Across two investigations, we explored self-monitoring differences in the causes of relationship dissolution with best friends and if such differences are best captured by a univariate model or ...bivariate model of self-monitoring. Causes of friendship dissolution often mirror the reasons for friendship formation. Accordingly, we hypothesized that high self-monitors would report a change in shared activities as the reason for dissolving a relationship with a best friend, whereas low self-monitors would report a change in personal compatibility as the reason for dissolving a relationship with a best friend. In both studies, participants focused on a former best friend and indicated which of two causes (Study 1: loss of shared activities vs. loss of shared attitudes and values; Study 2: change in life circumstances vs. change in broad dispositions) was more influential in ending that friendship. They also completed the Self-Monitoring Scale; scores were used to create indices of self-monitoring in its univariate and bivariate (acquisitive vs. protective) forms. In both studies, protective self-monitoring was more consistently related to reasons for friendship dissolution, such that (a) high self-monitoring was associated with a loss of shared interests and (b) low self-monitoring was associated with a loss of personal compatibility as the bases for friendship dissolution. Effects were independent of potential third variables. Implications (e.g., nuanced assessment of self-monitoring), limitations (e.g., absence of longitudinal designs), and future directions (e.g., examining actor-partner effects) are discussed.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare two different types of measures of social desirability bias (SDB), a short form of the Marlowe–Crowne measure, a popular direct measure, and an example ...of a projective technique where half of the respondents record the views of their “best friends”.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected using an online survey of members of a consumer panel. The context chosen to test the SDB measures was that of attitudes toward counterfeit products and xenocentrism in Colombia. Counterfeit proneness, attitude toward counterfeit products and consumer xenocentrism were selected as variables likely to be affected by SDB. Vertical and horizontal collectivism were included as variables likely to influence the first group of variables while not being themselves subject to SDB.FindingsThe projective technique consistently identified higher levels of SDB effects, as hypothesized. Marked differences emerged in the apparent strength of the relationships between the operational constructs depending upon which measure of SDB was used. At times, whether any such relationship might exist depended on the SDB measure used. Contrary to some prior work, no systematic gender effects were identified using either approach.Originality/valueThe first study to provide evidence of the comparative effects of different types of measures of SDB in research into ethical issues. One of the few to demonstrate how apparent relationships between variables can be created by SDB.
The current study set out to determine whether youth perceptions of parental and best friends' likely reactions to their involvement in deviant behavior influenced their own attitude toward deviance ...(AD) and propensity for future delinquency. It also asked whether the effect was conditional on participant sex. Relationships between time-ordered measures of youth perceptions of mother, father, and best friends' likely reactions to participant deviance, the youth's own AD, and the youth's level of participation in subsequent delinquency were tested in a sample of 3,880 adolescents (mean age = 15.33 years at the start of the study, 50.6% male). A moderated mediation path analysis revealed that perceived acceptance of participant deviance by the individual's best friends predicted a rise in participant positive attitudes toward deviance, which, in turn, led to a rise in future delinquency. There was no effect, however, for mother or father perceived attitudes toward participant deviance. These results further revealed that the effect was moderated by sex and only significant in boys. From these results, it can be surmised that best friends' perceived reactions to deviance may have an indirect effect on future delinquency of male youth by shaping and influencing the youth's own AD.
Friendship may be significantly associated with adolescents’ psychological well-being. Among various kinds of friendships, this study investigated two types of intergroup friendships among Chinese ...adolescents, specifically cross-hukou-location and cross-gender friendship. Fixed-effects modeling with a two-wave national dataset—the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS)—was performed to evaluate the relationship between within-individual changes in cross-hukou-location friendship, cross-gender friendship, and mental health status (N = 5,297, boys: 50.18%, average age: 12.92 at wave 1). The relationship pattern among different genders was also explored. The results showed that cross-hukou-location friendship is positively associated with male adolescents’ mental health status. The cross-gender relationship is negatively related to mental health in the overall sample and female subsample. The findings not only emphasized the vital role of intergroup contact but also shed light on understanding the role of gender in intergroup friendship-making and the relationship with psychological well-being.
During adolescence, the need for social connection increases. Yet, fostering emotional closeness in relationships becomes more complex, as the need for autonomy also increases and social environments ...must adapt to become conducive to these seemingly competing needs. This complexity necessitates more research on what happens to close relationships during adolescence to better equip parents, scholars, and practitioners are in helping individuals navigate the unique social atmosphere of adolescence. The current study draws upon multi-level modelling techniques to estimate growth models of Australian adolescents' closeness to parents and closeness to friends from ages 12-17 as well as explore predictors of these trajectories. Findings reveal that on average, adolescents' levels of closeness to parents exhibit a moderate decrease while remaining relatively high, and boys appear to have a closer relationship with their parents than girls throughout the period examined. Levels of closeness to friends similarly decline while remaining relatively high, with girls exhibiting both greater levels of closeness and a faster decrease than boys throughout the timeframe examined. These results are discussed in light of the current literature, and recommendations for future studies are provided.
The aim was to analyze the mediation role of self-esteem in the interaction between social support from the best friend, friends, and parents, and physical activity (PA). Participants were N=444 ...adolescents of both genders (male= 205), aged between 12-18 years (M= 16.02; SD= 1.57). Structural equation modeling, serial mediation and multigroup analysis were used to test the proposed hypothesis. Self-reported instruments were used to collect both PA social support and self-esteem. Self-esteem mediates partially the interaction between different social supports and vigorous PA, independently of adolescent sex. Interestingly, self-esteem was fully mediating the interaction between parents’ social support and vigorous PA in female adolescents. In contrast, self-esteem revealed no mediation in the interaction between social support and light and moderate PA. In conclusion, self-esteem mediates the relationship between social support and vigorous PA, the strength of mediation is higher in girls than in boys, in both genders the mediation is higher when the social support came from parents.
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