year.

Kelsey Block

David Freedman

Vera Stiefler Johnson

STAFF ARTICLES

8 | Staff Articles

Teacher-Student Conflict and Student Aggression in Kindergarten Emily Gallagher

Abstract Early behavior problems are important aspects of schooling and difficulties in this area predict lower high school grade point average, negative attitudes towards school, disruptive, anti-social behaviors and higher dropout rates. Aggression is a particularly harmful aspect of behavior problems and early aggression is predictive of future aggression, delinquency and criminal activity. The early years of schooling provide a unique opportunity to shift the trajectories of behaviorally disruptive students before the problems affect later development. Early academic skills may be a protective factor against behavioral problems but little is known about how behavior problems, teacher student relationships, and early literacy skills interact in young students. The current study examines associations and interactions between academic achievement, behavior problems, and teacher-student relationships in a sample of kindergarteners from high poverty urban schools (N = 332, 51% male, 75% black). Preliminary analysis showed that teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten predicted student aggression at the end of kindergarten.

Literacy skills at the beginning of kindergarten moderated this effect, magnifying the positive association between teacher-student conflict and aggression.

Results are discussed in relation to early interventions to improve teacher-student relationships and student behavior problems in the early years.

Early behavior problems are critical to the future academic and social development of students. Behavior problems in the first three years of elementary school lead to disruptive and anti-social behaviors, low academic achievement, and higher than expected dropout rates in high school. A common behavior

problem in the early years is aggression. Childhood aggression in school is highly predictive of maladaptive outcomes through adolescence, such as delinquency, substance abuse, under-achievement, and school dropout (Hughes & Cavell, 1999). Given the profound and predictable effect of childhood aggression, researchers have developed and studied early interventions to prevent and reduce aggressive behavior in the early school years (Bierman & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1999; Ialongo, Poduska, Werthamer, & Kellam, 2001; Webster-Stratton, Reid & Hammond, 2001; 2004). One factor that may be a key lever in effective interventions is students’ relationships with their teachers. A large body of research details how behavior problems are associated with concurrent and subsequent teacher-student conflict (Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Hughes & Cavell, 1999; O’Connor, Dearing & Collins, 2011). However, little research aims to examine the other direction, how teacher-student relationships may influence the most detrimental of students’ behavioral outcomes— aggression.

Guided by ecological systems and attachment theories, the current study aims to investigate the associations between teacher-student relationships, academic skills, and aggressive behavior. School is one of the most important settings for students in the early years, and classrooms are the principal environment through which young children experience schools.

Teachers are the primary non-familial adult in students’ lives, with relationships between students and teachers critical to students’ early school experiences (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; Bowlby, 1969; McCormick, O’Connor, Cappella & McClowry, 2013). The level of support or conflict in the relationship between a teacher and student depends on many factors, including the child’s early academic skills and behaviors

Gallagher: Teacher-Student Conflict and Aggression | 9 (Hughes & Kwok, 2007; Hughes, Lou, Kwok & Loyd, 2008). Supportive relationships between teachers and students lead to more positive behavioral outcomes for students over time (Hamre & Pianta, 2001; O’Connor et al, 2011). Teacher-student relationships may be especially important for low-income children because they tend to be at greater risk for significant behavioral and academic risk than children from higher-income areas (O’Donnell, Hawkins, Catelano, Abbott & Day, 1995). The current study aims to extend what is known about the teacher-student relationship and aggressive behavior in a sample of kindergarten students from urban, low-income schools, and examine the role of early academic skills in the associations between teacher-student relationships and aggression over one academic year.

Role of Early Behavior Problems in Development Behavior problems in kindergarten are often overlooked, yet they are important in children’s development. Behavior problems in kindergarten include aggressive behavior towards others (hitting, fighting), oppositional and emotional behavior (emotional outbursts, disobeying rules), and attention problems (trouble paying attention, not finishing tasks; Eyberg & Pincus, 1999). Early behavior problems not only have negative consequences for students’ current academic achievement, relationships with teachers, and social-emotional development, but also predict subsequent maladaptive outcomes (see Hinshaw et al., 1992). For example, inattention in early childhood remains stable through middle childhood and predicts anti-social behavior, aggression, and peer ostracism (Hinshaw, 1992; Hinshaw et al., 1992; Hinshaw & Melnick, 1995). Early aggression is especially problematic for young students. Many studies have found that early aggression is highly predictive of later aggression in elementary, middle, and high school (Broidy et. al., 2003; Nagin & Tremblay, 1999; Sutton, Cowen, Crean, Wyman & Work, 1999). Because early aggression is so predictive of future maladaptive behavior, early aggression may be one of the most harmful forms of early behavior problems in the classroom

(Broidy et. al., 2003; Nagin & Tremblay, 1999; Sutton et. al. 1999).

The persistence of early behavior problems has been explained by developmental cascade theory (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010). Theorists suggest early behavior problems in the first year of schooling have cascading consequences that negatively affect subsequent school success and psychosocial functioning.

Interventions that target behavioral problems at a young age in an attempt to stop the negative cascade have proven effective. One such intervention is the Good Behavior Game (GBG; Embry, 2002). Longitudinal studies examining the impact of the GBG (Embry, 2002), a group contingency classroom management system, on children identified as “at risk” for disruptive behavior problems find reductions in aggression among sixth graders exposed to the GBG in early elementary school (Ialongo et al., 2001). In a randomized control trial with 700 first graders from 19 urban elementary schools, Dolan and colleagues (1993) reported significant declines in aggressive behavior among students in classrooms using the GBG.

Teacher-Student Relationships and Early Behavior Problems Teachers play an important role in the trajectory of students, especially in the early years (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; McCormick et al., 2013).

Teachers have the unique opportunity to provide support to decrease or help prevent behavior problems (Baker, Grant & Morlock, 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). One way to do so is through relationships with students. Based in attachment theory, high quality teacher-student relationships are posited to provide security and support to students through the provision of closeness, warmth, and positivity (Pianta, 2001). Research also suggests teacher-student relationships may provide a model for appropriate behaviors as well as scaffolding for necessary social and behavioral skills (Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver, Measelle, Armstron & Essex, 2005).

In fact, positive teacher student relationships cannot only lead to positive outcomes for students; they can also change trajectories of students facing

10 | Staff Articles risk (Meehan, Hughes & Cavell, 1999). A national study of kindergarten and first graders found that a positive teacher-student relationship significantly changed trajectories for students with early internalizing or externalizing behavior (O’Connor et al., 2011). Similarly, Hamre and Pianta (2001) found that behaviorally at-risk kindergarten students who had low levels of conflict with teachers were at a lower risk for disciplinary action and suspension through eighth grade when compared to their at-risk peers with high conflict with teachers.

In contrast, conflictual relationships are negatively associated with student outcomes, most notably in the realm of behaviors. Teacher-student conflict is characterized by hostile and negative interactions that lack warmth (Pianta, 2001). One study examining the bidirectionality of the relationship between teacher-student conflict and aggression in kindergarten found that children’s aggressive behavior at the beginning of kindergarten led to increases in teacher-child conflict midyear, which in turn led to an increase in aggression at the end of the kindergarten school year (Doumen, Verschueren, Buyse, Germeijs, Luyckx & Soenens, 2008).

Students who have conflictual relationships with teachers have less social and academic support from teachers and peers (Baker et al., 2008).

Teachers spend notably less one-on-one time with students with whom they experience conflict (Baker et al., 2008). Because students who have conflict with teachers spend less time with teachers, they can miss out on important behavioral and academic scaffolding (Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005). The time students and teachers in conflictual relationships spend with one another is often characterized by hostility, anger, and punishment as opposed to warmth and support (Hughes & Cavell, 1999; Mantzicopoulos, 2005). In the absence of warmth and support, students may not have an appropriate model for exploring positive relationships or engaging in prosocial behaviors (Birch & Ladd, 1998; Mantzicopoulos, 2005). Continued criticism and punishment from teachers may strengthen the cycle of student anti-social behavior, thus leading students with high teacher conflict to develop further problematic behav-

iors (Birch & Ladd, 1998).

Teacher-student conflict also relates to students’ interactions with peers. As early as preschool, children with a more supportive and less conflictual relationship with teachers are significantly more accepted by peers (Chang, 2003; Hughes, Cavell & Wilson, 2001). In fact, in the early years of school, students’ peer acceptance has been more highly correlated with peer-observed teacher-student relationship quality than with peer-observed behaviors. This suggests that peer acceptance may be more influenced by teachers’ interactions with the child than with the actual behaviors of the child (Chan, 2003; Hughes et al., 2001; Hughes & Kwok, 2006).

The effects of peer rejection on aggression have been the topic of research for many years (e.g., Dodge et. al., 2003). The general consensus after years of research is that early peer rejection is highly predictive of aggression later in life (e.g., Chang, 2003; Dodge, Coie & Lyman, 2006; Dodge et al., 2003; MacDonald & Leary, 2005; McDougall, Hymel & Vaillancourt, 2001). The association between teacher-student conflict and peer rejection may further lead to behavioral problems and aggression in students with high conflict (Chang, 2003; Dodge et al., 2003; Hughes, Cavell & Wilson, 2001; Hughes & Kwok, 2006). The combination of a lack of social-emotional support, hostile interactions with the teacher, and peer rejection may be key factors in why teacher-student conflict is associated with behavioral problems for young students.

Academic Achievement, Teacher-Student Relationships, and Behavior Problems Similar to the negative behavioral outcomes associated with teacher-student conflict, academic achievement is also associated with problem behaviors in students. There is an evident cyclical association between behavior problems and academic achievement (Bussing, Porter, Zima, Mason, Garvan & Reid, 2012; Pointz, Rimm-Kaufman, Grimm & Curby, 2009). Students with difficulties following the teacher’s instructions, maintaining attention, and organizing themselves have been shown to have significantly poorer academic achievement than would be

Gallagher: Teacher-Student Conflict and Aggression | 11 predicted based on intellectual ability (Bussing et al., 2012; Frazier, Youngstrom, Glutting & Watkins, 2007; Pointz et. al. 2009). One study of kindergarteners found that students with inattention and disruptive behavior in the classroom perform as much as two thirds of a standard deviation below their non-disruptive peers in both reading and math (Bussing et al., 2012; Frazier et al., 2007; Pointz et. al. 2009).

Although there are large bodies of research on the effects of teacher-student relationships on behavioral outcomes and on the effects of academic achievement on behavioral problems, there is little research that examines associations and interactions between teacher-student relationships, academic achievement, and behavioral problems. This lack of research is particularly important when considering children at high risk during their kindergarten year of elementary school including children attending urban, low-income schools. Risk and resilience theories might suggest that children’s competence in one domain – such as academic achievement – might protect children against the negative effects of risk in another domain – such as high conflict relationships, but this is not clear. We might expect that students with higher academic skills who are struggling in their relationships with their teachers might be less likely to have relational difficulties manifested through behavioral difficulties with peers such as aggression (Fraser, 1997; Gabardino, 1982), but we do not know this for sure. Therefore, study of these relationships is critical.

Current Study

The current study answers three questions regarding the relations and interactions of behavior problems, academic achievement, and teacher-student relationships. The first replicates prior research. The second question extends prior research to examine the specific effects of teacher-student conflict on student aggression. Finally, the third question examines the potential protective role of academic achievement against the detrimental effects of teacher-student conflict on student aggression in kindergarten.

1. What are the associations between teacher-student relationship quality, student aggression

in school, and academic achievement in a sample of low-income minority kindergarteners?

2. Does teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten (Time 1) predict student aggression at the end of kindergarten (Time 2) beyond prior levels of academic achievement and individual student characteristics (e.g., gender, parent education)?

3. Does academic skill level at the beginning of kindergarten (Time 1) moderate the association between teacher-student conflict and student aggression (Time 2) beyond prior levels of academic achievement and individual student characteristics?

Method This study uses participants from the INSIGHTS (2008) efficacy trial, a school-randomized study of a temperament-based intervention for kindergarten and first graders. The participants from this study are kindergarten students from control group schools.

Participants This study includes kindergarten students (N = 332) and teachers (N = 60) from 22 elementary schools in three urban school districts. Students ranged from ages 4 to 7 (M = 5.38, SD = 0. 61). Overall, 51% of the students were male. Most were black (75%) and Hispanic (17%), with 8% biracial or other.

Nearly all students qualified for the New York City free lunch program (87%). Among teachers, nearly all were female (97%) and identified as black (55.4%), Hispanic (12.3%), white (26.3%), or Asian or biracial (6%).

Measures This study used two teacher-reported quantitative measures and one standardized student assessment. Measures were completed in the late fall (time 1: T1) and late spring (time 2: T2) of one school year.

A parent-reported demographic survey at T1 was used for covariates (child age, child race/ethnicity, child gender, parent age, and parent education).

Teacher-student relationship. Teacher-student relationship quality was measured using the Student-Teacher Relationship Quality Scale (STRS;

12 | Staff Articles Pianta 2001). The STRS is a 15 item measure using a 5 point Likert scale (“1 - definitely does not apply” to “5 - definitely applies”). The scale measures both closeness and conflict. Teachers are asked to rate how applicable various statements are to their current relationship with a student. The conflict subscale (current study Cronbach’s alpha = .87) measures hostility and antagonism. High scores indicate larger amounts of conflict.

Academic achievement. The Woodcock Johnson III Test of Achievement Form B (WJIII) was used to measure reading and math academic achievement (Woodcock, McGrew & Mathers, 2001). The Letter-Word ID was used to assess reading achievement by asking kindergarten students to identify letters and words.

The WJIII correlates with measures of cognitive ability (rs = .66 to .73 with Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised; Wechsler, 1989) and has good internal consistency (alphas from .80 to .90 in the literature). A raw score of 15 is considered 50th percentile for students who are 5 years of age.

Behavior problems. Student behavior problems were assessed by the Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory (SESBI, Sutter &Eyberg, 1984), a teacher reported behavior inventory and severity scale. The SESBI is a 36-item two part scale: (1) a seven point Likert occurrence scale in which the teacher reports how often a behavior occurs: and, (2) a “yes” or “no” problem scale in which teachers indicate if the behavior is problematic. In this study, alphas were .98 and .97 respectively. The inventory is divided into four subscales based on types of behavior, including attention problems, overt aggression towards others, covert aggression towards others, and oppositional / emotional behavior. Given the young age of the students and research suggesting risks associated with aggression, the current study uses the overt aggression subscale. The overt aggression subscale includes such items as hits or kicks others, verbally threatens to hurt others in order to get what they want, and ruins peers things when they are upset. This subscale has been used to measure aggression in young children in previous research (McClowry, Snow, Tamis-LeMonda,

& Rodriguez, 2009).

Data Analysis Plan Key variables include the predictor variables – teacher-student conflict and letter-word ID – as well as the outcome variable – student aggression. Prior to the primary analyses, each variable’s distribution was examined. Non-normal distributions were found for Time 1 and 2 teacher-student conflict as well as Time 2 aggression. To correct for significant skewness, the square root of these variables was calculated and used in subsequent analyses.

The first research question, investigating the relationships between demographic variables and the variables of interest was addressed using simple bivariate correlations. Research questions two and three address the relationship between teacher-student conflict at time 1 and aggression at time 2, as well as the interaction effect of teacher-student conflict at T1 and letter-word ID at T1 on aggression at time 2.

These two questions were addressed using a regression analysis. Both questions were run as one model, the demographic variables (child age, child black, child male, parental age, and parental education) and T1 aggressive behavior were entered as covariates. Independent variables were T1 letter-word identification and T1 teacher-student conflict, as well as an interaction term between T1 teacher-student conflict and T1 letter-word identification was added. Robust standard errors accounted for nesting in the data (children in classrooms) and independent variables were centered prior to inclusion in the models and calculation of the interaction term.

Results

Kindergarten students’ aggressive behavior at both time points was relatively low (T1 M = 1.47 SD = .41, T2 M = 1.59, SD = .43). Teacher-student conflict was also relatively low (T1 M = 1.30, SD = .32; T2 M = 1.31, SD = .33). Standardized literacy skill scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Letter -Word ID were about average for the student population at T1 (M = 17.32, SD = 7.40). Slightly higher scores were recorded at T2 (M = 21.66, SD = 7.83).

The first research question explored associa-

Gallagher: Teacher-Student Conflict and Aggression | 13

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for study variables and covariates.

Table 2. Bivariate correlations between study variables.

Table 3. Multiple regression analysis predicting spring aggression in kindergarten.

tions among the main variables of interest at T1 and T2 (letter-word ID, aggression, teacher-student conflict, teacher-student closeness). Several significant correlations were found. Notably, T1 student aggression was significantly and positively correlated with T1 teacher-student conflict (r = .73, p < .05) and T2 teacher-student conflict (r = .65, p < .05). Similarly, T2 student aggression was positively correlated with T1 teacher-student conflict (r = .59, p < .05) and T2 teacher-student conflict (r = .78, p < .05). In addition, T1 letter-word and T2 letter -word were highly positively correlated (r = .74, p < .05) (see Table 2).

Research question two focused on whether teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kinder-

garten significantly predicted overt aggression at the end of kindergarten. A multiple regression analysis run with demographic variables entered as covariates found that higher levels of conflict between teachers and students at the beginning of kindergarten predicted higher levels of overt aggression at the end of kindergarten (b = .06, p = .04). Associations between demographic variables (gender, race, and parental age) and aggression were found as well (see Table 3).

Finally, research question three investigated the interaction between teacher-student conflict at T1 and letter-word ID at T1 on aggression at T2. Entered into the same regression model as research question two, the interaction was significant and positive (b = .01,

14 | Staff Articles p < .05). In other words, letter-word ID scores magnified the association between fall teacher-student conflict and spring levels of aggression (see Figure 1).

Simple slope analyses found that the association between teacher-student conflict and aggressive behavior was statistically significant for students with high literacy at T1 (b = .10, p < .01) and medium literacy at T1 (b = .06, p =.04). For students with low literacy at T1 there was no association between teacher-student conflict and aggressive behavior.

Discussion The results of this study replicate and extend prior research. Overall, several findings are notable.

First, teacher-student conflict is strongly related to student aggression in the kindergarten classroom, both within and across time. Second, teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten is predictive of student aggression at the end of kindergarten.

Finally, although literacy at the beginning of kindergarten was expected to protect against the relationship between teacher-student conflict and student aggression, students with high literacy skills and high teacher-student conflict had the highest levels of aggression.

The associations between teacher-student conflict and student aggression as well as the predictive nature of teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten on aggression at the end of kindergarten add to an already existing body of literature. There is significant research supporting the importance of the teacher-student relationship to the social-emotional and academic well-being of students (Baker, 2006; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; McCormick et al., 2013; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005).

However the majority of this research focuses on the relationship between positive teacher-student relationships and positive social emotional behavioral and academic outcomes.

Teachers are uniquely able to provide support to students to learn appropriate behaviors and prevent problem behaviors (Baker et al., 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Positive teacher student relationships provide scaffolding for necessary social and behavior-

al skills (Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005). Conflictual relationships may be related to learning or continuing maladaptive behaviors (Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005).

Although this has been supported in previous studies (Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005), fewer studies have looked at the direct relationships between teacher-student conflict and various outcomes (Birch & Ladd, 1998; Hughes & Cavell, 1999; Mantzicopoulos, 2005). The findings here add an important new piece to the literature supporting the importance of the teacher-student relationship on behavioral outcomes.

This study, unlike others, investigated the direct and specific connections between conflict with teachers and overt aggression across the first year of elementary school, and shows that teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten is directly related to student aggression at the end of kindergarten.

These findings suggest that teacher-student conflict specifically predicts aggressive behavior above and beyond demographic characteristics and early behaviors and achievement. Students who have conflictual relationships with their teachers may miss out on the behavioral scaffolding teachers provide for students with whom they have a close and positive relationship.

Teachers tend to spend significantly less one-on-one time with students they have conflict with; thus, these students do not receive the support and time their peers with close teacher-student relationships receive (Baker, 2006; Baker et al., 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; O’Connor et al., 2011 Silver et al., 2005). Additionally, by missing this one-on-one time, students may not learn important lessons on how to interact effectively with others (Baker et al., 2008; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Baker, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2011; Silver et al., 2005).

In addition to lacking appropriate interactions with teachers, students with conflictual relationships may miss out on appropriate relationships with peers. Teachers’ interactions with students may affect classmates’ perceptions, which may, in turn, affect students’ sociability with classmates. Conflictual interactions with teachers convey a lack of regard and may contribute to peer rejection (Chang, 2003; Dodge

Gallagher: Teacher-Student Conflict and Aggression | 15 et. al., 2003; Hughes et al., 2001). Peer rejection is a significant risk factor for subsequent antisocial and aggressive behaviors. Thus, the combination of teacher-student conflict and peer rejection may be particularly harmful to young students (Chang, 2003; Dodge et al., 2003; Hughes & Cavell, 1999). This is a critical future avenue for research.

The second unique finding of the study is the interaction effect between teacher-student conflict and literacy skills on student aggression. Results show that students with high fall literacy skills as well as high fall teacher-student conflict have the highest levels of aggression in the spring of the kindergarten year.

Previous literature suggests that early academic skills may protect students from negative relationships and aggressive behavior (Bussing et al., 2012; Frazier et al., 2007). However the results of this study contradict these earlier findings. One possible explanation is that students with high literacy skills are more susceptible to boredom (Bussing et al., 2012; Frazier et al., 2007).

One of the main goals in kindergarten is the teaching of early literacy skills; students who enter kindergarten with high literacy skills may be disengaged when relearning skills they have already acquired. Studies find that students who are the most susceptible to boredom are more likely to engage in disruptive behavior than those who are less susceptible to boredom (Hunter & Csikszentmihalyi, 2003; Wasson, 1981), and students cope with boredom through behavioral means, including entertaining oneself during class time and acting out (Nett, Goetz, & Hall, 2011).

Importantly, however, the current study found no main effect of literacy skills on aggression. Instead, the positive association between fall levels of teacher-student conflict and spring levels of aggression was magnified for students with higher literacy skills.

Because these students already have difficult relationships with their teachers, when faced with boredom, they may act out to entertain themselves because they are less concerned with how their behavior is perceived by their teacher (Skinner & Belmont, 1999; Teven & McCroskey, 1997).

Other explanations are possible as well. Students with higher literacy skills may be more frustrated by their negative relationship with their teacher than are

students with lower literacy skills, leading to higher levels of aggressive behavior (Skinner & Belmont, 1999; Teven & McCroskey, 1997). Alternatively, given that the measure of aggressive behavior is teacher-reported, this result could demonstrate teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; higher expectations for students with higher literacy skills.

Teachers may perceive higher levels of aggression among those students with both higher literacy skills and with whom they have conflict (Brophy, 1983; Jussim, 1986; Jussim & Harber, 2005). Given these unanticipated findings, more research is needed to clarify and interpret results.

Strengths and Limitations The findings from this study contribute a better understanding of the independent and interactive relations between teacher-student relationships, literacy skills, and aggressive behavior among low-income kindergarten children. Specifically, results suggest teacher-student conflict matters for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; aggressive behavior in kindergarten. In addition, students with high academic skills and high teacher-student conflict may be the most likely to display aggression in their classrooms. Both findings provide evidence of the predictors of student aggression in kindergarten classrooms. Evidence of predictors is important for researchers, interventionists, and policy makers because of the cascading effects of early aggression on later antisocial behaviors (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010; Sutton et al., 1999). The evidence in this study may help indicate which predictive factors to target when attempting to reduce or prevent early aggression in schools.

There are several study limitations to consider. First, two of the measures used in the study were teacher reported, which may lead to bias in the responses. A teacher who has high conflict with a student may be more likely to assess the student as having behavioral problems. In future research, an observed measure of behavioral problems can be used to ensure there is no reporter bias in the report of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behavior. Future studies could also use a triangulated measure of behavior problems and teacher-student relationships to explore these constructs

16 | Staff Articles from multiple points of view.

Second, a more rigorous analysis plan could be used. The data are nested in both classrooms and schools, meaning participants’ data are not independent. This study used robust standard errors to account for some of the nesting. Further research should use multilevel modeling to better account for the nesting and ensure the most robust and rigorous analysis.

Similarly, the scores for aggression were significantly positively skewed. In the analysis, aggression at both time points was corrected for skewness thus making results more difficult to interpret.

Third, the study only measures aggression in one very specific setting – school. Although the measure is used to indicate overall behaviors, the reporting in this study is limited to the school setting.

School-based aggression may not be associated with aggression in other settings, such as home. Similarly, although early aggression is predictive of later aggression and even delinquency, this may not be true for aggression limited to the school setting. Future research should look at aggression in multiple settings, specifically the school and home.

Finally, this study only looks at one specific aspect of behavioral disruption – overt aggression.

Future research should examine other types of behavioral disruption, such as inattention or impulsivity. Similarly, testing effects on overall behavioral problems might be critical as the overall score might be most predictive of future negative outcomes for participants and have more important implications.

Implications Aggression at a young age can be highly predictive of future aggressive behaviors thus making this study of particular interest to interventionists and policy makers. The findings here confirm previous results as well as extend the knowledge about the connection between teacher student conflict and students’ aggression (Doumen et. al., 2005; Hamre and Pianta, 2001; Hughes & Cavell, 1999; O’Connor et al., 2011; Mantzicopoulos, 2005). Taken together, these studies suggest that aggression at a young age should not be overlooked. A key aspect in addressing this issue may

be early intervention for students who exhibit aggression. Low-income students may benefit particularly from early intervention because they exhibit higher levels of behavioral problems and aggression at a young age than students from middle-income backgrounds (O’Donnell et al., 1995). By addressing aggression at an early age, students may be more likely to change their aggressive behavior thus leading them off the path of aggression at older ages and possible delinquency.

Due to the predictive nature of teacher-student conflict on aggression, interventions targeting teacher-student conflict may be one place to start in the prevention of aggression. Interventions aimed at students and teachers with high teacher-student conflict may help reduce aggression for at-risk students.

In addition to targeting conflict, interventions aimed at academically engaging higher achieving students in more challenging classroom activities may help reduce disruptive behaviors. School-based interventions aimed at the predictive factors in this study may be key in helping young students reduce their levels of aggression during the important early school years.

References

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18 | Staff Articles

Factors Influencing Academic Motivation in Asian American Adolescents Eunice Lau

The academic motivation of Asian American adolescents has been a topic of interest for decades, beginning with the classification of Asian Americans as a “model minority” (Tran & Birman, 2010). To this day, researchers continue to study factors that contribute to the academic motivation of American-born Asian American adolescents with immigrant parents in an attempt to explain the high academic achievement levels often acquired by this group (Sue & Okazaki, 2009). Most of the current literature attributes the academic motivation of Asian Americans to positive Asian cultural values such as hard work, ambition, and personal and familial sacrifice (Chao, 2001).

The view that Asian cultural values serve as the primary source of academic motivation is often considered to be a thorough explanation of the factors motivating Asian American adolescents to achieve in school (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010).

However, the widespread belief fails to acknowledge the roles that personal struggles with cultural identity and societal dynamics play in the academic motivation of this particular group (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). The focus on cultural values does not address marginality, a phenomenon where Asian American adolescents from immigrant families struggle to reconcile Asian cultural beliefs with contrasting American values (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Moreover, the emphasis on cultural values ignores the impact of the model minority stereotype on greater sociopolitical conditions (Xie & Goyette, 2003). The framing of the group’s relative socioeconomic success as a product of cultural values fuels social settings that disregard the racially-biased treatments experienced by Asian Americans and a political climate that overestimates the opportunities given to the group (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010; Xie & Goyette, 2003).

The societal misconception of Asian Americans as a

group of individuals who face no sociopolitical barriers and the reality of racial discrimination and lack of racial representation in certain fields are two important, culturally-powerful experiences that influence the academic motivation of Asian American adolescents (Xie & Goyette, 2003). This paper seeks to examine how these interconnected factors – cultural values, consequences of marginality, model minority stereotype, and obstacles present in the current sociopolitical climate – influence academic motivation for Asian American adolescents.

Asian Cultural Values The heavy emphasis on cultural beliefs in current literature limits the exploration of other factors influencing academic motivation in Asian American adolescents, but an examination into cultural values is vital to understanding the experiences of the group (Asakawa, 2001; Sue & Okazaki, 2009). Adolescents struggle with marginality due to the contrasting nature of Asian and American beliefs (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Moreover, adolescents live in a society that assumes that the group’s relative economic success – often attributed to its cultural values – is an indication that Asian Americans do not encounter sociopolitical obstacles (Tran & Birman, 2010; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Analyzing cultural values is important to understanding how cultural beliefs serve as a facilitator of other academic motivators and as a source of academic motivation.

Adolescents find motivation to do well in school in and structure their academic goals around cultural values in order to uphold the beliefs shared by members of their cultural community (Lee, 1994; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Classified as interdependent in orientation, Asian cultural beliefs stress personal sacrifice,

Lau: Asian Americans and Academic Motivation | 19 harmony among family members, and the assumption of a role that fits the group’s dynamics and overall goals (Chao, 2001; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Other-oriented behaviors and modes of thinking are regarded as signs of cognitive maturity in Asian cultures, encouraging Asian American adolescents to plan their academic goals around the needs of others and to meet these needs through academic achievement (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Dennis, Phinney, & Chuateco, 2005).

The people Asian American adolescents frequently tailor their academic goals around and find motivation to do well academically in are their family members (Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005; Lee, 1994). Asian American adolescents from immigrant households are reminded of their parents’ struggle to secure financial stability due to language and cultural barriers (Lee, 1994). Adolescents, motivated by the socioeconomic conditions of their family, make adjustments to their personal academic ambitions in order to repay their family for their financial, emotional, and physical sacrifices (Dennis et al., 2005; Tyler et al., 2007).

Asian American adolescents believe that academic achievement serves as a way to obtain a well-paying job to support their family in the future (Lee, 1994).

They pressure themselves to do well in school (Fuligni et al., 2005; Lee, 1994). They spend a considerable amount of time completing homework, attending test preparation classes, and participating in extracurricular activities (Asakawa & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

Adolescents limit the amount of free time they have, even if they find the workload draining, because they believe that their families’ future is more important than their own immediate comfort (Asakawa, 2001; Fuligni et al., 2005). Asian American adolescents are driven by their culture’s emphasis on the welfare of others, especially that of family members’, and tailor their academic behaviors to assume the role as future providers of their families (Fuligni et al., 2005; Lee, 1994).

Marginality

While connectedness to Asian cultural values serves as a strong academic motivator for Asian

American adolescents, these ties can interfere with assimilation into mainstream American society (Xie & Goyette, 2003). American cultural perceptions on academics contrast with those of Asian cultures (Asakawa & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The former stresses self-assertion and views education as a way to explore personal interests, while the latter emphasizes dependence on others and considers the main purpose of education as helping family members in the future (Asakawa & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The dual identity of Asian American adolescents as Asians and Americans forces adolescents to adopt two different sets of cultural values, a phenomenon known as marginality (Xie & Goyette, 2003).

Marginality creates the sensation of living in two different worlds without the sense of belonging to either one (Xie & Goyette, 2003). The experience causes feelings of insecurity and frustration because adolescents cannot fully identify with one culture when they are being immersed in another (Xie & Goyette, 2003). In response to this dilemma, many adolescents choose to identify with certain Asian values and adopt American values that enable them to fit in with their peers (Fuligni et al., 2005). For example, some believe in the importance of personal sacrifice but will not go as far as abandoning their individual aspirations to help their families (Asakawa & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Lee, 1994). Struggles to maintain a balance between American and Asian cultural values are often perceived by American society as an example of the individuals’ failure to fully integrate themselves into American culture (Xie & Goyette, 2003).

Consequently, Asian American adolescents, viewing their ability to uphold American and Asian cultural values as a reflection of their assimilation into American society, seek ways in which their achievements can be considered accomplishments in both cultures (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Academic achievement is highly valued in both cultures, thus serving a dual purpose for Asian American adolescents and motivating them to excel in school (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Through academic achievement, they can uphold Asian cultural values’ emphasis on preparation to help their families in the future and

20 | Staff Articles American beliefs’ focus on individual success (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Adolescents believe that by doing well in school, they can address their feelings of marginality and incorporate two sets of cultural values into their goals (Xie & Goyette, 2003).

Nonetheless, Asian American adolescents continue to experience feelings of marginality even when they motivate themselves academically to uphold the values of Asian and American culture (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Academic motivation in Asian American adolescents is viewed as a successful embodiment of Asian and American cultural values, but the pressure to make adjustments to their cultural identity and to be judged on their ability to do so highlights the subtle presence of racially biased treatment in American society (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Wong & Halgin, 2006). Experiences with marginality not only play a role in academic motivation but also speak to the greater societal context (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). Asian American adolescents are continuously evaluated on their ability to adopt American values and assimilate into American society (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010; Xie & Goyette, 2003).

Model Minority Stereotype and Sociopolitical Climate The model minority stereotype, a term that cites the incorporation of Asian and American cultural values into one’s identity and successful assimilation as the norm for Asian Americans, downplays the reality of the racial group’s struggles (Kawai, 2005; Sue & Okazaki, 2009). Popular literature uses stories of Asian American adolescents’ academic achievement and later obtainment of jobs in lucrative fields as evidence of a successful blending of Asian cultural teachings with American values (Tran & Birman, 2010).

However, by focusing on the achievements made by the group, the model minority label fuels societal disregard of the group’s struggles with racially-biased treatment in American society (Kawai, 2005; Wing, 2007). Arguments for better treatment often go unheard, forcing Asian Americans to alter their decisions and behavior to accomplish their goals (Sue & Okaza-

ki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010).

Societal misconceptions and their subsequent consequences motivate Asian American adolescents to achieve academically in order to make themselves competitive for particular fields of study (Tran & Birman, 2010). Adolescents aim to avoid negative experiences associated with their racial backgrounds by working towards fields of study where academic achievements play a larger role than their race (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Some professions, like science, mathematics, and engineering, assess experience and skill level using objective academic records which allows Asian American adolescents to bypass discrimination, a form of subjective evaluation (Xie & Goyette, 2003).

Additionally, the lack of Asian Americans in particular professions increases instances of racial discrimination and limits opportunities for upward social mobility (Tran & Birman, 2010). As a result, adolescents choose to pursue professions where their race is better represented in the workforce such as medicine and technology (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010; Xie & Goyette, 2003). The model minority stereotype propagates the illusion that the preference for high-paying fields among Asian American adolescents is a sign of their adaptability and success in American culture (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). It ignores the sociopolitical reality and the lengths Asian American adolescents take academically in order to pursue a limited selection of career choices in the future (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010).

Conclusion

The factors influencing academic motivation in Asian American adolescents are rooted in Asian cultural values (Fuligni et al., 2005). Cultural values encourage adolescents to form other-oriented modes of thinking and to use their education as a way to secure their families’ financial future (Fuligni et al., 2005). They also contribute to the experiences that Asian American adolescents utilize as factors of academic motivation (Xie & Goyette, 2003). From struggles with marginality and the greater sociopolitical context, adolescents to find the motivation to do well in school in their overarching feeling of not belonging

Lau: Asian Americans and Academic Motivation | 21 to either culture (Kawai, 2005; Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Xie & Goyette, 2003). Their search for a balance – to support their family members and to establish themselves as members of American society – often leads them to compete for limited spots in fields of study that offer high salaries and minimal encounters with racially-biased treatment (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). The factors influencing the academic motivation of Asian American adolescents branch off from Asian cultural values and the experiences they have as a result of them (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Xie & Goyette, 2003).

By attributing academic motivation solely to the influence of cultural values, current literature overlooks the personal and cultural struggles that Asian American adolescents face and view as factors of academic motivation (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). Present research does not elaborate on studies of cultural values with analyses of how the influence of cultural values on the search for a coherent identity and on the societal misinterpretation of the experiences of Asian Americans serves as important academic motivators (Sue & Okazaki, 2009; Tran & Birman, 2010). In order to gain a fuller, more nuanced understanding of academic motivation in Asian American adolescents, future research needs to delve into the effects of societal constructions of the group (Xie & Goyette, 2003). Exploration into the constant societal scrutiny of balancing an identity composed of two cultures, stereotypes, and misconceptions of the group’s experience will provide insight into how negative forces can influence the academic motivation of Asian American adolescents (Xie & Goyette, 2003).

References

Asakawa, K. (2001). Family socialization practices and their effects on the internalization of educational values for Asian and White American adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 5(3), 184-194.

Asakawa, K., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Feelings of connectedness and internalization of values in Asian American adolescents.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 121-145.

Chao, R. K. (2001). Extending research on the consequences of parenting style for Chinese Americans and European Americans. Child Development, 72(6), 1832-1843.

Dennis, J. M., Phinney, J. S., & Chuateco, L. I. (2005). The role of motivation, parental support, and peer support in the academic success of ethnic minority first-generation college students. Journal of College Student Development, 46(3), 223-236.

Fuligni, A. J., Witkow, M., & Garcia, C. (2005). Ethnic identity and the academic adjustment of adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Developmental Psychology, 41,

799–811.

Kawai, Y. (2005). Stereotyping Asian Americans: The dialectic of the model minority and the yellow peril. The Howard Journal of Communications, 16, 109-130.

Lee, S. J. (1994). Behind the model-minority stereotype: Voices of highand low-achieving Asian American students. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 25(4), 413-429.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253.

Sue, S., & Okazaki, S. (2009). Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation. Asian American Journal of Psychology, S(1), 45-55.

Tran, N., & Birman, D. (2010). Questioning the model minority: Studies of Asian American academic performance, Asian American Journal of Psychology, 1(2), 106-118.

Tyler, K. M., Uqdah, A. L., Dillihunt, M. L., ReShanta, B., Conner, T., Gadson, N., … Stevens, R. (2008). Cultural discontinuity: Toward a quantitative investigation of a major hypothesis in education, Educational Researcher, 37(5), 280-297.

Wing, J. Y. (2007). Beyond black and white: The model minority myth and the invisibility of Asian American students. The Urban Review, 39(4), 455-487.

Wong, F., & Halgin, R. (2006). The “model minority”: Bane or blessing for Asian Americans? Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34 (1), 38-49.

Xie, Y., & Goyette, K. (2003). Social mobility and the educational choices of Asian Americans. Social Science Research, 32(3), 467-498.

22 | Staff Articles

Ethnic Identification of Asian American Urban Youth:

The Role of Generational Status in Predicting Psychological Well-Being

Donna Poon

Abstract In the United States, Asian Americans are seen as the “model minority,” or an unproblematic minority group with low mental health rates (Leong & Lau, 2001). Similar to other ethnic minority groups, highly self-identified Asian Americans are less likely to report psychological distress than those who do not identify themselves as highly Asian American because of ethnic identification, or positive regard towards one’s native culture, buffers against psychological maladjustment (Shelton et al., 2005). However, the mean level of ethnic identification varies between generational groups, such that each generation that is further removed from the immigrant generation is less likely to exhibit cultural characteristics (Makabe, 1979). Therefore, considering that Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. (US Census Bureau, 2012), investigating the protective factors of ethnic identification among generational groups is of utmost importance to achieve a more advanced understanding of Asian American mental health. This study explored the relation between ethnic identification and internalizing symptoms as well as the moderating role of generational status for Asian American urban adolescents.

Keywords: ethnic identity, internalizing symptoms, generational status

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, with more than 60 percent of that growth coming from international migration (2012). Owing to their low mental health and report rates, Asian Americans are stereotyped as the “model minority,” or an unproblematic minority

group with seemingly little to no psychological maladjustment in their acculturation process to the American host culture (Leong & Lau, 2001). However, contrary to the model minority stereotype, suicide was the 8th leading cause of death for Asian Americans, as opposed to the 11th leading cause for all racial groups collectively (Heron, 2011), indicating that a source of psychological discontent for Asian Americans may be rooted in cultural or racial domains.

While the low reports of mental health issues of Asian Americans might be attributed to collectivistic values, such as family honor and saving face (Chao & Tseng, 2002), they might also be attributed to the protective factors of ethnic identification (Shelton et al., 2005). Highly self-identified Asian Americans are less likely to report psychological distress because of the buffering effects of ethnic identification, or positive regard towards one’s native culture, where ethnic identification protects Asian Americans from psychological maladjustment (Kiang, Gonzales-Backen, Fuligini, Yip, & Witkow, 2006; Rivas-Drake, Hughes, & Way, 2008; Shelton et al., 2005). Rivas-Drake et al.

(2008) suggest that the buffering effect of ethnic identification for Asian Americans may be derived from the parental influence of reinforcing strong, positive ethnic identity views. Other research suggests that the social support that Asian Americans receive from their parents and peers helps reduce the psychological distress that typically derives from acculturative and discriminative stress (Grossman & Liang, 2008; Qin, 2008). Research has shown that understanding and practicing cultural values are separate but related factors that comprise the internal process of identifying with one’s ethnic identity (Phinney, 1993). Therefore, ethnic identification level is predicted to vary across generational levels, such that each generation that is further removed from the immigrant generation is

Poon: Ethnic Identity and Well-Being of Asian Adolescents | 23 less likely to exhibit cultural characteristics (Makabe, 1979). Considering the need for more mental health research on the Asian American population, investigating the protective factors of ethnic identification among generational groups is of utmost importance to achieve a more nuanced understanding of Asian American mental health.

The current study explored the relation between ethnic identification and internalizing symptoms as well as the moderating role of generational status for Asian American urban adolescents. More specifically, the study considered the following research questions: (1) Does level of ethnic identification significantly differ according to varying generational statuses?, (2) Does level of ethnic identification significantly predict (a) all internalizing symptoms, (b) anxious-depressed symptoms, (c) withdrawn-depressed symptoms, or (d) somatic complaints?, and (3) Does generational status moderate the relation between ethnic identification level and the four aforementioned internalizing symptoms subscales? Prior research analyses, first-generation Asian Americans were hypothesized to demonstrate greater ethnic identification and therefore are less likely to report internalizing symptoms of psychological maladjustment than their second-generation counterparts.

Method

Participants The participants were drawn from a larger 3-year longitudinal study, New York City Academic and Social Engagement Study (NYCASES; PI: Selçuk Sirin), which originally sampled 517 ethnically diverse adolescents. The proposed study will use a sample of 70 students who self-identified as Asian or South Asian and whose average age of the sample at the third wave of data collection was 18.26 years (SD = .82). Of the 70 Asian students in the sample, 48.6% were male (n = 34) and 51.4% were female (n = 36). Of the sample, 68.6% identified as being born outside of the U.S. as first-generation immigrants (n=48) and 30% identified with having a parent who was born outside of the U.S. as second-generation immigrants (n=21). One participant did not report their generational status, thus was dropped from the final analytic sample.

Measures Collective Self-Esteem. Ethnic identification was measured using the Collective Self-Esteem Scale (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992), which assesses individuals’ ethnic identity based on how they see themselves as a member of their ethnic group (e.g., “I often regret that I belong to my racial/ethnic group”; Cronbach’s α = 0.82). A 7-point Likert scale was used ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

Generational Status. Generational status was self-reported by participants via a demographic survey as part of the original study. Participants identified as either being born outside of the U.S. (first-generation) or being born in the U.S. and having a parent who was born outside of the U.S. (second-generation).

Internalizing Symptoms. Internalizing symptoms were measured using a shortened version of the Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach, 1991), which assesses the behavioral and emotional functioning of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 (Cronbach’s α = 0.79). Thirty-three questions were selected from the original 112 questions that comprised the internalizing symptoms subscale of the measure. The internalizing symptoms subscale consisted of three further defined subscales, which measured anxious-depressed (e.g., “I am afraid of going to school”; Cronbach’s α = 0.87), withdrawn-depressed (e.g., “I would rather be alone than with others”; Cronbach’s α = 0.85) and somatic symptoms (e.g., “I feel overtired without good reason”; Cronbach’s α = 0.72). A 3-point Likert scale was used ranging from 0 (not true) to 2 (very true or often true).

Results

Prior to testing the study’s hypotheses, descriptive statistics were run to ensure that all study variables met basic statistical assumptions. To observe the difference in ethnic identification between generational statuses for research question 1, an independent samples t-test was conducted to compare ethnic identification levels between first- and second-generation Asian Americans. Results show that ethnic identification significantly differs according to generational

24 | Staff Articles

Figure 1. A conceptual model demonstrating the relation between ethnic identification and internalizing symptoms as well as the moderating role of generational status for Asian American urban adolescents.

Figure 2. A graph demonstrating the moderating effect of generational status on the relation between ethnic identification and withdrawn-depressed symptoms.

status, where second-generation Asian Americans (M = 4.65, SD = 1.03) have higher mean scores of ethnic identification than first-generation Asian Americans (M = 4.09, SD = 0.98); t (67) = -2.15, p = 0.03.

With regard to research question 2, a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that ethnic identification negatively predicted internalizing symptoms in general (β = -0.08, b= -0.27, p < 0.05). More specifically, ethnic identification significantly negatively predicted withdrawn-depressed (β = -.12, b= -0.32, p < 0.05) and somatic symptoms (β = -0.09, b = -0.35, p <

0.01), but not anxious-depressed symptoms, for Asian American adolescents (see Table 1).

Finally, with regard to research question 3, the relation between ethnic identification and internalizing symptoms was tested for moderation of generational status using Baron and Kenny’s method for moderation (see Figure 1). Results show that, after controlling for gender and maternal education (which was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status), generational status significantly moderated the negative relation between ethnic identification and

Poon: Ethnic Identity and Well-Being of Asian Adolescents | 25

Table 1. Summary of regression analyses for ethnic identification predicting well-being

Table 2. Summary of hierarchical regression analyses for withdrawn-depressed symptoms predicted by ethnic identification and moderated by generational status

withdrawn-depressed symptoms (R2 = 0.07, F (1, 63) = 0.07, p < 0.05) (see Table 2). Specifically, the negative relation between ethnic identification and withdrawn-depressed symptoms was significantly stronger for first-generation Asian American adolescents relative to their second-generation counterparts (see Figure 2).

Discussion

The results of the independent samples t-test showed that second-generation Asian Americans reported significantly higher levels of ethnic identification than their first-generation counterparts. This difference may be due in part to variations in acculturative stress and racial socialization experienced by the two groups. Whereas first-generation Asian

Americans experience greater acculturative stress as they assimilate into the mainstream American culture, second-generation Asian Americans experience racial socialization, or the process of gaining positive ethnocultural attitudes as well as an understanding of the racial-discriminatory practices that pertain to their ethnic group (Benner & Kim, 2009). Said differently, as first-generation Asian Americans might feel pressure to report lower levels of ethnic identification as a by-product of their experiences with acculturative stress. Second-generation Asian Americans, on the other hand, have experienced racial socialization from learning about their immigrant parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; discriminatory and prejudicial experiences as a minority group member. As a result, second-generation Asian Americans are more likely to report stronger ethnic identification for their native culture in comparison to their

26 | Staff Articles first-generation counterparts.

The results of the hierarchical regression analyses support prior research findings that ethnic identification buffers against psychological maladjustment for Asian Americans (e.g., Shelton et al., 2005), where Asian Americans who reported higher levels ethnic identification also reported lower measures of internalizing symptoms, specifically withdrawn-depressed and somatic symptoms. However, the results also showed that the protective role of ethnic identification against withdrawn-depressed symptoms was more salient for second-generation Asian Americans. This finding has important clinical implications because utilizing ethnic identification as a buffer against withdrawn-depressed symptoms might be an effective strategy for U.S.-born, but not foreign-born adolescents.

A limitation of the current study includes having a small sample size from an urban setting. Age at time of immigration was also not taken into account, in which an earlier immigration age presumes having a greater amount of time to assimilate to American culture and lose native cultural values (Bhugra & Becker, 2005).

Future studies may use mixed methods to explore the potential factors that might affect withdrawn-depressed behavior in first-generation Asian Americans, such as disengagement and isolation from one’s ethnic community, among others. Potential research may seek to explore the effect of urban and suburban environments in fostering the ethnic identification of Asian Americans. Results might find that urban environments allows for greater retention of one’s ethnic identity, due to the ethnic diversity present in urban areas.

References Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile.

Burlington, VT, US: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.

Benner, A. D., & Kim, S. Y. (2009). Intergenerational experiences of discrimination in Chinese-American families: Influences of socialization and stress. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 862-877.

Bhugra, D., & Becker, M. A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiatry, 4(1), 18-24.

Chao, R., & Tseng, V. (2002). Parenting of Asians. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Social conditions and applied parenting (2nd ed., Vol. 4., p. 59-93). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Grossman, J. M., & Liang, B. (2008). Discrimination distress among Chinese American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 1–11.

Heron, M. (2011). Deaths: Leading causes for 2007. National Vital Statistics Reports, 59, 8.

Kiang, L., Gonzales-Backen, M., Fulgini, A. J., Yip, T., & Witkow, M. (2006). Ethnic identity and the daily psychological well-being of adolescents from Mexican and Chinese backgrounds. Child Development, 77(5), 1338-1350.

Leong, F. T., & Lau, A. S. (2001). Barriers to providing effective mental health services to Asian Americans. Mental Health Services Research, 3(4), 201-214.

Luhtanen, R., Crocker, J. (1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one’s social identity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(3), 302-318.

Makabe, T. (1979). Ethnic identity scale and social mobility: The case of Nisei in Toronto. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 16(2), 136-45.

New York University. (2008). The New York City Academic and Social Engagement Study (NYCASES) [Data file].

Phinney, J. S. (1993). A three-stage model of ethnic identity development in adolescence. In Bernal, M. E. & Knight, G. P. (Eds.), Ethnic identity: Formation and transmission among Hispanics and other minorities (p. 61-79). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Qin, D.B. (2008). Doing well vs. feeling well: Understanding family dynamics and the psychological adjustment of Chinese immigrant adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 22–35.

Rivas-Drake, D., Hughes, D., & Way, N. (2008). A closer look at peer discrimination, ethnic identity, and psychological wellbeing among urban Chinese American sixth graders. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 12–21.

Shelton, J. N., Yip, T., Fuligni, A., Wong, C., Eccles, J. S., & Chatman, C. (2005). Ethnic identity as a buffer of psychological adjustment to stress. In G. Downey, J. S. Eccles, & C. Chatman (Authors), Navigating the Future: Social Identity, Coping, and Life Tasks (Vol. 5). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau Reports. Retrieved from http://www. census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13-112. html

Pratt: Childhood Adversity | 27

The Impact of Childhood Adversity on Later Anxiety Samantha Pratt The psychological impacts of a traumatic event can be injurious to a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adjustment. The DSMIV defines a traumatic event as one in which an individual experiences or witnesses a perceived or actual threat of death or serious injury to the physical integrity of self or others that results in a sense of helplessness, intense fear, or horror (APA, 2000). This clinical definition of a traumatic event implies that trauma must be an experience that elicits an extreme reaction as a direct result of perceived threat. However, there is little mention of trauma that results from adverse experiences that do not involve an immediate perceived threat.

Evidence demonstrating the association between adverse experiences (those experiences not clinically deemed traumatic) and adolescent and adult psychopathology is extensive (Clark, Caldwell, Power, & Stansfeld, 2010; Ford, Clark, & Stansfeld, 2011; Grover, Ginsburg, & lalongo, 2005; McLaughlin, Conron, Koenen, & Gilman, 2009; McLaughlin, Kubzansky, Dunn, Waldinger, Vaillant, & Koenen, 2010; Mersky, Topitzes, & Reynolds, 2013). In particular, researchers have conducted a wide breadth of studies on the impact of childhood adversity, which they define as not only traumatic experiences (i.e. physical abuse, verbal abuse, mental abuse, witnessing violence within the home, and severe illness) but also chronic stressors (i.e. family conflict, parental separation, parental education, parental mental health, neglect, poverty, loss, drug use in the family) that have a significant negative effect on the child (Benjet, Borges, & Medina-Mora, 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin & Kubzansky et al., 2010).

The aforementioned connections between childhood events and the impact of those events on adult adjustment are derived from some psychoanalytic theory (Freud, 1966). Freudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory argues that there are risk factors in childhood that largely impact psy-

chological development in adulthood, including psychopathology (1966). The link between childhood adversity and psychopathology has been analyzed across studies (Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al. 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2009; McLaughlin et al., 2010; Mersky et al., 2013). Anxiety (i.e. prominent anxiety, panic attacks, obsessions, or excessive worry) is one construct that researchers frequently associate with childhood adversity (APA, 2000). Studies also suggest that the prevalence of anxiety may be moderated by the amount of adverse experiences to which a child is exposed (Ford et al., 2011; Jacob, 2012). Rooted in psychoanalytic theory, this literature review will examine and understand the ways in which childhood adversity impacts anxiety in later years, as well as the moderating role of multiple adverse experiences.

Childhood Adversity and Anxiety Interestingly, the impact of childhood adversity on anxiety in later years is largely analyzed in the literature on five types of adversity: social adversity, negative family environment, abuse, loss, and school functioning (Benjet et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al. 2009; McLaughlin et al., 2010; Mersky et al., 2013). These subtopics have been correlated with anxiety in later years and have been shown to impact onset of anxiety in various stages of development (Benjet et al., 2010; Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2010). Research consistently considers later years to be the period of development after childhood, but the definition of childhood varies across studies (Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Mersky et al. 2013). Some studies have focused on the onset of anxiety issues specifically in adolescence and early adulthood (Clark et al., 2010; Mersky et al. 2013), while other research looked at the correlation between

28 | Staff Articles childhood adversities and mid-life affective disorders (Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011). Nevertheless, all studies demonstrated a correlation at all measured stages (Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Mersky et al. 2013), Clark et al. (2010) found that associations between psychopathology and childhood adversity were stronger in adolescence than in early adulthood and mid-life. However, not all subtopics of childhood adversity were significantly correlated with anxiety at all life stages (Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2010).

Across studies, some specific childhood adversities proved to have little or no impact on anxiety in later years. Social adversityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;more specifically defined as financial difficulties, low economic status, parental unemployment, and lack of parental educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is the one type of adversity for which associations with later life anxiety were weak (Grover et al., 2005). Only lack of parental education indicated anxiety in early and mid-life (McLaughlin et al., 2010). The fact that social adversity was a poor indicator of anxiety disorders may only be a significant result of certain studies due to their sample not being heterogeneous enough (Grover et al., 2005). Unlike social adversity, negative family environment had strong associations with anxiety in later years (Grover et al., 2005; Benjet et al., 2010, McLaughlin et al., 2010; McLaughlin et al., 2009). Adversities under the negative family environment category such as lack of family cohesion, illness in home, and parental mental illness were predicative of later anxiety issues (Benjet et al., 2010; Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2010). However, parental marital issues, neglect, and parental criminal behavior were not shown to be predictive (Benjet et al., 2010).

Furthermore, negative family environment could be considered a chronic stressor with the ability to increase risk of anxiety disorders over time (Grover et al., 2005).

In addition, abuse, loss, and academic achievement were all predictive of anxiety. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse were aspects of abuse associated with increased odds of anxiety (Benjet et al., 2010; McLaughlin et al., 2009). Academic achievement difficulties were also linked to higher anxiety, especially in adolescence and those in

early adulthood (Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2010). Similarly, loss of relationships was highly predictive of issues with anxiety across various stages of life. Death of a family member or friend, parent separation, sibling separation, and hospitalization of family members are all components of the loss construct (McLaughlin et al. 2010; Grover et al., 2005).

Though, unlike the other aforementioned forms of childhood adversity, loss in the form of separation was indicative of lower anxiety as opposed to higher anxiety in early adolescence (Grover et al., 2005). This negative correlation is incongruent with the idea that adversities always have negative a negative impact on psychological disorders.

Multiple Adverse Experiences and Anxiety Additionally, studies have consistently shown that it is not only the type of adversity faced that has an impact on anxiety, but also the number of adversities faced in childhood (Benjet et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al., 2005; McLaughlin et al., 2009; Mersky et al., 2013). Cumulative adversity is measured throughout studies by tallying the number of adversities that each participant reports (Ford et al., 2011; Jacob, 2012). Though very little research begins with the intention of analyzing the impact of multiple adversities on the onset of anxiety (Benjet et al., 2010; Mersky et al., 2013), data acquired during investigation of the association between childhood adversity and anxiety demonstrated that, irrespective of the type of adversity, multiple adversity groups increased the odds of anxiety in later years (Benjet et al., 2010; Clark et al. 2010; Ford et al., 2011; Grover et al., 2005; Mersky et al., 2013).

Despite differences between studies in the average number of adversities faced by participants (Benjet et al. 2010; Clark et al., 2010; Ford et al., 2011; McLaughlin et al., 2009), research was consistent in reporting that a significant percentage of each sample experienced more than one adversity in childhood (Benjet et al. 2010; Clark et al. 2010; Ford et al., 2011; McLaughlin et al., 2009; Mersky et al., 2013). The likelihood of reporting anxiety was further

Pratt: Childhood Adversity | 29 increased when participants reported more than three childhood adversities (McLaughlin et al., 2009). The adversity subgroups most frequently reported comorbid with one another were negative family environment and abuse (Benjet et al., 2010); however, certain components within each subgroup also co-occur (e.g., parental absence and divorce) (Clark et al., 2010).

Moreover, cumulative adversities increase sensitization to stress, which has a bidirectional relationship with anxiety disorders (McLaughlin et al., 2009; McLaughlin et al., 2010). High stress reactivity to major life events was especially prevalent in participants who experienced three or more childhood adversities (McLaughlin et al., 2009). Men, in particular, who faced three or more childhood adversities demonstrated high stress reactivity to minor life events (McLaughlin et al., 2009). Those who faced social adversity and had negative family environments in childhood had definite higher levels of stress sensitization in adulthood (McLaughlin et al., 2010), which lead to a higher likelihood of anxiety (McLaughlin et al., 2009; McLaughlin et al., 2010). Still, this association between cumulative adversities and anxiety as mediated by stress sensitization is largely influenced by level of exposure to adversities (McLaughlin et al., 2009).

The greater the exposure to childhood adversities, the more stress respondents reported when faced with later stressful life events (Espejo, Hammen, Connolly, Brennan, Najman, & Bor, 2006; McLaughlin et al., 2009), thus increasing the likelihood of anxiety.

Furthermore, higher levels of adversity in childhood can lead to more than just anxiety issues.

Studies have shown that there are high rates of comorbidity in adolescence and early adulthood (Espejo et al., 2006; Mersky et al., 2013). Depression often also manifests along with anxiety as a result of childhood adversities (Espejo et al., 2006; Dunn, Abbott, Croudace, Wilkinson, Jones, Herbert, & Goodyer, 2011). Major depressive episodes, PTSD, and anxiety disorders are often triggered when those who experience major life stressors in adulthood have also experienced childhood adversities (McLaughlin et al., 2009). The comorbidity of the mood disorders, PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety may largely impact the results of various studies when it goes uncon-

trolled for because of how it could potentially influence correlations indicated in the findings (McLaughlin et al., 2009; McLaughlin et al., 2010; Mersky et al., 2013).

Conclusion

As the research has shown, childhood adversity increases issues with stress and anxiety later in life.

The rise in levels of adversity also increases stress sensitivity and likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder. Current research uses both longitudinal studies and retrospective self-reports to establish correlations, but the cause and effect of early life adversity on anxiety and stress is not clearly established because of the issues with comorbidity with other psychological disorders due to childhood stressors. In addition, the direction of causation between predictor domains and anxiety cannot be determined in studies that include children with pre-existing anxiety conditions and that use a retrospective analytic method. There is also an inconsistency in the age at which impact is measured, which leaves gaps in comparing literature that measures onset of effects at different levels. These limitations of previous studies demonstrate a need to understand why childhood adversities and anxiety are related. Future studies should clearly establish directionality. They should also control for comorbid psychological disorders.

References

Benjet, C., Borges, G., & Medina-Mora, M. E. (2010). Chronic childhood adversity and onset of psychopathology during three life stages: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44(11), 732-740.

Clark, C., Caldwell, T., Power, C., & Stansfeld, S. A. (2010). Does the influence of childhood adversity on psychopathology persist across the lifecourse? A 45-year prospective epidemiologic study.

Annals of epidemiology, 20(5), 385-394.

Dunn, V. J., Abbott, R. A., Croudace, T. J., Wilkinson, P., Jones, P. B., Herbert, J., & Goodyer, I. M. (2011). Profiles of family-focused adverse experiences through childhood and early adolescence: The ROOTS project a community investigation of adolescent mental health. BMC psychiatry, 11(1), 109.

Espejo, E. P., Hammen, C. L., Connolly, N. P., Brennan, P. A., Najman, J. M., & Bor, W. (2007). Stress sensitization and adolescent depressive severity as a function of childhood adversity: a link to anxiety disorders. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 35(2), 287-299.

Ford, E., Clark, C., & Stansfeld, S. A. (2011). The influence of childhood adversity on social relations and mental health at mid-life. Journal of Affective Disorders, 133(1-2), 320-327.

Freud, A. (1966). Normality and pathology in childhood. London: Hogarth Press.

Grover, R. L., Ginsburg, G. S., & lalongo, N. (2005). Childhood predictors

30 | Staff Articles of anxiety symptoms: A longitudinal study. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 36(2), 133-153.

Jacobs, J., Agho, K., Stevens, G., & Raphael, B. (2012). Do childhood adversities cluster in predictable ways? A systematic review.

Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 7(2), 103-115.

McLaughlin, K. A., Conron, K. J., Koenen, K. C., & Gilman, S. E. (2010).

Childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and risk of past-year psychiatric disorder: A test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a population-based sample of adults. Psychological Medicine, 40(10), 1647-1658.

McLaughlin, K. A., Kubzansky, L. D., Dunn, E. C., Waldinger, R., Vaillant, G., & Koenen, K. C. (2010). Childhood social environment, emotional reactivity to stress, and mood and anxiety disorders across the life course. Depression and Anxiety, 27(12), 10871094.

Mersky, J. P., Topitzes, J., & Reynolds, A. J. (2013). Impacts of adverse childhood experiences on health, mental health, and substance use in early adulthood: A cohort study of an urban, minority sample in the U.S. Child Abuse & Neglect, , No Pagination Specified.

Russell: Children’s Implicit Theories of Intelligence | 31

Children’s Implicit Theories of Intelligence: Attributions, Goals, and Reactions to Challenges

Jazmine Russell As children develop, they begin to form beliefs about the way intelligence may function in themselves and others. Children’s beliefs about intelligence may include assumptions about what it means to be smart, whether intelligence is based on effort or innate ability, and whether intelligence is something that changes with what you learn or stays relatively the same (Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006). Social-cognitive researchers have begun to examine these implicit theories about intelligence in an attempt to understand what motivates children to achieve academically (Molden & Dweck, 2006).

Researchers focus on two primary implicit theories of intelligence in both children and adults, categorizing people into two groups based on their beliefs about how malleable intelligence is. People with entity mindsets believe intelligence is a fixed and static trait, indicative of one’s ability, while people with incremental mindsets believe that intelligence is malleable, dynamic, and can be changed with effort (Dweck, Chiu, & Hong; 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong, Chiu, Dweck, Lin, & Wan, 1999).

When students ascribe to one of these two implicit theories, it can shape their interpretations of and responses to academic situations in unique ways, particularly in the face of challenges (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006). These differing mindsets influence what students attribute their academic failures to, how positively they perceive effort, the types of goals they set for themselves, their reactions to challenges and failure, and their overall academic achievement (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007; Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong et al., 1999; Molden & Dweck, 2006). Understanding how motivational processes such as attribution, goals, and behaviors in the face of challenges

may differ between those with entity and incremental mindsets are important for understanding the role of intelligence beliefs in academic achievement.

Attribution: Ability or Effort One primary distinction between students with entity and incremental mindsets is that they attribute different reasons to poor performance in school, giving more weight to either effort or ability (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). Typically, students with entity mindsets believe abilities and achievement are uncontrollable, since they believe intelligence is fixed.

Therefore, the student with a fixed view of intelligence usually only feels in control when they perceive themselves to have a high ability level, and attribute failure to low ability level (Hong et al., 1999). Moreover, if a student with an entity mindset is not performing well academically, they also tend to believe that any effort they put in will not make much of a difference in their achievement. (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). On the other hand, students with an incremental or more malleable view of intelligence may also attribute academic success to ability level, but focus far more on effort as an integral aspect of achievement (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). While students with entity mindsets understand academic outcomes as a result of fixed ability level and traits, those with incremental mindsets understand outcomes as a result of more malleable and contextual factors such as goals, desires, and effort (Dweck et al.,1995; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

Secondly, students with a fixed view of intelligence hold different beliefs about the relationship between effort and ability than those with the belief

32 | Staff Articles that intelligence is malleable (Hong et al., 1999; Molden & Dweck, 2006). For example, at a high academic achievement level, students with both mindsets may attribute their achievement to ability (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). However, when asked further, a student with an incremental mindset would typically say their performance is merely representative of their current skill set, while a student with an entity mindset would state that their performance is due to a stable quality within them (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). At a low achievement level, studies show students with an incremental mindset are more likely to take the steps needed to improve, believing that effort is necessary to improving ability.

Students with an entity mindset, on the other hand, tend to believe that if a person needs to put in effort, it means he or she does not have the ability, and if they have the ability then he or she would not need to put in effort (Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Hong et al., 1999).

Because these mindsets can shape the way students think about effort and ability, they can be very influential in either helping students become motivated to improve with effortful learning or give them reason not to try (Molden & Dweck, 2006).

Achievement Goals: Performance or Learning While studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; implicit theories on the fixed or flexible nature of intelligence may have an impact on the attribution of academic performance and the meaning of effort for the individual, both implicit theories and perceptions of effort are also correlated to the types of goals that students set for themselves (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). Students with entity mindsets emphasize ability over effort and therefore, tend to be more concerned with measuring and demonstrating their abilities through given tasks ability (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006; Hong et al., 1999).

These students adopt performance goals meaning they would rather prove their ability level through their performance at a task, for example, a math test, than take the test to practice their skills or improve their ability (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999;

Molden & Dweck, 2006). Students with incremental mindsets, however, are usually more interested in process and improving their own abilities through effort and persistence at challenging tasks such as a math test, therefore adopting learning goals (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). The way that students think about intelligence can affect the way they perceive their own ability level and therefore, it influences how motivated they are to persist at a task and learn (Dweck et al., 1995; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

The beliefs that shape learning and performance goals influence the meaning of the task for students (Hong et al., 1999; Molden & Dweck, 2006). For example, a task such as a math test may be viewed by students with entity mindsets as negative or as something in which others will judge their competency. For students with incremental mindsets, however, the test may be viewed as something positive, which will potentially improve their skills (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). These goals become more salient when students perceive themselves as having a low ability level in the particular task (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). For example, if a student typically receives poor scores in math, it is likely the student will either want to improve upon their math skills, if he or she holds an incremental mindset, or want to prove their ability, if he or she has an entity mindset (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999).

While neither type of goal is necessarily maladaptive, having the desire to prove ability can become problematic when they lead students to avoid challenges and show maladaptive behavior in the face of setbacks (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). Because studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beliefs about intelligence can shape the kinds of goals they set for themselves, either to learn or to prove their competency, they can also affect how students handle difficult academic tasks (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

Reactions to Challenges: Helpless or Mastery Oriented Researchers believe that achievement goals

Russell: Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Implicit Theories of Intelligence | 33 influence how much or how little students persist at a task and predicts their subsequent reactions to failure (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998). In the presence of challenging academic tasks, researchers categorize behavior into two different types: maladaptive helpless behavior in which the student gives up easily and avoids challenging tasks, and adaptive mastery-oriented behavior in which the student persists at a task until their skills become more developed (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Hong et al., 1999). Although students may begin tasks with similar strategies, or at similar interest and achievement levels, their reactions to failure or setbacks may be drastically different, and over time affect future academic performance in either positive or negative ways (Dweck & Leggett, 1998).

Because students with entity mindsets tend to be more ability focused and concerned with judgment, perceived failure also holds a greater significance to them (Dweck et al., 1995; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006). For example, if a student with a fixed view of intelligence receives a low grade on a math test, it may indicate to them that they are simply bad at math and lack the skills to do well (Dweck et al., 1995; Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006). Therefore, students with this mindset are more likely to display helpless behavior, which Dweck and Leggett (1998) describe in three ways.

First, in the face of a challenge or failure, students who ascribe to an entity mindset produce negative self-criticism and attribute the failure to their low ability level, perhaps stating that they are just bad at math and cannot do any better (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Heyman & Dweck, 1998). The students may then display negative affect such as boredom or anxiety, turning away from the math test, and may even create a diversion or talk about their talents in different domains, such as reading or art, presumably to bolster their self-image (Dweck & Leggett, 1998). Lastly, if disengagement persists, researchers typically see a decline in ability level, reaching levels even lower than what was shown mere minutes before at the same task (Dweck & Leggett, 1998). Therefore, students with entity mindsets can be so concerned with judgment and their presumed lack of ability, that they may miss

out on important learning opportunities by avoiding the very tasks and challenges that could help them improve (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

In contrast, students who believe that intelligence is malleable have mastery-oriented goals and care more about improving their skills than proving ability (Dweck et al.,1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998).

For students with incremental mindsets, challenges arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily seen as failure, or as indicative of a fixed ability level (Dweck et al.,1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998). These students tend to believe that a bad score on a math test does not necessarily mean they are bad at math, but rather that it indicates they do not have the skills quite yet, though they can improve over time (Dweck et al., 1995). These students also display self-regulatory techniques as they strategize, self-monitor, and are more motivated to persist (Dweck & Leggett, 1998). They retain their optimism throughout the task and therefore, relish the opportunity to be challenged (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006). Overall, their ability level either stayed the same or improved after the challenging task since they persisted more than students with a fixed view of intelligence (Dweck & Leggett, 1998). When studying the correlation between implicit theories of intelligence and reactions to challenges, researchers see that students with entity mindsets are both more vulnerable to helpless behavior and are less equipped to cope with negative self-judgment, while students with incremental mindsets thrive more often in the face of challenges, revealing more problem-solving and self-regulatory behaviors (Dweck et al., 1995; Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

Conclusion

In order to further help students improve and succeed, it is important to understand how lay beliefs about intelligence may impact their achievement.

Once the implicit beliefs behind motivational processes and behaviors are revealed, researchers and educators can take the necessary steps to help students build more adaptive mindsets that are conducive to learning (Blackwell et al., 2007; Molden & Dweck,

34 | Staff Articles 2006). Many researchers have begun to experimentally induce or alter implicit theories in students, even implementing interventions based on implicit theory research (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck et al., 1995; Hong et al., 1999). These studies have shown that implicit theories may be preconditioned but are also changeable, and therefore, interventions can be used to increase more adaptive incremental beliefs in students (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck et al., 1995; Hong et al., 1999). Evidence from several experimental studies show that reading or learning about the flexibility of intelligence (i.e., endorsing an incremental theory of intelligence) can help students adopt learning goals, adaptive learning behavior, a positive view of effort, and become more inclined to take necessary steps needed to improve performance (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck et al., 1995; Hong et al., 1999). These interventions helped even the students who previously held entity or fixed views of intelligence in raising achievement scores and motivation (Blackwell et al., 2007; Dweck et al., 1995).

Despite the success of interventions, some researchers believe the implicit theory model lacks complexity and is seemingly one-dimensional and dualistic (Harackiewicz & Elliot, 1995; Graham, 1995).

Implicit theories of intelligence only take into account the malleability of intelligence, and categorize individuals as believing it to be either fixed or flexible. Some researchers wonder what other factors may be related to beliefs about the flexibility of intelligence; if, for example, beliefs about whether or not intelligence is stable across time, hereditary, or influenced by environmental factors may be related to why one believes intelligence is changeable or not (Graham, 1995; Gelman, Heyman, & Legare, 2007; Gottfried, Gelman, & Schulz, 1999; Haslam, Bastian, Bain & Kashmina, 2006; Haslam, Bastian & Bissett, 2004). Researchers understand psychological and biological beliefs about traits to change over time with new experiences and information learned in school and at home (Heyman & Dweck, 1998). These changing beliefs have broad implications for students’ implicit theories of intelligence, and future research should focus on understanding how many different contextual beliefs and factors may contribute to implicit theories of intelli-

gence, in order to more comprehensively understand how people make inferences about intelligence and how these inferences interact to produce motivational and academic outcomes (Gelman et al., 2007; Haslam et al, 2006; Haslam et al., 2004; Heyman & Dweck, 1998).

However, implicit theory research does provide an initial, clear framework for understanding how students’ beliefs about intelligence can affect their attribution, goals, and reactions to challenges (Dweck & Leggett, 1998; Molden & Dweck). Students’ perceptions about their intelligence, their ability levels, and challenging academic tasks, all shape their motivation to learn and their academic success (Molden & Dweck, 2006). Therefore, to help students become motivated to learn and persist in the face of challenges, these implicit theories and assumptions must be understood as integral to development and achievement (Heyman & Dweck, 1998; Molden & Dweck, 2006).

References

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 78(1).

246-263.

Dweck, C. S., Chiu, C., & Hong, Y. (1995). Implicit theories and their role in judgments and reactions: A world from two perspectives.

Psychological Inquiry, 6(4). 267-285.

Dweck, C. S. & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2). 256-273.

Gelman, S. A., Heyman, G. D. & Legare, C. H. (2007). Developmental changes in the coherence of essentialist beliefs about psychological haracteristics. Child Development, 78 (3). 757-774.

Gottfried, G. M., Gelman, S. A., Schulz, J. (1999). Children’s understanding of the brain: From early essentialism to biological theory.

Cognitive Development, 14. 147-174.

Graham, S. (1995). Implicit theories as conceptualized by an attribution researcher. Psychological Inquiry, 6(4). 294-297.

Harackiewicz, J. M. & Elliot, A. J. (1995). Life is a roller coaster when you view the world through entity glasses. Psychological Inquiry, 6(4). 298-301.

Haslam, N., Bastian, B., Bain, P., & Kashima, Y. (2006). Psychological essentialism, implicit theories, and intergroup relations. Group Process & Intergroup Relations, 9 (1). 63-76.

Haslam, N., Bastian, B., & Bissett, M. (2004) Essentialist beliefs about personality and their implications. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(12). 1661-1673.

Heyman, G.D., Dweck, C.S. (1998). Children’s thinking about traits: Implications for judgments of the self and others. Child Development, 64(2). 391-403.

Hong, Y. Y., Chiu, C. Y., Dweck, C. S., Lin, D., & Wan, W. (1999). Implicit theories, attributions, and coping: A meaning system approach.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(3). 588-599.

Molden, D. C. & Dweck, C. S. (2006). Finding “meaning” in psychology: A lay theories approach to self-regulation, social perception, and social development. American Psychologist, 61(3). 192-203.

Sabourin: Music and Leisure | 35

Music and Leisure:

The Use of Music in its Physical, Social, and Cognitive Modalities for Alzheimer’s Intervention

Tyler Sabourin Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder in which deterioration of brain cells leads to the loss of cognitive and physical functioning, ultimately ending in death (Alzheimer’s Association, 2013). It is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases (Alzheimer’s Association, 2013).

Currently, it is estimated that 11% of Americans over the age of 65 and 32% of Americans over the age of 85 are living with Alzheimer’s disease, with a total estimated countrywide prevalence of 5.2 million diagnosed individuals (Alzheimer’s Association, 2013).

This prevalence is expected to nearly triple in the next forty years as the proportion of people over age 65 grows (Alzheimer’s Association, 2013). As such, despite the disease’s incurability, efforts must be made to develop effective treatment and prevention programs to provide for the needs of our aging population.

Since there is no known method to cure Alzheimer’s disease, most treatment is focused on improvement in the overall quality of life of patients (León-Salas et al., 2013). However, it is difficult to affect a positive change in quality of life, as 50-80% of dementia cases present with other clinically significant neuropsychiatric symptoms, particularly apathy, depression, and agitation (Lyketsos et al., 2002). Not only are rates of comorbidity high, but antidepressant medications often cause poor and unstable response in individuals with deficits in executive functioning, including those with dementia (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). As a result of the inefficacy of antidepressants, depression in elderly populations becomes more difficult to treat as cognitive declines progress.

Symptoms of depression, in fact, have been linked to cognitive declines and declines in general functioning even in elderly patients who otherwise have no presentation of a dementing disorder (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). A history of depres-

sion has been identified as both a risk factor, doubling the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disorder in later life, and a prodrome, directly causing decreases in cognitive functioning in older individuals (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). Even outside of dementia, major depression in elderly populations is often accompanied by cognitive impairment (Yaffe et al., 1999). In fact, the cognitive symptoms of depression can be so severe as to be misdiagnosed as an early stage of dementia, without the actual presence of a dementing disorder (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). In elderly patients who are diagnosed with a reversible depression-caused dementing disorder, upwards of 25% each year progress into a full, irreversible stage of dementia (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). As such, the treatment of depressive symptoms in the elderly, especially when coupled with cognitive impairments that may border dementia, is vital in preventing against further decline in mental health. Additionally, because of the ineffectiveness of antidepressants, treatment and prevention programs must focus on mood improving and stabilizing activities that exclude reliance on psychotropic drugs.

Although research on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease has hardly been conclusive, there are a number of factors that correlate with reduced risk for development of the disease. One of the few supported protective factors is participation in leisure activities due to their mental, physical, and social components (Sattler, Toro, Schönknecht, & Schröder, 2012).

Though the reasons why are not fully understood, studies have shown that among premorbid cohorts of the elderly, those who indicated higher participation in leisure activities have a decreased risk compared to those who do not (Karp et al., 2005). Further, those who participated in activities that combined all three components had an even further decreased risk as compared to those who participated in activities that

36 | Staff Articles only included one component (Karp et al., 2005).

High activity in these areas is also linked to improvements in mood (Karp et al., 2005).

The use of music-based treatments provides an interesting fit to this set of findings. As music itself is multifaceted, it can be instituted in a wide variety of contexts. Not only does music have a long documented history of emotional expression and use in mood regulation, but it can also be used within the contexts of physical activity, social activity, and cognition. Within these frameworks, music may not only prevent against the progression of Alzheimer’s disease but also serve to further increase quality of life. This paper seeks to explore the ways in which music interventions can be instituted in the lives of the elderly to help those at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and to slow its onset in those diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s through the three components of leisure activities; physical, social, and cognitive activity.

Music and Physical Activity

Music has a well established place in the world of physical activity. The body’s physiological response to music makes the initiation of movement easier and has been shown to increase vitality (Lee, Chan, & Mok, 2010). The inclusion of music has been shown to make exercise more enjoyable for individuals, and when people find a physical activity enjoyable they are more likely to repeat it (Murrock & Higgins, 2009).

Music can also be used as a stimulus substitution, which takes a person’s focus away from other unpleasant stimuli (Murrock & Higgins, 2009). Especially in older populations the use of music can increase enjoyment of physical activity, since elderly people who spend time listening to music show significant reductions in the pain associated with osteoarthritis as compared to elderly people who did not listen to music (McCaffrey & Freeman, 2003).

Once motivated to engage in physical activity, elderly people are likely to see a variety of positive benefits that may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s. Physical activity in the elderly has been associated with cheerful mood and reduction in depressive symptoms (Cox & Thyer, 2008; Sarid, Melzer, Kurz,

Shahar, & Ruch, 2010). In fact, brain scans have shown regular exercise to affect some of the same neural functions as antidepressants, without the negative side-effects seen with use of medication, which may serve as a partial solution for the ineffectiveness of antidepressant medication in those with cognitive dysfunction (Cox & Thyer, 2008). More specific to music, trials of dance therapy using culturally traditional music and dance have been shown to improve not only general physical health, but to reduce depressive symptoms and increase quality of life in older women, compared to worsening in both areas for those who did not receive the treatment (Eyigor, Karapolat, Durmaz, Ibisoglu, & Cakir, 2009). Beyond these gains, dance therapy interventions, along with other physical training activities, have been linked to improvements in overall cognitive functioning (Kattenstroth, Kalisch, Holt, Tegenthoff, & Dinse, 2013).

With all of these findings, there is a clear case for the effectiveness of all physical activities on protecting against Alzheimer’s through preservation of positive mood and improved cognitive functioning. Furthermore, the addition of music facilitates these activities, making them easier and more enjoyable for the participants, potentially increasing the likelihood that the behaviors will be continued.

Music and Sociality The second component of protective leisure activities, sociality, has also been shown to be strongly supported by music in the literature. For example, listening to preferred music has been shown to delay the appearance of agitation symptoms, inappropriate verbal, vocal, or physical behaviors that prevent communication, through ways such as increasing the amount of time spent at the table during meals (Ragneskog, Kihlgren, Karlsson, & Norberg, 1996) and reducing agitation during meals (Denny, 1997). Also, in music-based interactions (e.g., singing or dancing) between dementia patients and a healthy partner there are improvements in both communication and understanding when compared to standard conversation (Clair & Ebberts, 1997). Moreover, simply having background music playing during unstructured time

Sabourin: Music and Leisure | 37 in nursing homes for those with dementia leads to both a significant increase in positive social behaviors and a significant decrease in negative ones (Särkämö et al., 2012). As a result, engaging in music in a social environment both facilitates social interaction in the elderly and improves the quality of these interactions.

Having a social support is an important factor in maintaining a positive quality of life. Among the community-dwelling elderly, those who expressed feelings of loneliness or indicated having a non-integrated social network reported higher rates of depression compared to those who did not, and made up 85% of those with depressed mood (Golden et al., 2009). In fact, mortality by depression may only occur in those whose depression includes feelings of loneliness, while those who feel depressed but not lonely do not face the risk of depression-induced death (Stek et al., 2005). As such, the inclusion of social activities in the lives of elderly people may be vital to improving mood and preventing such a severe progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms that death becomes imminent.

Music and Cognition

Both listening to and participating in music have shown positive cognitive benefits for elderly persons.

For example, when listening to ambient music elderly subjects have shown improved performance on autobiographical memory recall as compared to those tested in silence (Irish et al., 2006). In addition, a number of studies have shown modest but significant improvements in scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination, a test used to screen for cognitive impairment, as well as increases in spontaneous communication and improvements in the fluidity of conversation after music and music-movement therapies (Brotons & Koger, 2000; Bruer, Spitznagel, & Cloninger, 2007; Hokkanen et al., 2008; Van de Winckel, Fays, DeWeerdt, & Dom, 2004). Furthermore, when musically-untrained elderly persons were given individualized piano instruction over a period of 6 months general cognitive ability improved in the realms of temporal and spatial processing, and these cognitive improvements generalized to areas outside of music, showing that gains went beyond task-specific learning (Bugos,

Perlstein, McCrae, Brophy, & Bedenbaugh, 2007).

Maintenance of cognitive functioning into old age may well bolster, or at least maintain, overall mood and quality of life. In examinations of the beginnings of Mild Cognitive Impairments, initial loss of cognitive functioning is often followed by an increase in depressive symptoms (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). Because a person is losing abilities that once came without difficulty, such as basic memory of names or locations, they will begin to have decreased self-esteem. Unfortunately, if this depressed mood continues, cognition is likely to continue declining as well (Morimoto & Alexopoulis, 2013). However, if this initial loss of functioning that leads to Alzheimer’s is delayed or if its progression is offset by cognitive activity, this loss of mood may be further prevented as well, giving a patient a greater number of years with increased faculties.

Conclusion

As our understanding of Alzheimer’s is still limited, modest findings of ways to protect against its development are all the more important, not only to help prevent its progression in elderly individuals, but also to help us understand the mechanisms through which it progresses. Because active participation in leisure activities as a preventative measure against Alzheimer’s is one of the few supported findings, it is currently one of our best treatment methods. When used in its physical, social, and cognitive capacities as a leisure activity, music and music-based therapies have the potential not only to improve general mood, but to slow the onset and reduce the impact of symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (Wilson, Scherr, Schneider, Tang, & Bennett, 2007). And, as music is able to engage all three areas, a music-based treatment program can serve to multiply the effects of each factor in regards to one another. Physical activity can improve cognitive function to increase the amount of progress a person is able to make in cognitive activities, or increased social engagement can encourage a person to take a more active role in treatments, likely increasing their participation in all areas.

With recent research in the realm of neuroplasticity-based computerized cognitive remediation

38 | Staff Articles (NBCCR) as a potential treatment for early stage Alzheimer’s, there is opening up room for even further research in the use of music to treat Alzheimer’s.

NBCCR, a form of cognitive remediation that makes use of the brain’s plastic nature, has been shown to induce lasting changes in the brains of elderly subjects, reversing the declines in information encoding and processing that are found in old age, as well as improving memory, processing speed, and executive functioning (Morimoto, Wexler, & Alexopoulis, 2012). Music interventions have a strong foundation in the literature as producing substantial neuroplastic changes in the brain (Hyde et al., 2009), and as such music training has the potential to induce the same changes as a computer-based cognitive training program through a more enjoyable and intrinsically enjoyable and rewarding medium. Further research in the use of music as a means of cognitive remediation is required.

References

Alzheimer’s Association (2013). 2013 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/downloads/facts_figures_2013.pdf Brotons, M., & Koger, S. M. (2000). The impact of music therapy on language functioning in dementia. Journal of Music Therapy, 37(3), 183-195.

Bruer, R. A., Spitznagel, E., & Cloninger, C. R. (2007). The temporal limits of cognitive change from music therapy in elderly persons with dementia or dementia-like cognitive impairment: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Music Therapy, 44(4), 308-328.

Bugos, J. A., Perlstein, W. M., McCrae, C. S., Brophy, T. S., & Bedenbaugh, P. H. (2007).

Individualized piano instruction enhances executive functioning and working memory in older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 11(4), 464-47.

Clair, A. A., & Ebberts, A. G. (1997). The effects of music therapy on interactions between family caregivers and their care receivers with late stage dementia. Journal of Music Therapy, 34(3), 148-164.

Cox, J., & Thyer, B. (2008). Exercise as treatment for depression in the elderly: A meta-analysis. (Abstract) American Psychological Association 116th Annual Convention. Boston, Massachusetts.

Denny, A. (1997). Quiet music: An intervention for meal-time agitation.

Gerontological Nursing, 23, 16-23.

Eyigor, S., Karapolat, H., Durmaz, B., Ibisoglu, U., & Cakir, S. (2009). A randomized controlled trial of Turkish folklore dance on the physical performance, balance, depression and quality of life in older women. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 48(1), 84-88.

Golden, J., Conroy, R. M., Bruce, I., Denihan, A., Greene, E., Kirby, M., & Lawlor, B. A. (2009). Loneliness, social support networks, mood and wellbeing in community-dwelling elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(7), 694-700.

Hokkanen, L., Rantala, L., Remes, A. M., Härkönen, B., Viramo, P., & Winblad, I. (2008). Dance and movement therapeutic methods in management of dementia: A randomized, controlled study.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56(4), 771-772.

Hyde, K. L., Lerch, J., Norton, A., Forgeard, M., Winner, E., Evans, A. C., & Schlaug, G. (2009). The effects of musical training on structural brain development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1169(1), 182-186.

Irish, M., Cunningham, C. J., Walsh, J. B., Coakley, D., Lawlor, B. A., Robertson, I. H., & Coen, R. F. (2006). Investigating the enhancing effect of music on autobiographical memory in mild Alzheimer’s

disease. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 22(1), 108-120.

Karp, A., Paillard-Borg, S., Wang, H. X., Silverstein, M., Winblad, B., & Fratiglioni, L. (2006). Mental, physical and social components in leisure activities equally contribute to decrease dementia risk.

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 21(2), 65-73.

Kattenstroth, J. C., Kalisch, T., Holt, S., Tegenthoff, M., & Dinse, H. R. (2013). Six months of dance intervention enhances postural, sensorimotor, and cognitive performance in elderly without affecting cardio-respiratory functions. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 5.

Lee, Y. Y., Chan, M. F., & Mok, E. (2010). Effectiveness of music intervention on the quality of life of older people. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(12), 2677-2687.

León-Salas, B., Olazarán, J., Cruz-Orduña, I., Agüera-Ortiz, L., Dobato, J. L., Valentí-Soler, M., ... & Martínez-Martín, P. (2013). Quality of life (QoL) in community-dwelling and institutionalized Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 57(3), 257-262.

Lyketsos, C. G., Lopez, O., Jones, B., Fitzpatrick, A. L., Breitner, J., & DeKosky, S. (2002). Prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia and mild cognitive impairment: results from the cardiovascular health study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(12), 1475-1483.

McCaffrey, R., & Freeman, E. (2003). Effect of music on chronic osteoarthritis pain in older people. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44(5), 517-524.

Morimoto, S. S., & Alexopoulos, G. S. (2013). Cognitive deficits in geriatric depression: Clinical correlates and implications for current and future treatment. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 36(4), 517-531.

Morimoto, S. S., Wexler, B. E., & Alexopoulis, G. S. (2012). Neuroplasticity-based computerized cognitive remediation for geriatric depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 1239-1247.

Murrock, C. J., & Higgins, P. A. (2009). The theory of music, mood and movement to improve health outcomes. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(10), 2249-2257.

Ragneskog, H., Kihlgren, M., Karlsson, I., & Norberg, A. (1996). Dinner music for demented patients analysis of video-recorded observations. Clinical Nursing Research, 5(3), 262-277.

Ridder, H. M. O., Stige, B., Qvale, L. G., & Gold, C. (2013). Individual music therapy for agitation in dementia: an exploratory randomized controlled trial. Aging & Mental Health, 17(6), 667-678.

Sarid, O., Melzer, I., Kurz, I., Shahar, D. R., & Ruch, W. (2010). The effect of helping behavior and physical activity on mood states and depressive symptoms of elderly people. Clinical Gerontologist, 33(4), 270-282.

Särkämö, T., Laitinen, S., Tervaniemi, M., Numminen, A., Kurki, M., & RantaneWn, P. (2012). Music, emotion, and dementia: Insight from neuroscientific and clinical research. Music and Medicine, 4(3), 153-162.

Sattler, C., Toro, P., Schönknecht, P., & Schröder, J. (2012). Cognitive activity, education and socioeconomic status as preventive factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Psychiatry Research, 196(1), 90-95.

Seinfeld, S., Figueroa, H., Ortiz-Gil, J., & Sanchez-Vives, M. V. (2013). Effects of music learning and piano practice on cognitive function, mood and quality of life in older adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 4.

Stek, M. L., Vinkers, D. J., Gussekloo, J., Beekman, A. T., van der Mast, R. C., & Westendorp, R. G. (2005). Is depression in old age fatal only when people feel lonely? American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(1), 178-180.

Tomaino, C. M. (2013). Meeting the complex needs of individuals with dementia through music therapy. Music and Medicine, 5(4), 234-241.

Van de Winckel, A., Feys, H., De Weerdt, W., & Dom, R. (2004). Cognitive and behavioural effects of music-based exercises in patients with dementia. Clinical Rehabilitation, 18(3), 253-260.

Wilson, R. S., Scherr, P. A., Schneider, J. A., Tang, Y., & Bennett, D. A. (2007). Relation of cognitive activity to risk of developing Alzheimer disease. Neurology, 69(20), 1911-1920.

Yaffe, K., Blackwell, T., Gore, R., Sands, L., Reus, V., & Browner, W. S. (1999). Depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in nondemented elderly women: a prospective study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56(5), 425-430.

Tsang: Language Ability and Cultural Identification | 39

Korean American Language Ability: Cultural Identification and Willingness to Sacrifice

Yimkwan Tsang

Like many immigrant groups, Korean-American immigrants face challenges in negotiating differences between Korean and American cultural values when adapting to American society (Rhee, 1995). Korean culture emphasizes familial and communal relatedness and collectivistic orientation regarding the goals and interests of the larger group (Kim & Choi, 1994).

Because family is the most important in-group, children are taught to prioritize and obey their parents (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). Furthermore, parents and elders at the top of the social hierarchy are considered to have the wisdom and foresight to make decisions for children (Kim & Choi, 1994). Consequently, children are taught to downplay or sacrifice their personal interests in order to fulfill the expected roles that their parents have laid out for them (Suzuki & Greenfield, 2002). Therefore, despite a certain level of suffering and discomfort (Akhtar & Varma, 2012), self-sacrificing behaviors are expected of everyone in the family in order to achieve material success (Kim & Choi, 1994).

Mainstream American culture, on the contrary, tends to value an individualistic orientation, personal autonomy and individual rights (Kim & Choi, 1994; Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). Individuals are not obligated to adhere to strict hierarchical structures or relationships, and are encouraged to form groups based on common interests, experiences, and goals (Suzuki & Greenfield, 2002). These seemingly opposite cultural expectations have caused immigrants to struggle to come to terms with their identification with both heritage and host cultures (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000). Despite studies that have shown that adolescents can integrate certain aspects of each culture when forming their own identities, it is perhaps inevitable that receiving an American education has a pervasive and dominant acculturative impact on

adolescents’ cultural identity development (Madrid, 1995; Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000). Nonetheless, acculturative processes and cultural identifications are highly individualized and, as a result, there is great variability in the rate of Korean American high school students’ sense of self and belongingness to a given cultural group (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000) and in how acculturation may influence their willingness to sacrifice for the family.

In addition to differential identification with Korean and American cultures, fluency in the Korean language may have an effect on Korean American youths’ maintenance of Korean values. Specifically, familiarity with the Korean language can potentially facilitate adolescent’s understanding of social hierarchy within Korean communities because of the honorifics system inherent to the Korean language (Rhee, 1995).

It is possible that the constant linguistic reminders to respect elders and people with a higher social status through the daily use of the Korean language at home might affect the youths’ perspective on communal relatedness and obligations.

The current study examined whether differences in English and Korean language ability are related to Korean American high school students’ willingness to sacrifice for their family. More specifically, the current study seeks to test the hypothesis that an adolescent’s Korean language ability moderates the relation between Korean American high school students’ cultural identification and willingness to sacrifice.

Methods Procedures The survey data was collected in 2004 from seven churches (2 Protestant, 4 Catholic, and 1 non-denominational), one community-based social service agency, and one ESL cohort at a high school in the

40 | Staff Articles Chicago suburbs. Korean American participants who were in high school were invited to participate in a survey about Korean American families. $10 gift cards were offered in exchange for their participation.

Participants Due to a few missing responses from participants, a final sample size of 197 Korean Americans (51% male) was used in this study. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of the sample. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 19 years old with an average age of 15.7 (SD= 1.36). 53.8% (n=106) of the participants identified themselves as fluent in the Korean language, while 80.2% (n=158) of them identified as fluent in the English language.

Measures Cultural identification. Cultural identification was measured using the 20-item Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000).

Ten items in the VIA are designed to assess identification with the heritage culture (e.g., “I believe in Korean values”) and 10 items are questions regarding the mainstream culture (e.g., “I believe in mainstream American values”). The scale uses a 9-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 9 (“strongly agree”). The scores for each subscale were measured by calculating the mean of its respective items. Participants’ relative cultural identification scores were calculated as the difference between their Korean identification score and their American identification score, such that a higher positive number meant that the individual identified more strongly with the heritage culture, and vice versa. The Cronbach’s alpha levels for the heritage culture scale and the mainstream culture scale were both .88 in this study.

Language ability. Participants were asked to report their level of Korean language ability and their level of English language ability on 5-point Likert scales, with 1 being “not at all fluent” and 5 being “fluent.”

An example item is, “How do you evaluate your own Korean language ability?” A score of 0 indicated that they perceived their English and Korean fluency to be equal. Scores greater than 0 indicated greater Korean fluency and scores less than 0 indicated greater English fluency. Language ability was measured as the

difference between the two items that the participants reported in the survey.

Willingness to sacrifice. Willingness to sacrifice was measured by three items selected from the Respect for Family subscale of the Family Obligation Scale (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). The three selected items were chosen because of their relevance to the values of sacrificing for the sake of family. Participants were asked to indicate how much importance they placed on these statements on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“not at all important”) to 5 (“very important”). An example item was, “In general, how important is it to you that you make sacrifices for the family.” The average score of these three items was used to indicate levels of willingness to sacrifices. The Cronbach’s alpha level of the three item-scores was .51 in this study.

Results

The Korean American youth in this study were largely dominant in the English language. An examination of their self-reported language fluency ratings showed that 59.4% reported that they were better in English; 18.3% reported that their language abilities were equal in Korean and English; and 21.3% reported that they were better in Korean. Of note, the sample showed a relatively higher mean score on their heritage (i.e., Korean) culture identification of 7.16 (SD= 1.33), compared to the mean score on their mainstream (i.e., American) culture identification of 6.63 (SD=1.25).

Zero order bivariate correlation analyses were completed (see Table 2) to test if the variables were correlated with each other. Results indicated that the difference in Korean versus American cultural identification scores was significant and positively correlated with willingness to sacrifice (r=.15, p=.04), but that the difference of language ability was not significantly correlated with willingness to sacrifice (r=-.08, n.s.).

A hierarchical multiple regression model was then used to determine whether language ability moderated the association between difference in cultural identification and level of willingness to sacrifice. The result of the analysis is presented in Table 3. Following the guidelines outlined by Baron and Kenny

Tsang: Language Ability and Cultural Identification | 41

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the sample

Table 2 Zero order birvariate correlation between the variables

Table 3 Hierarchical regression analysis of cultural identification and language ability on willingness to sacrifice

(1986), an interaction term (i.e., difference of cultural identification x difference of language ability) was added to the model in an effort to test for the moderation effect. Both predictor and moderator variables were centered before calculating the interaction term to reduce multicollinearity and ease interpretation of findings. An incremental F- test was used to determine whether the interaction accounted for a statistically significant amount of variance in the level of willingness to sacrifice.

Difference of cultural identification was entered into Step 1 and only accounted for 2.1% of the variance in the level of willingness to sacrifice (R2 =.021, F (1,195)= 4.23, β= .146, b= .060, p =.041) suggesting a significant relation between the difference of cultural identification and the level of willingness to sacrifice. The difference of language ability was then entered into Step 2 of the model. The difference of language ability uniquely and significantly explained an additional 4.1% of the variance in the level of willingness to sacrifice after controlling for the difference in cultural identification (R2 change =.041, F (1,194)= 8.469, β= -.250, b= -.101, p =.004). Finally, the inter-

action term was entered into Step 3 of the model to test for moderation. Results showed that the difference of language ability did not significantly moderate the relation between the difference of cultural identification and willingness to sacrifice in this study (R2 change =.010, F (1,193)= 2.055, β= -.100, b= .020, p =.153).

Discussion

Results showed that relative cultural identification in favor of Korean culture was positively correlated with willingness to sacrifice. Korean American high school students who identified more strongly with their heritage culture were also more willing to sacrifice for their families. This finding is consistent with previous research findings that willingness to sacrifice is one of the important traits in Korean culture (Kim & Choi, 1994). Second, relative Korean language ability was not correlated with level of willingness to sacrifice in this study. This lack of association suggests that language proficiency may not be as important to Korean American youths’ willingness to sacrifice for the family as their identification with Korean cultural

42 | Staff Articles values. Finally, the interaction term did not improve the model, suggesting that the difference in language ability did not impact the relation between the difference in cultural identification and the level of willingness to sacrifice.

Because over 90% the participants in the study perceived themselves as having some level of Korean language ability, the current study was unable to detect whether Korean language ability was associated with the relation between difference in cultural identification and level of willingness to sacrifice. Therefore, future studies should examine populations that do not have embedded honorification in their languages, in order to detect the influence of language in this relation. Nevertheless, this study revealed that Korean American high school students of immigrant parents differ on their level of Korean and American identification, which in turn was related to their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the family. This finding has implication for the counseling of Korean American adolescents. It is important for counselors and service providers who work with this population to know that despite seemingly high identification with American culture, many Korean American adolescents retain a high sense of filial obligations to their parents and family. Careful assessment of both American and Korean cultural identifications as well as their bilingual language fluencies is a first step toward providing culturally sensitive services.

Reference

Akhtar, S., & Varma, A. (2012). Sacrifice: Psychodynamic, cultural and clinical aspects. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 72, 95-117.

Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.

Kim, U., & Choi, S. H. (1994). Individualism, collectivism, and child development: A Korean perspective. In P. M. Greenfield & R. R. Cocking (eds.) Cross-cultural roots of minority child development (pp. 227-258). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Madrid, A. (1995). Diversity and its discontents. In Goldberger N. R. & Veroff, J. B. (ed.), The Culture and Psychology Reader (pp. 617626). New York: New York University Press.

Rhee, H. C. (1995). The Korean- American experience: A detailed analysis of how well Korean-Americans adjust to life in the United States.

New York: Vantage Press.

Ryder, A. G., Alden, L. E., & Paulhus, D. L. (2000). Is acculturation unidimensional or bidimensional? A head-to-head comparison in the prediction of personality, self-identity, and adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(1), 49-65.

Suzuki, L. K., & Greenfield, P. M. (2002). The construction of everyday sacrifice in Asian Americans and European Americans: The roles of ethnicity and acculturation. Cross-cultural research, 36(3), 200-228.

Tsang: Language Ability and Cultural Identification | 43

SUBMISSIONS

46 | Submissions

Selective Mutism:

Motivation within Varying Treatment Approaches Elisa Angevin

Selective mutism (SM) is one of the rarest childhood anxiety disorders, with a prevalence rate of less than 1% of children, as demonstrated by epidemiological studies in the U.S.A., Canada, and Great Britain (Bergman, Piacentini, & McCracken, 2002; Busse & Downey, 2011; Young, Bunnell & Beidel, 2012). Although not well known by those outside of the field of psychology, SM is a debilitating disorder that impairs the child’s educational achievement and socialization (Bergman, Gonzalez, Piacentini, & Keller, 2013). Though research on SM is limited due to its low prevalence rate, the consensus among researchers and psychologists alike is that SM is a disorder in which children exhibit a consistent inability to speak in specific social situations, despite speaking in other situations, that is neither a communication disorder nor due to a lack of knowledge with the language (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Busse & Downey, 2011; Hung et al., 2012; Shriver et al., 2011; Young et al., 2012). Often, a child with SM exhibits excessive shyness, fear of social embarrassment, and social isolation (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

Furthermore, the child’s level of spontaneous speech (i.e., any unprompted verbalization) in a particular setting varies depending on the presence of factors that increase or decrease the child’s anxiety, such as people outside of the family or unfamiliar environments (Woodcock, Milic, & Johnson, 2007).

The variability of what factors affect anxiety from child to child makes the disorder complex to treat (Woodcock, Milic, & Johnson, 2007). Consequently, common anxiety interventions that treat childhood anxiety disorders cannot adequately address certain unique characteristics of SM (Bergman et al., 2013).

For example, SM typically has an early onset and thus, parental involvement and school involvement in therapy is usually deemed necessary compared to other

disorders that focus mainly on the child (Bergman et al., 2013). Within treatment, a multimodal approach is often used because combinations of techniques are needed to address multiple aspects of the child’s mutism (Busse & Downey, 2011; Hung et al., 2012; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013). Although treatment of SM most commonly uses an integration of treatments, for the purpose of this study and to clearly define the type of motivation that is elicited in differing approaches, each intervention is defined separately.

Research has shown that a child’s motivation to adapt in challenging situations is an important factor in the child actually improving his or her adaptive functioning (i.e., ability to handle common demands in life, such as functioning in a social environment (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Elliot & Dweck, 1988; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Children with SM benefit from targeting both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within treatment (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Elliot & Dweck, 1988; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Each treatment of SM (i.e., behavioral therapies, DIR/Floortime) targets both types of motivations (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Elliot & Dweck, 1988). However, the different treatment approaches tend to focus on one kind of motivation (i.e., extrinsic or intrinsic) during the onset of treatment (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Elliot & Dweck, 1988). More information is needed for clinicians and caregivers to understand the most effective way to begin motivating the child in treatment and to be able to generalize verbal communication skills to other contexts. However, research has not explored the link between SM interventions and the specific kind of motivation they are initially targeting.

Angevin: Selective Mutism: Motivation within Treatment | 47

Motivation

Behavioral Approaches

Within the literature, motivation has been dichotomized into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vallerand, 1997). Intrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to do something for the sake of experiencing the pleasure or challenge inherent in the activity, rather than for a reward or due to pressure from an outside source (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vallerand, 1997). For example, some children are motivated to do well in school because they enjoy the satisfaction of learning something new, rather than because they will receive a good grade or praise from teachers and parents. Extrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to do something for the sake of receiving a reward, avoiding guilt, or gaining approval (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997), rather than the activity itself (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013). When failure occurs, extrinsic motivation can lead to intense feelings of vulnerability (Elliot & Dweck, 1988). For example, if a child is promised a reward for successfully completing an assignment, and the child fails, he or she not only failed the assignment, but also failed at receiving the reward. Despite the overwhelming body of research that supports this notion, Ryan & Deci (2000) propose that the effect of extrinsic motivation differs depending on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level of freedom during the act. For example, when a child with SM speaks in order to get a puppy, as many parents do use puppies as a reward, the effect of extrinsic motivation is very different than when a child with SM speaks in order to receive praise from his or her parents. Both examples are extrinsically based, but some clinicians believe the first example prompts internal feelings of pressure because the reward is something tangible that could be taken away, while the second relates to a component inherent in the relationship between a caregiver and their child, leading to a more natural and unpressured freedom for the child to ultimately verbalize (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997). The impact of motivation on a child with SM demonstrates that motivation can greatly influence a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communication outcomes during treatment of SM (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997).

The most common and empirically-based treatments of SM are behavioral approaches, which target changing the environment through particular techniques and specific, observable, and measurable behaviors, such as verbalizing or speaking loudly (Bergman et al., 2013; Christon, et al., 2012; Hawkins, 1986; Hess, 2013; Hung et al., 2012; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013; Shriver et al., 2011). Behavioral approaches typically utilize tangible rewards, or contingency management, such as stickers and tokens, or praise (Busse & Downey, 2011). The presence of a tangible reward or praise has often been characterized as positive reinforcement, or extrinsic motivation, in the literature (Christon et al., 2012; Dysvick & Kuvaas, 2013; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013; Vallerand, 1997), but this has not been explicitly stated in reference to SM. Positive reinforcement within SM treatment consists of labeled praise, tangible rewards (e.g., stickers, prizes) or possibly the ability to spend time doing an activity they enjoy (Bergman et al., 2013; Christon, et al., 2012; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013). Conceptually, this acknowledges that when an SM child speaks and is provided a sticker for doing so, he or she will more likely verbalize again in the future (Ferster & Skinner, 1957). Initially, behavioral approaches target desired measurable behaviors through extrinsic motivation concepts such as positive reinforcement. In contrast, the DIR/Floortime model, a developmental program, targets underlying core deficits as the focus of intervention.

DIR/Floortime Model

Developmental, Individual, and Relationship/ Floortime (DIR/Floortime) model advocates for a play intervention focused on the relationship between the caregiver and the child, tailored toward the specific developmental profile of the child (i.e, presenting symptoms, such as silence or lack of interpersonal interaction), the individual underlying neurological processing differences (i.e., biologically based differences in sensory activities prepare the child to respond to interactions differently), and the relationship and affect of the child in his or her interaction

48 | Submissions

Angevin: Selective Mutism: Motivation within Treatment | 48

with the caregiver (Hess, 2013; Fernald, 2011). With these three components in mind, the caregiver or the clinician (play partner) follows the child’s lead, while simultaneously targeting intentional communication and interaction (Hess, 2013). By relying on play to facilitate an interaction, the caregiver or clinician relies on the child’s intrinsic motivation to play, and further expanding to a desire to communicate with another person (Hess, 2013; Fernald, 2011).

Research has demonstrated that when intrinsically motivated, an individual is able to sustain an activity or behavior longer than when extrinsically motivated (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997).

Therefore, the goal of DIR/Floortime is for the child to become motivated by the inherent satisfaction of play, an intrinsic motivator (Dysvik & Kubaas, 2013; Lucket, Bundy & Roberts, 2007). DIR/Floortime clinicians initially focus on the therapeutic relationship through play, believing that the intrinsic motivation to communicate with others will become inherent through this primary relationship (Hess, 2013).

Unlike behavioral approaches, DIR/Floortime does not openly recognize the importance of targeting extrinsic motivation in treatment (Hess, 2013). The approach focuses on intrinsic motivation, believing that using intrinsic motivation to communicate will generalize to domains outside of the targeted playtime (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997), such as academic and social domains, which are often negatively impacted by SM (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). For example, if a child is able to play and communicate with a therapist, the child can recognize his or her self-efficacy and that the act of verbalizing can be enjoyable, and may become capable of communicating with others in the future (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013).

Goals of the present study

Despite the important nature of motivation in treating SM, research is limited on the relation between motivation and SM. Some clinicians believe children with SM do not have a desire to speak in certain situations, while other clinicians believe that the desire is present, but their anxiety is overpowering the ability to communicate (Hess, 2013; White, 1959).

Finding the best way to initially target motivation in children with SM, through extrinsic or intrinsic means, is imperative. The author of this paper observed in the field that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are part of the treatment process, but one may be more important to target initially in treatment than the other. However, research has yet to analyze how a child is initially motivated within the varying treatment approaches of SM. The goals of the present study are to explore how a child with SM is initially motivated to speak within varying treatment approaches, using a qualitative method.

Method Participants Eight clinicians who work with children with SM participated in the current study, utilizing behavioral or DIR/Floortime approaches. Six clinicians used behavioral approaches to treat SM, and two clinicians utilized the DIR/Floortime model. All of the clinicians were recommended by Dr. Kurtz, the director of the Selective Mutism Program at Child Mind Institute, and supervisor to the researcher. Dr. Kurtz subscribes to a behavioral approach and consequently, his network of professionals consists of mainly behavioral clinicians. Hence, a limited amount of clinicians who utilize DIR/Floortime could be contacted. Five of the behavioral clinicians were licensed clinical psychologists, while one was a speech language pathologist who specialized in treating SM. One DIR/Floortime clinician was a licensed clinical psychologist, while the other was a speech and language pathologist, currently earning her PhD with a specialization in anxiety disorders. All of the clinicians have been treating SM patients for at least ten years.

Procedure The clinicians were interviewed either in person or through phone conversations. Interviews lasted an average length of 30 minutes, during which clinicians were asked about their experiences with their individual treatment approaches. Questions included: “Do you believe that the maintenance of the disorder has anything to do with a lack of intrinsic motivation/extrinsic motivation?”, “How do you think your treat-

Angevin: Selective Mutism: Motivation within Treatment | 49 ment approach relies or does not rely on intrinsic/ extrinsic motivation?”, and “Could you give me 3 most recent examples of how intrinsic/extrinsic motivation played a part in a patient’s course of treatment?” The researcher transcribed their responses during the interview, and coded their responses afterward.

Coding and Analysis Responses to the questions were analyzed for similarities and differences across the two treatment approaches, with a particular emphasis on themes surrounding motivation. After the interviews were conducted, the researcher highlighted any response that referenced motivation, while the responses that did not mention motivation were used as a reference for verifying the clinicians’ use of their prescribed treatment approach. The quantity of responses that mentioned motivation was not coded due to the semi-structured interview format, in which there was a lack of opportunity for the clinicians to voluntarily increase their discussion of motivation. Instead, the themes that arose within the discussion of motivation were separated to determine the different aspects of motivation that were most important to each respective treatment. The purpose of having a semi-structured interview format was to document the concrete differences from each treatment in their approach to motivating a child to speak. The purpose of this study was not to compare the two forms of therapy in their effectiveness, but rather to illuminate the differences in their use and conceptualization of motivation during the initial stages of treatment.

Results and General Discussion Motivation within the Behavioral Approach As expected, one hundred percent of the clinicians who use a behavioral approach relied heavily on extrinsic motivation. Dr. Kurtz believes that the treatments do more than rely on extrinsic motivation, but actually conceptualize that SM is partly caused by “insufficient extrinsic motivation.” Seeing a child’s failure to speak as a sign of a lack of extrinsic motivation demonstrates why one of the behavioral clinicians explains that having an extrinsic motivator is essential because “you cannot intrinsically motivate anyone.”

For example, two-thirds of the behavioral clinicians

believed that intrinsic motivation to speak was important, but could only be reached by first cultivating extrinsic motivation. Despite the controversial reputation of extrinsic motivation in comparison to intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000), the behavioral clinician maintains that, ultimately, “kids need the external motivator to develop that intrinsic desire to communicate.” Recent literature has shown that the effect of extrinsic motivation differs depending on one’s level of freedom (i.e., ability to end act at any point) during a task (Ryan & Deci, 2000). This is why fifty percent of the behavioral clinicians seem to begin their treatment of SM by evaluating their patient’s initial level of intrinsic motivation. From there, a behavioral treatment plan can be individually tailored to the patient in order to increase the current level of motivation to an adaptive one. One of the behavioral psychologists explains, “We need to motivate them using what they value, what their beliefs and goals are. By reflecting the discrepancy in their behaviors and their goals to speak, you can give them insight to either change their values, to match their behaviors, or vice versa. This changes their intrinsic motivation.”

However, “a lot really want to communicate, but they can’t…these kids aren’t oppositional defiant.

These kids are stuck,” says a behavioral clinician.

Therefore, “motivation is a big area of concern when working with kids, especially kids who require initial extrinsic motivation in order to have a pathway to intrinsic motivation. Motivation can change a mutism pattern,” says a behavioral clinical psychologist. Past research suggests that the feeling of effectiveness that is produced from a successful interaction is the reward itself (White, 1959). For those with SM, the confidence after an interaction is never reached because verbal interactions rarely take place (Hung et al., 2012; Shriver et al., 2011). The behavioral clinicians believe that in order to reach that “confident feeling,” one needs an extrinsic motivator.

Similar to the literature’s claim that behavioral approaches aim to diminish the positive reinforcement of silence (Bergman et al., 2013; Christon, et al., 2012; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013; Oon, 2010), Dr. Kurtz explains, “There’s an intrinsic motivation

50 | Submissions working in the opposite direction that you want it. In behavioral terms, the onset of SM requires negative reinforcement, which is an extrinsic motivation paradigm.” Most of the behavioral clinicians in this sample would most likely agree with Dr. Kurtz when he says, “the maintenance of the disorder has nothing to do with a lack of intrinsic motivation, but absolutely has something to do with a lack of extrinsic motivation.”

Motivation with DIR/Floortime Model In contrast to those who utilize the behavioral approach, both clinicians who subscribe to the DIR/ Floortime model believe that motivation is not the true issue in a child with SM. A developmental psychologist, with a focus in DIR/Floortime, explains, “If a kid says it is because he does not get any rewards, when you press on it, I find that they don’t speak because talking makes them feel bad. Extrinsic motivation is a secondary cover. Kids are frustrated that they can’t speak.”

Therefore, the key to their treatment approach, according to a DIR/Floortime clinician, is building on that relationship foundation, that trust and rapport with their communication partner, to foster intrinsic motivation through a relationship. The DIR/ Floortime clinicians believe that SM patients are not motivated by a desire to please necessarily or to gain love and affection, which is considered an external reinforcement (Dysvik & Kuvaas, 2013; Vallerand, 1997). The DIR/Floortime clinician “really feels that it is the social emotional bond that they build. Talking is coming from… the desire to be in a relationship with somebody else. It’s not that kids who aren’t talking don’t have the desire. They still do, but the neurobiological component, that fight-flight system, interferes.” The developmental psychologist expands by describing a particular child who “would do anything in his power to get himself to talk. SM is a neurophysiological process. We need to rewire the brain so they can more correctly interpret the world around them.

We approach this through a relationship.” This focus on a relationship is highlighted strongly within the DIR/Floortime model, which advocates for a strong parent-child interaction (Fernald, 2011; Hess, 2013).

If the relationship is the focus of therapy for

DIR/Floortime model, does this mean that extrinsic motivation is not involved at all in treatment? When asked about extrinsic motivation, both DIR/Floortime clinicians agree that extrinsic motivation is a component in the cause and maintenance of SM, but it could severely inhibit progress in treatment. One DIR/ Floortime clinician says that “it’s never been about that desire to speak, but it’s been at times, the caregiver’s behavior or response to the child’s not talking that can inhibit. The tangible reinforcers, such as bribery or a reward system, I don’t see that there’s a whole lot of value in that.” Hence, the DIR/Floortime model does not target either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, but rather, makes the act of speaking more comfortable for the child. As a child becomes more comfortable, the brain structure begins to change accordingly and the neural pathways that have been enabling an avoidance to verbalization for years, now begin to facilitate speaking (Cohan et al., 2006).

Conclusion Behavioral and DIR/Floortime treatment approaches begin with very different goals. The behavioral approach targets specific aspects of verbalization through concrete and structured steps (Bergman et al., 2013; Christon, et al., 2012; Hawkins, 1986; Hess, 2013; Hung et al., 2012; Shriver et al., 2011; Mitchell & Kratochwill, 2013; Shriver et al., 2011), while the DIR/Floortime model targets the desire to interact and communicate with others through an approach with very little structure (Hess, 2013; Fernald, 2011).

Because the techniques to reach the goal to communicate are so different, both approaches initially target different types of motivation, but no study to date has attempted to define the accompanying motivations that are targeted within the beginning of each SM intervention approach. This study began to illuminate a more specific outline to the initial treatment goals of motivation.

This qualitative study demonstrated that the behavioral clinicians intentionally target both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, while the DIR/Floortime clinicians do not target either form of motivation.

Both treatment approaches displayed the themes that

Angevin: Selective Mutism: Motivation within Treatment | 51 motivation is a vital factor in a child’s ability to speak, and that when exposed to their capabilities, children desire to communicate. The difference between the two approaches is demonstrated in the way clinicians view their patients’ motivations at the onset of treatment. In behavioral approaches, the clinicians believe the motivation to verbalize is absent and needs to be created through tangible steps, while DIR/Floortime clinicians believe that the patient’s motivation to verbalize is existent, but requires adequate reinforcement in order to be exposed.

This study had many limitations. One such limitation includes the limited quantity of clinicians to interview. Another limitation, which was pointed out to the writer by her supervisor, Dr. Kurtz, is that despite the initial verbal definition of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to the clinicians, the clinicians all varied on how they operationalized the term. In forming the questions and conducting the interview, the researcher did not notice this discrepancy and consequently, did not use a common definition during the interviews. For future research, the researcher would advise asking the clinicians their definitions of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. To some, extrinsic motivation encompassed any form of response to talking (i.e., nonverbal or verbal), while for others, extrinsic motivation had to be tangible. Because of this inconsistency, the different treatment approaches may in fact be targeting similar aspects of a child’s motivation.

This qualitative study, although limited in scope, began a dialogue on the topic of motivation within SM treatments. Future research should investigate how targeting motivation differs in diverse treatment approaches, so that researchers can create measurable constructs for classifying intrinsic or extrinsic motivation in SM treatment. Then, future qualitative and quantitative studies can identify how to best target a patient’s motivation to communicate, beginning by concretely defining the forms of motivation utilized in SM treatment. This research can inform treatment of children with SM so that they can have the best outcomes possible.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Bergman, R. L, Piacentini, J., & McCracken, J. T. (2002). Prevalence and description of selective mutism in a school-based sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(8), 938-946.

Bergman, R. L., Gonzalez, A., Piacentini, J., & Keller, M. (2013). Integrated behavior therapy for selective mutism: A randomized controlled pilot study. Behavior Research and Therapy, 51, 680-689.

Busse, R. T., & Downey, J. (2011). Selective mutism: A three-tiered approach to prevention and intervention. Contemporary School Psychology, 15, 53-63.

Christon, L. M., Robinson, E. M., Arnold, C. C., Lund, H. G., Vrana, S. R., & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (2012). Modular cognitive-behavioral treatment of an adolescent female with selective mutism and social phobia: A case study. Clinical Case Studies, 11(6), 474-494.

Cohan, S. L., Price, J. M., Stein, M. B. (2006). Suffering in silence: Why a developmental psychopathology perspective on selective mutism is needed. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 27(4), 341-355.

Dysvik, A., & Kuvaas, B. (2013). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as predictors of work effort: The moderating role of achievement goals. British Journal of Social Psychology, 52, 412-430.

Elliot, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(1), 5-12.

Fernald, J. (2011). DIR/Floortime in assessing and treating selective mutism. PediaStaff Newsletter. Retrieved from http://www. pediastaff.com/resources-dir--floortime-in-assessing-and-treating-selective-mutism--featured-april-25th-2011 Ferster, C. B. & Skinner, B. F. (1957) Schedules of Reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts.

Hawkins, R. P. (1986). Selection of target behaviors. In R. P. Nelson & S. C. Hayes (Eds.), Conceptual foundations of behavioral assessment (pp. 331-385). New York: Guilford.

Hess, E. B. DIR/Floortime: Evidence based practice towards the treatment of autism and sensory processing disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 6(3), 1-11.

Hung, S., Spencer, M. S., & Dronamraju, R. (2012). Selective mutism: Practice and intervention strategies for children. Children & Schools, 34(4), 222-230.

Lucket, T., Bundy, A., & Roberts, J. (2007). Do behavioral approaches teach children to play or are they pretending? Autism, 11, 365388.

Mitchell, A. D., & Kratochwill, T. R. (2013). Treatment of selective mustim: Applications in the clinic and school through conjoint consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 23, 36-62.

Oon, P. P. (2010). Playing with Gladys: A case study integrating drama therapy with behavioural interventions for the treatment of selective mutism. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15(2), 215-230.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67.

Shriver, M. D., Segool, N., & Gortmaker, V. (2011). Behavior observations for linking assessment to treatment for selective mutism. Education and Treatment of Children, 34(3), 389-411.

Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 271-360.

Woodcock, E. A., Milic. M. I., & Johnson, S.G. (2007). Treatment programs for children with selective mutism. In D. Einstein (Ed.), Innovations and advances in cognitive behavior therapy (pp.

69-81). Bowen Hills, Queensland: Australia Academic Press.

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Young, B. J., Bunnell, B. E., & Beidel, D. C. (2012). Evaluation of children with selective mutism and social phobia: A comparison of psychological and psychophysiological arousal. Behavior Modification, 36(4), 525-544.

52 | Submissions

American Muslim Youth Identity Rania Mustafa

Research across disciplines has evidenced that young adulthood is a crucial time for identity development (Tsang, Hui & Law, 2012), which is related to both individual and collective wellbeing through, for example, connection to peers and family (Watts, Griffith, & Adbul- Adil, 1999). Minority status may be a critical component of identity development, particularly because of its associations with experiences of discrimination and cultural isolation (Ahmed, 2009; Ahmed & Akhter, 2006). One minority group for whom experiences of discrimination have been associated with negative general outcomes is American Muslim Youth (AMY; Ahmed, 2009). American Muslims constitute between 3 and 7 million individuals in the United States (Haddad, 2004; Pew Research Center, 2007). It is estimated that American Muslims will become the largest religious minority subgroup in the U.S. within the next decade (Kobeisy, 2004). In the wake of 9/11, AMY identity has become particularly complicated to navigate and may be dependent upon the ways in which they integrate their dual identities as both American and Muslim (Sirin & Fine, 2010).

Emerging but limited research has begun to examine AMY identity development.

Identity formation The post 9/11 era has created a new set of discrimination-related challenges for AMY: navigating and integrating a sense of “hyphenated self” (Sirin & Fine, 2010). Hyphenated selves is defined as the struggle to join identities separated due to history, the present socio- political climate, geography, biography, longing, and loss (Sirin & Fine, 2010). The Muslim side of identity may involve participation in religious activities and settings, and may help promote positive identity development by counteracting discriminatory

social messages (Ahmed, 2009). The American side is assumed to exist because AMY live in the United States and would theoretically be exposed to American social norms that help youth fit in to the general American society (Phinney et al., 1996). The integration of these distinct identities and the development of a positive sense of self thus pose a unique challenge for AMY (Sirin & Fine, 2010; Sirin et al., 2012).

Discrimination as a facilitator or barrier toward promoting hyphenated selves

Research suggests that oppressed groups may internalize their oppression in the presence of discrimination and, in turn, experience maladaptive identity formation (e.g., lower collective self-esteem; Prilletensky & Gonick, 1996; Blasi & Jost, 2006). Theoretically, this pattern emerges because AMY internalize oppression as part of their identity by seeing themselves through the lens of the dominant culture, and explicitly or implicitly defending and justifying the general negative status quo towards Muslims (Jost et al., 2002; Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, 2004). Alternatively, discriminatory experiences that are placed in the context of oppression (i.e., are externalized) can promote heightened awareness of their identity (Watts et al., 1999), particularly if youth are able to process such experiences in supportive contexts such as faith-based settings (Sirin, 2010; Watts et al., 1999).

Current study The current proposal will examine relationships between AMY identity, perceived discrimination, and religious participation using a cross sectional self-reported survey design. Specifically, this study is guided by the following research questions and hypotheses: (1) integrated identity is related to one’s religious participation, (2) integrated identity is related to one’s

Mustafa: American Muslim Youth Identity | 53 perception of discrimination, (3) the relationship between perceived discrimination and integrated identities will depend on the extent of AMY’s participation in religious settings, given that greater participation may promote opportunities for youth to process and externalize discriminatory experiences and foster integrated identity.

Method Participants and Design This study will be correlational research through a quantitative design consisting of an online self-report questionnaire. I anticipate collecting data for between 175 and 200 self-identified Muslim American youth from across the nation, ranging in age from 18 to 25. A power analysis was conducted that supported the amount of participants that will be recruited for this study.

Measures Religious participation. Items will assess AMY’s engagement in Muslim-related religious activities (e.g., volunteerism, lectures, conventions, etc.) and participation in formal organizations (e.g., mosques) in the past 6 months (e.g., “In the past six months, how often have you attended or heard an Islamic Lecture?”).

Items will be assessed on a 6 point scale ranging from 1 (“never”) to 6 (“always”).

AMY Identity. This modified Collective Self- Esteem measure (CSE; Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992) will assess the extent to which AMY perceive affiliation with, and belonging to, both their Muslim and American identities (Sirin et al., 2012). In this study, both the spheres of Muslim and American identity will be measured in terms of three CSE components: (a) group membership (i.e., one’s judgment of self-worth as a member of one‘s cultural group); (b) private regard (i.e., one’s personal evaluation of one’s cultural group); and (c) identity importance, (i.e., how the significance of one‘s social group membership(s) influences one’s own self-concept). An example item of the American version for group membership is, “I feel I don’t have much to offer to the American community.” A demonstrative item of the Muslim version for private

regard is, “I feel good about the Muslim community I belong to.” Illustrative examples of identity importance for both versions are, “In general, belonging to my Muslim community is an important part of my self-image”; “The American community I belong to is an important reflection of who I am.” The seven-point scale ranges from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 7 (“strongly agree”).

Perceived Discrimination. A 13-item modified version of the Societal, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental - Revised- Short Form (SAFE-Short; Mena, Padilla, & Maldonado, 1987) was used to measure the perceived discrimination against AMY (Sirin et al., 2012).

Sirin, Abo-Zenah and Shehadeh (2012) further adapted the measure based Amer and Hovey’s (2005) study with Arab Americans, to increase construct validity and reliability. The measure assesses experiences of perceived discrimination from mainstream American society. Some examples of the items included are: “It bothers me when the media portrays a negative image of Muslims or Muslim Americans”; “I am upset that most people consider the Muslim American community to be more dangerous than other groups”; “I feel uncomfortable when others make jokes about or put down Muslims” (Sirin et al., 2012). Response options were on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (have not experienced) to 2 (“strongly disagree”) to 7 (“strongly agree”). The Cronbach’s alpha for the current sample was .90. A composite Perceived Discrimination score was calculated as the mean across all 13 items. Procedure AMY will be recruited from a number of mosques, colleges, and community-based organizations through a snowball sampling method. According to the United States Census, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, California, Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Ohio are the states that have a high Muslim population. I will use the website www.4icu.org, which provides information about the top ten universities in each state. Using this information, I will contact and/or research each university to find out if they have a Muslim Students’ Association. If they do, I will send them the survey, ask them to forward it to their constituency and ask their constituency to forward it along creating the snowball effect.

54 | Submissions Once the electronic signature of consent is obtained, participants will segue into an online survey hosted on fluidsurveys.com. Each participant will be entered into a raffle for an iPad mini.

Data analytic plan Substantive analyses will follow three steps, paralleling this studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hypotheses. For Hypothesis 1, a bivariate correlation will be used to assess the strength and direction of the relationship between religious participation and identity. For Hypothesis 2, the relationship between discrimination and identity will be assessed by examining the bivariate correlation between these variables to assess the strength and direction of the relationship. For Hypothesis 3 (if a significant bivariate correlation is found for Hypotheses 1 and 2), hierarchical multiple regression (2-blocks) will be used to examine the simple (block 1) and residualized interaction (block 2) effects of religious participation and discrimination on identity.

This analysis will allow for the examination of moderation, and determine the extent to which the relationship between perceived discrimination and integrated identities depends on the extent of AMYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in religious settings.

Strengths and limitations Implications of this study include a better understanding of the circumstances under which discriminatory experiences, religious participation, and the interaction of the two can relate to integrated identity.

Results of this study are also integral in providing valuable knowledge to community and university organizations that serve AMY. These implications exist because of the strengths present within this study. There is relatively little research done on the AMY population. This lack of research can be seen as a limitation; however, it can also be seen as a strength. There is a lot of novel data awaiting future researchers to uncover.. In my study, I decided to undertake a quantitative study that will incorporate strong, reliable and valid measures that have been tested and used in previously acclaimed studies. Every construct and hypothesized relationship has also been supported by prior research. The

inclusion of reliable and valid measures in this quantitative design provides a systematic and uniform way to operationalize and analyze constructs which, in turn, increases the internal validity of the study. Finally, the number of participants I aim to attain is also a strength because it gives me the ability to deduce that the correlations I will potentially find are not due to chance.

Findings must be interpreted with attention to strengths and limitations of the current study. The studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overarching limitation is that this population has undergone limited prior research, leaving many gaps for researchers to fill. One particular gap is the recruitment process. Due to the lack of mandatory mosque membership or affiliation, it is difficult to reach every AMY. I must therefore rely on the recruitment of Muslims who are voluntarily involved in a religious setting which can threaten the external validity because it limits my pool of AMY. To combat this issue, I have chosen to contact Muslim Students Associations (MSA) at universities that have a high population of Muslims; however, I must also face the reality that some MSAs may not respond, may have outdated contact information, and may be unwilling to cooperate. Another limitation the population presents is the diversity it encompasses. AMY may understand and experience the constructs very differently from one another, which may present a threat to internal validity. In addition, this is an Internet study with three constructs being operationalized and measured, therefore the survey can seem long to the average youth, which may run the potential risk of attrition. Moreover, this study is a quantitative study which leaves the study void of a human and real experience; furthermore, it expresses this understudied and vulnerable population through a two-dimensional lens. Finally, since self-report data will be used, future findings are subject to potential social desirability bias. However, anonymity of the participants will be enforced and established scales will be used for all constructs assessed in order to minimize the potential bias.

Despite the limitations, this proposed study would be one of the first to quantitatively examine the effect of identity integration in a sample of 300 AMY,

Mustafa: American Muslim Youth Identity | 55 thus contributing to a burgeoning body of literature on a growing youth population within the United States.

References

Ahmed, S. (2009). Religiosity and Presence of Character Strengths in American Muslim Youth. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 4(2), 104-123.

Blasi, G. & Jost, J. T. (2006). System justification theory and research: Implications for law, legal advocacy, and social justice. California Law Review, 94(4), 1119-1168.

Haddad, Y. (2004). Not quite American? The shaping of Arab and Muslim identity in the United States. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Jost, J. T., Banaji, M. R., & Nosek, B. A. (2004). A Decade of system justification theory: Accumulated evidence of conscious and unconscious bolstering of the status Quo. Political Psychology, 25(6), 881-919.

Jost, J. T., Pelham, B. W., & Carvallo, M. R. (2002). Non-conscious forms of system justification: Implicit and behavioral preferences for higher status groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(6), 586-602.

Kobeisy, A. N. (2004). Counseling American Muslims: Understanding the faith and helping the people. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Pew Research Center. (2007). Muslim Americans: Middle class and mostly mainstream. Washington, DC: Author.

Phinney, J. S., Cantu, C. L., & Kurtz D. A. (1996). Ethnic and american identity as predictors of self-esteem among african american, latino, and white adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26(2), 165-185.

Sirin, S. R., Abo-Zena M. M., & Shehadeh, H. (2012). Contributions despite challenges: exploring positive youth development among muslim american youth. In A. E.Warren, R. M. Lerner,& E. Phelps (Ed.). Thriving and Spirituality Among Youth: Research Perspectives and Future Possibilities (pp. 233-253). New Jersey:John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sirin, S. R., & Fine, M. (2010). Hyphenated selves: Muslim american youth negotiating identities. Applied Developmental Science, 11(3), 151-163.

Tsang, S. K., Hui, E. K., & Law, B. C. (2012). Positive identity as a positive youth development construct: A conceptual review. The Scientific World Journal, 2012.

Watts, R.J., Griffith, D.M, & Abdul-Adil, J. (1999). Sociopolitical development as an antidote for oppression - theory and action. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(2), 255-27

56 | Submissions

A Cultural Examination of the Predictive Relation Between Latino Parental Engagement and Children’s School Readiness Amanda Rohr In the United States immigrant children represent the fastest growing part of the population; therefore, their education is critical for society’s economic future (Magnuson, Lahaie, & Waldfoge, 2006). Yet, there is a lack of research about the education of immigrant children and in particular, during the preschool years (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). Contemporary research shows that the preschool years (i.e., ages 3 – 5) is a critical developmental period because there is a significant growth in various domains associated with children’s later school performance, such as language and literacy, executive functioning, and socio-emotional skills (McWayne, Cheung, Wright, & Hahs-Vaughn, 2012; Welsh, Nix, Clancy, Bierman, & Nelson, 2010). These developmental domains have been labeled as preschool school readiness skills, which collectively have been shown to predict later academic success (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 2005).

Within school readiness literature, research has identified various protective factors for a child’s academic trajectory. One of the main factors researched is parental engagement, which describes how families participate and support their children’s education (Barnard, 2004; McWayne, Melzi, Schick, Kennedy, & Mundt, 2013). In previous literature parental engagement was referred to as “parental involvement”, a construct that was measured based upon the school’s opinion via teacher-rating reports, and consequently, these measures failed to acknowledge the influence of external factors. “Parental involvement” assumes one-dimensional linearity without considering how parents’ experiences and resources can frame the reason for their amount of involvement. For this reason, contemporary literature uses more precise terminology by referring to this construct as parental engagement, which recognizes that it is both an active

process shaped by circumstances and an outcome (Barton, Drake, Perez, St. Louis, & George, 2004; Carreon, Drake, & Barton, 2005).

Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s (1995) model of parental involvement alluded to this concept of parental engagement when it explained, across five levels, why parents choose to be involved, how this choice can be influenced at any time, as well as how this choice affects a child’s school readiness (Fan & Chen, 2001; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995). Taken together, their model reflected parental involvement as a process, instead of only an action indicative of parents’ love and commitment (Barton, Drake, Perez, St. Louis & George, 2004). Furthermore in the highest level, five (i.e., an outcome) their model suggests the protective power of parental engagement in relation to a child’s academic outcome (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995).

With regards to children’s school readiness, parental engagement as a predictive factor has been subdivided into two categories: School-based and home-based engagement (McWayne et al., 2013).

School-based engagement includes organized activities that encourage the parent’s presence in the child’s school, such as parent-teacher conferences and attending school events (Hill & Taylor, 2004; Waanders, Mendez, & Downer, 2007). Research has further categorized school-based engagement as either teacher-initiated (e.g., parent-teacher conferences) or parent-initiated engagement (e.g., attending school events). Whereas home-based engagement includes academic activities that parents participate in with their children at home, such as helping with homework (Hill, 2001; Downer & Mendez, 2010). This distinction between home-based and school-based engagement demonstrates that parental engagement is complex and multidimensional (Fan & Chen, 2001).

Rohr: Parental Engagement and Children’s School Readiness | 57 Previous research failed to accurately measure the complexity of parental engagement. The majority of parental involvement literature stems from a white, middle class sample and uses a uniform definition of parents (De Gaetano, 2007). Research neglected to study parental involvement from different cultural standpoints, which lead to inaccurate generalizations; such as Latino caregivers provide an inadequate learning environment for their child (De Gaetano, 2007; Greenburg, 2012; Lopéz, Scribner, & Mahitivanichcha, 2001). That being said, there is scant research using culturally-valid measures on Latino parental engagement (McWayne et al., 2013). This literature becomes scarcer when focusing on within-group variability of immigration status. Therefore, this literature review will aim to understand the relation between Latino parental engagement and children’s school readiness.

More specifically, it will contribute to closing this research gap by exploring the following research question: What are the cultural and immigration related factors that influence the relation between Latino parental engagement and children’s school readiness?

Parental Engagement and School Readiness Research suggests a positive impact of parental involvement on children’s school readiness skills, and in turn their later academic achievement (Fan & Chen, 2001). This positive influence is especially significant for low-income ethnic minority children, as these children are at the greatest risk for educational failure (Jeynes, 2003; Jeynes, 2005). In particular, findings indicate parent-initiated school-based engagement is a high protective factor of children’s overall academic outcomes (Hill, 2001). Home-based engagement has been shown to have an equally significant impact, notably on preschoolers’ school readiness skills, which will contribute to their later academic success by developing attention, motivation, and task persistence techniques (Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry, & Childs, 2004; McWayne et al., 2004). Although literature acknowledges the distinction between school-based and home-based engagement, parental engagement’s facets are not typically analyzed separately (Fan & Chen,

2001; Waanders et al., 2007). When a meta-analysis of these simplified parental engagement studies was conducted its’ findings contributed to a detrimental misunderstanding that Latino parents were not concerned with their child’s education (Jeynes, 2003).

That being said to start with, as a minority, Latinos were severely underrepresented because few studies examined specifically their involvement (Jeynes, 2003). Moreover, the previous studies included focused on exploring primarily school-based engagement. Consequently, Jeynes (2003) found that when comparing parental involvement of different ethnicities, a hierarchy developed with Latino parents being overall the least engaged.

The Latino Perspective Contemporary research, using culturally valid measures, suggests that Latino parents’ engagement emerges differently than previous understandings of parental roles in education, consisting of more homebased engagement, contrary to the scope of school personnel’s traditional gauges of parental engagement (e.g., volunteering) (Lopéz, et al., 2001). Therefore, the initial findings perhaps mean that Latino parents have less contact with the school (Wong & Hughes, 2006), rather than that they are not engaged at all.

The discrepancy between Latino school-based and home-based engagement has largely been due to cultural differences (De Gaetano, 2007). For instance, within the Latino culture, there is a popular belief that the teacher is held responsible for the child’s education while at school (Greenburg, 2012). Especially if the parents have a limited understanding of the curriculum due to a language barrier, the teacher can be viewed as the expert and as a result, the parents do not raise further questions (Carreon, Drake, & Barton, 2005; Hill & Taylor, 2004). Latino home-based engagement derives from their definition for education, educación, which is a mistaken cognate that is not solely measured by academic success (Farver, Xu, Eppe, & Lonigan, 2006). A child’s educación is reflective of whether the child is raised well (e.g., cooperative and respectful of adults), as well as their academic competence (Farver et al., 2006). Current findings

58 | Submissions reflect this distinction and suggest that Latino parents’ home-based involvement includes a more diverse set of activities including teaching cultural values, emotional awareness and social skills (Farver et al., 2006; McWayne et al., 2004; Lopéz et al., 2001). Taken together these findings using representative measures demonstrate that Latino parental engagement is culturally specific and manifests itself as a higher amount of home-based engagement (McWayne et al., 2013; Orozco, 2008). Viewing parental engagement as a one-dimensional construct has contributed to a damaging stereotype that Latino parents choose to be uninvolved in their child’s education and in turn, it developed into explanation for their children’s low academic success (Guerrero et al., 2012; Jeynes, 2003).

During the preschool years, research demonstrates that Latino children’s inadequate school readiness skills can be detected as early as age two (Guerrero et al., 2012). This disparity continues throughout the rest of their school years, with Latinos students’ scores being consistently lower in a variety of subjects (e.g., reading, writing, and math) (Pyle, Bates, Greif, & Furlong, 2005), reflecting the predictive power of preschool school readiness skills. Although their cognitive scores are lower, Latino children succeed with regard to socio-emotional skills, demonstrating higher levels in this domain than other ethnicities when they enter kindergarten (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009).

Those findings are indicative of how Latinos’ cultural understanding of education manifests itself in their inclusion of social emotional skills in home-based involvement (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). Collectively these findings indicate that both stereotypes about Latino parents and students abilities are conclusions from a narrow lens, excluding the possibilities of how culture can influence the conceptual understanding of both engagement and school readiness.

The Immigrants’ Perspective Along with the obstacles that face Latino parents in becoming engaged with their children’s education, Latino immigrant parents have to acclimate to an entirely different culture. As an immigrant, acculturation has been shown to challenge their

conceptual understanding of established systems, social networks, language, and identity, among other ideas (Jimenez-Castellanos & Gonzalez, 2012). These challenges contribute to assimilation, which affects parents’ level of involvement and their children’s academic success. In other words, the rate at which caregivers assimilate into mainstream society, is associated with their child’s experience within the school system, and in turn, their academic outcomes (Carreon et al., 2005).

For all immigrant children to compete academically, it is crucial that their first step is enrolling in preschool since it is the standard for their non-immigrant peers (Chiswick & DebBurman, 2006).

Preschool provides a setting that helps the assimilation process through the exposure of the dominant cultures’ basic language skills. These initial linguistic gains are determinants of an immigrant child’s academic trajectory as later on, students are required to pass English screening tests as a measure of their intelligence (Magnuson et al., 2006). With this requirement, American culture implies that assimilation is essential to succeed within the established system (Carreon et al., 2005; Jimenez-Castellanos & Gonzalez, 2012). Yet even with conformity, immigrant children will never be viewed as a native member.

Instead they are viewed as an outsider, which results in stereotypes developing and perpetuating an anti-immigrant culture (Carreon et al., 2005).

As an immigrant living in a seemingly anti-immigrant culture, a positive attitude towards education can serve as an advantage, especially when compared to non-immigrants (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009).

When immigrant parents’ mindsets are optimistic, it is reflective of their families’ desire for their children to have a more promising life, including academic opportunities (Carreon et al., 2005; De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). Academics are often highly valued within a recently immigrated family, creating a solid support system that motivates their children (Carreon et al., 2005; De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). This advantage becomes particularly apparent when compared with non-immigrant minorities, who deal with similar obstacles but do not share their optimistic outlook.

Research reports that as an immigrant child assim-

Rohr: Parental Engagement and Children’s School Readiness | 59 ilates into the dominant culture (i.e., American culture), the children’s academic motivation begins to decline. Literature hypothesizes that this is perhaps due to increased peer discrimination (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009; Greenburg, 2012). When applied to Latino immigrants, these findings shows that as they assimilate into our society, there is a critical need to understand their family struggles and how that affects parental engagement in their child’s education.

Conclusion Research has established a protective relation between parental engagement and children’s school readiness, especially during the preschool years (Barnard, 2004). Both home-based and school-based engagement plays an important role, and therefore should be examined separately (Fan & Chen, 2001).

Initially a uniform interpretation of parental engagement caused a misconception about Latino parents, which became perpetuated due to the utilization of culturally inaccurate measures (McWayne et al., 2013). Once Latino parental engagement was analyzed through a proper cultural lens, the relation’s dynamic changed. Their involvement was understood as different than the dominant culture, including more homebased activities and it was not accepted as an explanation for Latino children’s gap in school readiness skills (Guerrero et al., 2012; Farver et al., 2006). Therefore, Latinos were no longer viewed as incompetent parents and a stereotype was dispelled. Taken together, these findings are a prime example of a stereotype about a minority that was concluded from a limited cultural lens.

Similar to the struggles Latino parents face with regard to parental engagement, there are barriers for parental engagement for immigrants, as well.

Both Latinos and immigrants are faced with being categorized by the dominant society into stereotypes (Jimenez-Castellanos & Gonzalez, 2012; Lopez et al., 2012). Few studies examine specifically the Latino immigrant perspective. When exploring how the relation between parental engagement and children’s school readiness is affected by immigration factors, research demonstrates that immigrant parents’ attitudes to-

wards education have an impact (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). If it is a positive mentality, these parents tend to motivate their children because education is seen as the path towards a more promising future (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). Then immigrant children adopt their parents’ mindsets by showing increased motivation, compared to non-immigrant peers (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). When applied to Latino parents, these findings suggest that being a recent Latino immigrant has advantages (e.g., motivational mindset) and their children are more likely to succeed than non-immigrant Latinos (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). This proposes that having a minority status and being a recent immigrant in a seemingly anti-immigrant culture, cultivates a sense a higher sense of self-efficacy. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that both cultural and immigration related factors influence the relation between Latino parental engagement and children’s school readiness.

Limitations and Future Directions One limitation found within literature and this literature review, is that participants were examined under the homogenous definition of “Latinos” (Greenburg, 2012). There are more than twenty-two different countries within the “Latino” ethnicity, so future research should consider examining more cultural and ethnic diversity within this population (Greenburg, 2012). By examining immigrant related factors, it was an attempt to explore a portion of the within-group variability in Latinos. However, this choice can also be considered a limitation and in that case, a reflection of current research on immigrant populations. There is a common tendency to classify participants into a dichotomous category (i.e., immigrant or non-immigrant), which can lead to false conclusions about a particular cultural group. Immigrant families are diverse. Each household has unique experiences navigating the educational system due to differences of language, religion, and culture (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009). Therefore, future research should use more culturally-valid measures developed from quantitative data analysis to examine these cultures individually to ensure the participants are correctly represent-

Rohr: Parental En

60 | Submissions ed (Greenburg, 2012). In addition to examining the cultures individually, there is a critical need to particularly examine the Latino immigrant’s perspective. Considering that one in four children are being raised in an immigrant family and Latinos are now the fastest-growing student group, the intersection of the Latino immigrant identity should be further researched in regard to parental engagement and children’s school readiness, so that future research can more effectively help these children achieve their academic potential (De Feyter & Winsler, 2009; Greenburg, 2012).

References

Ardelt, M. & Eccles, J. (2001). Effects of mothers’ parental efficacy beliefs and promotive parenting strategies on inner-city youth. Journal of Family Issues, 22(8), 944-972.

Barnard, W. M. (2004). Parent involvement in elementary school and educational attainment. Children and Youth Services Review, 26(1), 39-62.

Barton, A., Drake, C., Perez, J., St. Louis, K., & George, M. (2004). Ecologies of parental engagement in urban education. Educational Researcher, 33(4), 3-12.

Carreon, G., Drake, C., & Barton, A. (2005). The importance of presence: Immigrant parents’ school engagement experiences. American Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 465-498.

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Downer, J. & Mendez, J. (2010). African American father involvement and preschool children’s school readiness. Early Education and Development, 16(3), 317-340.

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Sethi: MBSR and Anxiety | 61

Examining The Relationship: Anxiety and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Prairna Sethi Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a popular group therapy program in which participants are taught about practicing mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Mindfulness is a traditional Buddhist state of being that fosters the ability to pay attention to the present moment on purpose and without any judgment (Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Baer, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Key characteristics of a mindful state include the self-regulation of attention, which refers to the ability to sustain attention, and non-judgmentally accept the present experience, which often occurs through mindfulness practices such as meditation (Eberth & Sedelmeier, 2012; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). The use of mindfulness is a key component of MBSR and may be beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with anxiety (Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012).

While mindfulness is the underlying mechanism that allows MBSR to work, the structure of the therapy program also plays a role. MBSR is an 8–10 week group program with 2.5 hour sessions per week, in groups varying between 10 and 40 participants.

The group sessions are conducted by a leader who is trained in mindfulness, and cover exercises and topics that are examined within the context of mindfulness (Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Grossman et al., 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). These exercises and topics focus on the progressive acquisition of mindfulness through three primary modalities: (1) yoga, a posture based exercise that combines physical and mental practices; (2) meditation, an exploration of one’s own consciousness through focused attention; (3) body scans, which involve meditation while focusing on specific body parts and experiencing the feeling and location of the body in relation to their thoughts, emphasizing the importance of present awareness and focused attention (Eberth & Sedelmeier, 2012; Grossman et al., 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). The structured and com-

prehensive program teaches participants how to continue practicing mindfulness after the intervention is over, prolonging the potential benefits of the therapy, thus making it a popular choice for many individuals, including those suffering from anxiety (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990).

Many individuals suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) feel a persistent and excessive worry over everyday activities, even when there is no reason for concern (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In several ways, GAD limits individuals from living their lives normally, often times through the presence of panic attacks which are characterized by a sudden extreme fear or worry of losing control even when there is no real danger (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Panic attacks manifest in many ways and can cause an increase in heart rate, dizziness, sweating, and breathing problems (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The disruptive and difficult nature of GAD and panic attacks makes it imperative to explore new methods reducing the prevalence of these anxiety symptoms, so that individuals suffering from anxiety may be able to live high quality lives.

MBSR is hypothesized to impact anxiety by changing individuals’ relationship to thoughts (Teasdale, Segal, & Williams, 1995). Teasdale et al. (1995) suggest that mindfulness allows adults to take a decentered approach to thoughts that elicit worry and panic, meaning anxious thoughts become temporary and are no longer viewed as reflections of reality. For example, thoughts can be seen at transient; they come and go, and are not a static part of one’s identity (Teasdale et al., 1995). In turn, this leads to reductions in rumination and increases in emotional regulation (Lykins & Baer, 2009; Ramel, Goldin, Carmona, & McQuaid, 2004; Teasdale, Segal, & Williams, 1995). As a result, mindfulness gives individuals the

62 | Submissions ability to learn to identify and manage their feelings of anxiety and learn how to react to them effectively (Hazlett-Stevens, 2012). These findings support the hypothesis for how MBSR can impact anxiety, however, there is limited research on the relation between the two variables.

There is a growing body of research examining the relation between MBSR and anxiety. While some studies suggest that MBSR does have a positive impact in reducing anxiety (Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, & Oh, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Baer, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990), others have found that while MBSR has some impacts, methodological flaws across studies lead to inconclusive evidence (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Although the literature is inconclusive on the relation between MBSR and anxiety, the evidence thus far provides support for future research to study the impacts of MBSR on anxiety. Thus the present literature review will examine the relation between MBSR and anxiety.

MBSR and Anxiety When MBSR was first developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn (1979), it was used to treat adults suffering from both mental and physical chronic pain that was a side effect of illnesses, such as cancer (Baer, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Specifically, the literature examining the impacts of MBSR found that it reduces anxiety and overall distress in women suffering from breast cancer (Zainal, Booth & Huppert, 2013). From these findings, MBSR has transitioned from a medical framework to the clinical environment in the hopes of demonstrating the interventionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efficaciousness in treating clinical disorders regardless of comorbid illnesses (Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Zainal et al., 2013).

To support this, Hazlett-Stevens (2012) found that MBSR has a strong impact in treating anxiety disorders, regardless of comorbid medical conditions.

These findings suggest that MBSR may be an effective treatment for adults suffering from anxiety.

Specifically, it has been theorized that through mindfulness practice, the constant awareness of the present moment interrupts the thought processes that would otherwise elicit these feelings of fear that pre-

cipitate panic attacks (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Thus mindfulness refocuses thoughts and helps anxious individuals focus on the present moment instead of their feelings of worry (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Kabat-Zinn, 1990). This suggests that the mindfulness component of MBSR would help anxious individuals be aware of their present thoughts, thus preventing panic attacks and making it easier for them to live their day to day lives (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Additionally, the application of mindfulness techniques for individuals suffering from anxiety causes the anxiety itself to become the focus of their present, nonjudgmental awareness and allows them to learn how to deal with it in a positive, appropriate way (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). For example, sustained nonjudgmental awareness associated with mindfulness may increase an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to recognize and decrease rumination and worry, both of which maintain feelings of anxiety, and increases comfort in unfamiliar situations (Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Lykin & Baer, 2009; Teasdale et al., 1995; Ramel et al., 2004). Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that MBSR helps individuals regulate their emotions, which in turn helps decrease instances of rumination and worry that are associated with anxiety (Goldin & Gross, 2010). These findings lead researchers to believe that mindfulness practice through MBSR allows for individuals to engage in sustained, nonjudgmental attention to anxiety without attempts to avoid it and thus may lead to reductions in anxiety and panic attacks (Goldin & Gross, 2010; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007).

Although limited in scope, studies have found that MBSR is connected to a reduction of anxiety (Baer, 2003; Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann, et al., 2008; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Vollestad, Sivertsen, & Nielsen, 2011; Zainal et al., 2013).

When examining the impact of MBSR on anxiety, Kabat-Zinn (2003; 1990) has consistently found a significant decrease in anxiety and in the frequency and intensity of panic attacks following an MBSR intervention, as well as increased left side activation in the brain which is associated with positive moods and decreased anxiety. Similarly, moderate decreases in

Sethi: MBSR and Anxiety | 63 anxiety have been recorded in many studies, especially when the subjects have preexisting anxiety disorders (Baer, 2003; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann et al., 2010; Vollestad et al., 2011).

However, the vast amount of methodological flaws across studies lead some researchers to claim that the impact of MBSR on anxiety need to be measured more systematically (Baer, 2003; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007), warranting further investigation of the impacts of MBSR on reducing anxiety.

While the majority of the literature suggests that MBSR does have a positive effect on decreasing anxiety (Baer, 2003; Hofmann et al., 2010; Kabat-Zinn, 1990), some studies examining the effects of MBSR on anxiety have found no significant change in anxiety from before the intervention to after the intervention was administered (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Weiss, Nordlie, & Siegel, 2005). These inconclusive results across studies may be a result of methodological issues in the literature, such as a lack of experimental conditions, thus making it difficult to confirm a causal link between MBSR and anxiety reduction (Baer, 2003; Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). The conflicting evidence provides support for further research to be done concerning the relation between MBSR and anxiety in order to draw more concrete conclusions about the treatment.

Methodological Flaws Due to methodological flaws, results across studies measuring the relation between MBSR and anxiety are inconclusive (Baer, 2003; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Vollestad, Sivertsen, & Nielsen, 2011). Although studies show that MBSR can reduce anxiety, very few of these studies have an active control group, meaning that there is no comparison group that is receiving no treatment at the same time the experimental group is receiving MBSR (Goldin & Gross, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann, et al., 2010; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Vollestad et al., 2011). Instead, these studies have used a waitlist control group or a treatment as usual control group, meaning that half of the subjects were

assigned to an MBSR group while the other half were placed on a waitlist for the intervention, or continued their course of usual treatment while the experimental group received the MBSR intervention (Hofmann et al., 2010). This contributes to methodological issues because individuals assigned to a waitlist control group eventually receive the treatment, and may see reductions in their anxiety symptoms over time before the intervention, and thus confound the results of the study (Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Baer, 2003). For example, Vollestad et al. (2011) conducted a randomized controlled trial, however their use of a waitlist control group limits the validity of their findings that MBSR reduces anxiety.

Furthermore, Hazlett-Stevens (2012) conducted a case study, eliminating the possibility for a control group and limiting the generalizability of the results.

Due to lack of an active control group across studies, it is difficult to determine a causal relation between MBSR and anxiety, and thus generalize the results to other populations, as there is nothing to compare the results of the experimental group to (Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Baer, 2003).

Additionally, studies supporting MBSR as an effective way to reduce anxiety often acknowledge that there were various confounds that were not controlled for across studies (Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007; Baer, 2003). These confounds include the lack of control for variables such as demand characteristics, where participants alter their behavior to fit expectations of the study, and the placebo effect, in which participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; symptoms begin to decrease because they are receiving any type of intervention, not necessarily MBSR (Baer, 2003; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Other confounds include interacting in a group setting, varying expectations of instructors, the passage of time, and the individual motivation of each participant (Baer, 2003; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann et al., 2010; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Although these confounds result in the inability to isolate MBSR as the sole cause for reduction in anxiety, many studies still conclude that MBSR has an impact on anxiety reduction (Baer, 2003; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). Thus, further systematic research needs to be done in order to draw a

64 | Submissions concrete conclusion about the relation between MBSR and anxiety.

While it is acknowledged that there is a link between the mechanism of mindfulness and reduced anxiety, methodological flaws hinder the ability to indicate whether MBSR causes reductions in anxiety due to the lack of controlled conditions across studies (Baer, 2003; Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann, et al., 2008; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Vollestad et al., 2011; Zainal et al., 2013). Thus, further empirical research and randomized controlled trials are needed to achieve a concrete conclusion regarding the relation between MBSR and anxiety.

Conclusion Throughout the literature, many studies have found that there is a positive effect of MBSR in reducing anxiety (Baer, 2003; Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann, et al., 2008; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Vollestad et al., 2011; Zainal et al., 2013). The mindfulness component of MBSR has been found to be beneficial in reducing symptoms of worry associated with anxiety by helping individuals focus their attention on more present thoughts, and control their emotions and tendency towards worry and rumination (Goldin & Gross, 2010; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Vollestad et al., 2011; Zainal et al., 2013).

While there is support for why the mindfulness component of MBSR would lead to reductions in anxiety, the methodological issues surrounding the literature make it difficult to isolate whether the intervention itself is having an effect, or whether confounding variables are influencing results (Baer, 2003; Toneattoe & Nguyen, 2007). Often times, these variables are not controlled for and may be responsible for the changes in anxiety instead of MBSR (Baer, 2003; Toneatto & Nguyen, 2007). This means that there are no studies demonstrating a clear causal link between MBSR and anxiety, or between what mechanism lead to the change in anxiety.

These findings highlight the need for further research to be done, especially randomized control

trials. These experimental trials are needed in order to determine a causal relation between MBSR interventions and anxiety, preferably with an active control group instead of a waitlist control group design.

The research thus far supports a strong correlation between MBSR interventions in reducing anxiety, however there is no support for a causal relationship, which emphasizes the need for experimental research to be conducted (Baer, 2003; Eberth & Sedelmeir, 2012; Goldin & Gross, 2010; Grossman et al., 2004; Hazlett-Stevens, 2012; Hofmann, et al., 2008; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Vollestad et al., 2011; Zainal et al., 2013). While it is difficult to control for all confounds due to the complex, multimodal nature of MBSR, future studies should aim to isolate as many confounds as possible in order to see the outcomes of MBSR on anxiety. MBSR may be incredibly beneficial for adults struggling with anxiety because of the unique characteristics such as mindfulness, and thus has the potential to help adults cope with their anxiety and reduce the panic and worry they face in their everyday lives, and should therefore be studied experimentally to further understand the potential impacts.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety Disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125.

Eberth, J., & Sedlmeier, P. (2012). The effects of mindfulness meditation: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 3(3), 174-189.

Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83-91.

Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), 35-43.

Hazlett-Stevens, H. (2012). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for comorbid anxiety and depression: Case report and clinical considerations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(11), 999-1003.

Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 169-183.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144-156.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. New York: Bantam Dell.

Lykins, E. L. B., & Baer, R. A. (2009). Psychological functioning in a sample of long-term practitioners of mindfulness meditation.

Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23(3), 226-241.

Ramel, W., Goldin, P. R., Carmona, P. E., & McQuaid, J. R. (2004). The effects of mindfulness meditation on cognitive processes and affect in patients with past depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28(4), 433-455.

Sethi: MBSR and Anxiety | 65 Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z., & Williams, J. M. G. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(1), 25-39.

Toneatto, T., & Nguyen, L. (2007). Does mindfulness meditation improve anxiety and mood symptoms? A review of the controlled research. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie, 52(4), 260-266.

Vøllestad, J., Sivertsen, B., & Nielsen, G. H. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients with anxiety disorders: Evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49(4), 281-288.

Weiss, M., Nordlie, J. W., & Siegel, E. P. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction as an adjunct to outpatient psychotherapy. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 74(2), 108-112.

Zainal, N. Z., Booth, S., & Huppert, F. A. (2013). The efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction on mental health of breast cancer patients: A meta-analysis. Psycho-Oncology, 22, 1457-1465.

ABSTRACTS The following abstracts highlights the research of students in the Applied Psychology Honors Program, as well as those completing an independent thesis.

68 | Abstracts

Classroom Emotional Support, Behaviors, and Achievement in Kindergarten and First Grade: An Ecological Approach Sophie Barnes Research suggests that classroom emotional support benefits children’s academic and behavioral outcomes.

Consistent with these findings, schools across the country are implementing standards to support students’ social-emotional and academic development. Yet, few studies have examined whether associations between emotional support and student outcomes differ across time and vary based on developmental contexts (kindergarten versus first grade), within populations of low-income urban students. Employing an ecological framework, the current study used multi-informant data on 209 Black and Hispanic students from 120 classrooms in 22 New York City public schools to: (1) explore differences in classroom emotional support between kindergarten and first grade classrooms; (2) examine how classroom emotional support predicted changes in student behaviors and academic achievement across the school year; and (3) investigate whether these relations differed by grade.

Results revealed significantly less emotional support in first grade classrooms relative to kindergarten. Emotional support predicted increased math and reading achievement and decreased behavior problems across the school year, regardless of grade, suggesting that classroom emotional support is important for academic and behavioral outcomes in both kindergarten and first grade. Implications for policy and social-emotional learning interventions targeted to low-income, urban schools will be discussed.

Teacher-Student Conflict and Student Aggression in Kindergarten Emily Gallagher Early behavior problems are important aspects of schooling and difficulties in this area predict lower high school grade point average, negative attitudes towards school, disruptive, anti-social behaviors and higher dropout rates. Aggression is a particularly harmful aspect of behavior problems and early aggression is predictive of future aggression, delinquency and criminal activity. The early years of schooling provide a unique opportunity to shift the trajectories of behaviorally disruptive students before the problems affect later development. Early academic skills may be a protective factor against behavioral problems but little is known about how behavior problems, teacher student relationships, and early literacy skills interact in young students. The current study examines associations and interactions between academic achievement, behavior problems, and teacher-student relationships in a sample of kindergarteners from high poverty urban schools (N = 332, 51% male, 75% black).

Preliminary analysis showed that teacher-student conflict at the beginning of kindergarten predicted student aggression at the end of kindergarten. Literacy skills at the beginning of kindergarten moderated this effect, magnifying the positive association between teacher-student conflict and aggression. Results are discussed in relation to early interventions to improve teacher-student relationships and student behavior problems in the early years.

American Muslim Youth Identity Rania Mustafa American Muslim Youth (AMY) represent a minority group at-risk for maladaptive identity development, and, in turn, a host of negative psychological outcomes. Post 9/11, discriminatory experiences have become more common for AMY; however, the effects of these experiences on identity formation may depend on whether and to what extent AMY can process and understand such experiences through participation in particular settings, such as faith-based communities. Research on AMY in particular suggests that an identity that integrates both American and Muslim aspects of self is associated with positive outcomes, such as wellbeing. One common way of assessing “integrated” identity is through examining the extent to which AMY endorse high collective self-esteem in relation to both their American and Muslim cultural groups (i.e., American and Muslim Collective

| 69 Self Esteem; AMCSE). In this study, three hypotheses were examined to better understand the predictors and outcomes of AMY AMCSE: (1) higher perceived discrimination will be related to higher AMCSE; (2) the relationship between perceived discrimination and AMCSE will depend on the degree to which AMY are embedded and participate in religious settings; (3) higher Collective Self-Esteem (CSE), in turn, will be associated with greater social action. Three hundred 18 to 25 year-old self-identified AMY were administered a self-report survey in collaboration with the Inspiring American Muslim Youth (IAMY) think tank. Participants were recruited from Muslim students associations, mosques, and community based organizations across the United States. A series of hierarchical linear multiple regressions suggest support for our hypothesis. Namely, higher discrimination was associated with greater AMCSE only when AMY reported higher levels of religious participation, and greater AMCSE promoted greater social action. Findings are discussed using an ecological framework which emphasizes the role of settings in promoting healthy identity development.

Latino Parental Engagement & Self-Efficacy and their Relation to Children’s School Readiness Skills Amanda Rohr Parental engagement - the ways parents participate and support children’s educational experiences - is a multidimensional construct that is related to children’s academic achievement. Parental engagement during the preschool years is an especially powerful predictor of future academic success, even beyond elementary school.

Research documents that parental engagement is an active process, a product of both contextual and psychological factors. Specifically, the extent to which parents are involved in their children’s education seems to be determined by social and economic factors, such as educational level and general availability of material resources, whereas parental initial decision to become involved is determined by psychological factors. One of the most powerful psychological factors shown to be positively correlated with parental engagement is parental self-efficacy or the confidence in one’s ability as a parent. Research shows that parental self-efficacy predicts the level of parental engagement, thus conceptualizing self-efficacy as an antecedent to engagement. However, recent research shows that the relation between parental self-efficacy and engagement is more transactional and that there seems to be a bidirectional relation between parental self-efficacy and engagement. It is possible that more efficacious parents will want to be more involved, which will result in better child outcomes, and then in turn, better child outcomes will lead to a feeling of increased self-efficacy and greater involvement. Nonetheless, few studies have explored the ways in which this transactional relation might work to influence children’s academic outcomes, especially during the preschool years. The proposed study will examine the relation between parental self-efficacy, engagement and school readiness skills, as well as whether parental engagement mediates the relation between parental self-efficacy and Head Start children’s school readiness skills.

Sixty-eight low-income Latino parents and their preschool-aged children participated in the current study. As part of a larger study, parents completed a demographic questionnaire, which provided basic information about their family. Additionally, parents completed the Parental Engagement of Families from Latino Background (PEFL-English or PEFL-Spanish), a newly developed measure of Latino family engagement, as well as Hoover Dempsey’s Self-Efficacy Parental Questionnaire. At the end of the preschool year, children were visited at school, and their language skills were assessed in their dominant language (i.e., Spanish or English) using the PLS-5. In addition, children’s social-emotional competencies were assessed in three ways: (1) teacher ratings of their play behaviors (i.e., Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale; PIPPS) and, (2) teacher ratings of their learning behaviors (i.e., Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale; PLBS), and (3) investigator ratings of their self-regulation (i.e., through the investigator report of the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment; PSRA). Findings suggest that there is a positive relation between parental self-efficacy, engagement and children’s school readiness, in particular for play behaviors. Results are discussed in regards to the importance of parental well-being for parental support of children’s academic outcomes.

STAFF & CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES

72 | Staff & Contributor Bios

STAFF BIOGRAPHIES Kelsey Block - Editor klb488@nyu.edu Kelsey Block is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at New York University. Over the past academic year, she has spent her time working with at-risk youth as an Intake Counselor at The Door, a youth outreach organization that provides a range of services to adolescents. Kelsey first became interested in working with youth when she taught health classes to 9th grade students in New York City public schools, with Peer Health Exchange. She is also a member of Dr. Elise Cappella’s research team working on two projects. The first is studying the academic and social-emotional outcomes of students transitioning to middle school, and the aspects of school and community that aid in this transition. The second is a mixed-method approach, exploring behavioral and academic engagement of elementary school students in urban schools. Kelsey’s research interests include clinical and counseling psychology.

David Freedman - Editor df1211@nyu.edu David is a Senior and a transfer student in his second year at NYU. David first became interested in psychology volunteering as an Emergency Medical Technician in Brooklyn. He was most attracted to the aspect of comforting patients in crisis.

This past summer, David interned as a case manager in a supportive housing organization, during which he had the opportunity to work with individuals struggling with mental illness one on one. During this year, David is working on Dr. Aronson’s research team. David is interested in cross-cultural psychology, addiction psychology, developmental psychology, existential psychology, and psychoanalysis.

Vera Stiefler Johnson - Editor vsj208@nyu.edu Vera Stiefler Johnson is a junior in the Applied Psychology program and an internal transfer from CAS Psychology. Having grown up in diverse countries such as Vietnam, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Denmark, and China, she has developed a strong interest in the issues facing women across cultures. She hopes to use an applied psychology foundation to work against human trafficking and gender discrimination, particularly with regard to refugees and victims of domestic and sexual violence. She is currently a member of Dr. Shabnam Javdani’s Skills 4 Life research team.

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Samantha Pratt - Executive Director, Editor-in-Training, Junior Staff Writer sjp435@nyu.edu

Samantha Pratt is a senior in the Applied Psychology department, with a minor in Creative Writing and Urban Education Studies. She is a Teach for America Equity Fellow as well as an interventionist on Dr. Shabnam Javdani’s research team where she is involved in the R. O. S. E. S project. As a member of the team, she serves as an advocate for adolescent girls who have currently or previously been a part of the juvenile justice system. She was previously a part of Dr. Niobe Way’s research team where she worked with qualitative data regarding female adolescents and the impact of various gender norms influenced by parent and peer interactions. Her research interest in child development and adolescent risk factors was inspired by various internships at the Children’s Aid Society, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center, the Gesell Institute of Human Development, and Jumpstart.

Amelia Chu - Layout Director ameliachu@nyu.edu Amelia is a sophomore in the Applied Psychology Program and is pursuing a minor in Anthropology and Business Studies. She is interested in marketing, social psychology, and early childhood education strategies, particularly those that involve interactive technologies. Amelia is also the Director of Communications at the Lafayette Residence Hall, the Layout Editor of Generasian, a student-run Asian-American interest magazine, the Design Office Assistant at NYU CMEP and the Webmaster for the NYU American Red Cross Club.

Emil Hafeez - Public Relations Manager enh231@nyu.edu Emil Hafeez is now in his fourth year at NYU. Since high school in his hometown of Bethesda, Maryland, Emil’s enjoyed Psychology both conceptually and for its applicability; he’s hoping to actualize this towards social justice. He currently works with ASD at the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Child Study Center and is likely joining a research team to further pursue his interests, which include: Positive, Social, Developmental, and Cross-Cultural Psychology, as well as statistics, policy work, and linguistics. While long-term specifics are fluctuating and fluid, his current goals post-graduation include travel, a MAPP, and eventually a PhD program.

74 | Staff & Contributor Bios

Emily Gallagher - Senior Staff Writer spb309@nyu.edu Emily Gallagher is a senior in the Applied Psychology Program. In addition to being a staff writer for OPUS she is also the President of the APUG Club. Her interest are working with children with special needs research about school, teacher-student relationships and friendships in classrooms. She is member of Dr. Elise Cappella’s research team and an assistant teacher at Daytime Moon Creations, a non-profit organization providing arts education for children and young adults with special needs.

Jazmine Russell - Junior Staff Writer jnr278@nyu.edu Jazmine Russell is a junior in the Applied Psychology program at NYU. She is a research assistant for Dr. Rose Vukovic on her project which examines different risk factors for children’s math difficulties. Jazmine is currently conducting research on children’s essentialist and implicit theories of intelligence as predictors of math achievement. Other research interests include people’s lay philosophic beliefs and cultural influences in relation to tolerance of uncertainty and psychological resilience. She is currently working on a project to be conducted in Casablanca, Morocco, interviewing people on their lay beliefs about reality and taking portraits that capture their lived experience.

Donna Poon - Senior Staff Writer dcp289@nyu.edu Donna is a senior in the Applied Psychology Program minoring in East Asian Studies. She is interested in Counseling Psychology and Human Development research.

Donna has interned as an Intake Counselor at The Door, a non-profit social services agency that provides services to urban at-risk youth. Currently, she is a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s research team as a research assistant for the NYCASES study.

As a research assistant, Donna codes for academic and social engagement themes in transcriptions of one hour-long interviews with urban adolescent youth in New York City high schools. Her independent research project studies the relation between ethnic identity and psychological well-being as well as the role of generational status for Asian American urban high school youth. Donna will be pursuing a Master of Education Degree in Mental Health Counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Fall of 2014 in hope of becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Donna is also the Senior Advisor for the NYU Chinese Student Society, an Asian interest cultural club and an active brother in Alpha Phi Omega, a coeducational National Service Fraternity

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Tyler Sabourin - Senior Staff Writer tyler.sabourin@nyu.edu Tyler Sabourin is a senior staff writing for OPUS, and a graduating senior in the Department of Applied Psychology. Throughout his studies at NYU, he has explored the areas of both music and psychology, and seeks to fulfill his interest in the two with a career in music therapy. Focusing on children with developmental delays, he hopes to combine the knowledge he has gained in the field of psychology with the universal accessibility of music to help improve the lives of those he will work with.

Yimkwan Tsang - Senior Staff Writer yimkwan.tsang@nyu.edu Yimkwan Tsang is a senior in the Applied Psychology program with a minor in Web Programming and Applications. She currently interns at PROspect place in Hamilton Madison House, serving mostly Chinese-American participants with mental illness in the Lower East Side. She is also working on the website for project A.C.E in Dr. Sumie Okazakiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research team. Her general research interests include clinical psychology and indigenous psychology in Chinese cultures. Upon completing her bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree, she plans to pursue a Clinical Psychology degree in Hong Kong

CONTRIBUTORS BIOGRAPHIES

Elisa Angevin eca254@nyu.edu Elisa Angevin is a senior in the Applied Psychology program, graduating in May. She will begin her Masters of Science in Clinical Social Work at Columbia University next year. Her interests are in utilizing acting within therapeutic approaches, specifically with the Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is an intern at Child Mind Institute, an organization that gives outpatient psychological care to children with Selective Mutism, as well as Daytime Moon Creations, a non-profit that gives acting classes to adolescents with disabilities.

Rania Mustafa rdm332@nyu.edu Rania Mustafa is a Muslim girl who was born and raised in New Jersey. Growing up as an American Muslim she has found herself living on the hyphen trying to integrate both worlds into one. She was always involved with social activism and community betterment and change. She has helped found and launch the Inspiring American Muslim Youth Think Tank in which the daily issues of American Muslims are explored, researched, and studied in hopes of providing services to aid the community. She has finished her Honor’s thesis in which she analyzed whether religious participation and discrimination play a role in the formation of an integrated American Muslim identity in youth and how that in turn can affect their motivation to engage in social action. She is also part of Dr. Shabnam Javdani’s research team in which she is aiding the launch of a new study exploring the mental disorders associated with troubled youth, specifically those with prior involvement in the juvenile justice system. She aspires to be a community psychologist to serve as a social activist who will address the social problems and ills of society and work from within the community to implement intervention programs and find sustainable solutions.

Amanda Rohr acr385@nyu.edu Amanda Rohr is a senior, as well as an Honors student, in the Applied Psychology program. She is currently a member of Dr. Melzi’s research team, which focuses on the the factors that influence Latino children’s school readiness skills; specifically language and literacy. Her honors thesis explored the relation between parental self-efficacy, engagement, and children’s school readiness skills. In particular, her honors thesis and Dr. Melzi’s research team are interested in the preschool years, and Amanda loves volunteering weekly at a Head Start Center in Harlem. Additionally some of her other research interests are from the Positive Psychology field, such as awe, gratitude, excellence, and post-traumatic growth. Post-graduation Amanda has plans for a research assistant position in Costa Rica for an ocean conservation organization, that helps endangered sea turtles. Afterwards, she would like to travel and apply to graduate schools.

Prairna Sethi pks250@nyu.edu Prairna Sethi is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at NYU. She has spent her undergraduate career obtaining research experience through internship placements at The Child and Family Policy Center on the Common Metric Project and at the Institute for Human Development and Social Change on the Opportunities for Equitable Access to Quality Basic Education team. After graduation, she intends to pursue a graduate degree in school psychology, with the goal of becoming a school psychologist.

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