Preschoolers' language abilities are associated with their social interactions in early childhood classrooms. Few studies, however, have examined associations between social interactions and objective measures of children's real-time classroom language environments, information key to informing interventions to support preschool children at risk…

Loneliness becomes more prevalent as youth transition from childhood into adolescence. A key underlying process may be the puberty-related increase in biological stress reactivity, which can alter social behavior and elicit conflict or social withdrawal (fight-or-flight behaviors) in some youth, but increase prosocial (tend-and-befriend) responses…

The purpose of this study was to elicit smoking couples' preferences for the 'format' and 'content' of couple-based interventions and partner support from both partners' perspectives, using an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) survey. An online DCE study was conducted during online interviews with 56 smoking couples (N = 112). Conditional…

Mentoring relationships in academia have traditionally been described as a dyad between a mentor and a mentee. The mentor provides the mentee with both technical and psychosocial support to move toward obtaining their Ph.D. or gaining tenure and promotion. While there is an embedded assumption that mentoring is best suited when people of common…

This research study explores the mentoring experiences of graduate student and early career instructors who teach online courses at a mid-size public university in the United States. As members of a centralized online learning unit that works with instructors teaching online courses across a range of disciplines, we sought to better understand the…

This cross-sectional study addresses for the first time the non/linear association between individual learner differences of social, proficiency-related, and socioaffective nature (length of residence [LoR], varietal proficiency, exposure, and socioaffect) and differential outcomes in L2 sociolinguistic repertoires against the backdrop of the…

Social skills are of key importance in everyday and work life. However, the way in which they are typically assessed via self-report questionnaires has one potential downside; self-reports assess individuals' global self-concepts, which do not necessarily reflect individuals' actual social behaviors. In this research, we aimed to investigate how…

Over the past 50 years, a large body of work has demonstrated that during childhood and adolescence peers are strong socialization agents influencing youth development across a wide array of behavioral domains. In this report, we highlight how this long-standing research focus on peer influence may benefit from undertaking new directions that have…

This dissertation explores the relationship between teacher experience, defined by years of service and grade span, and trust levels in educational leadership and among stakeholders within the school community. Trust is critical in fostering positive educational environments, enhancing collaboration, and ensuring the successful implementation of…

This article introduces the Creative Actions Scale (CAS), a Spanish self-report assessment of individual differences in creative actions. The CAS consists of independent scales that assess the frequency of engagement in everyday creative actions across seven domains: Literature, Plastic Arts and Crafts, Science and Technology, Scenic Arts, Music,…

This article presents the results of two projects exploring the experiences of working-class students in elite colleges. The first project is a nation-wide study that included 19 focus groups with 183 program participants of a condonable loan program, and additional interviews and focus groups with non-scholarship students, professors and…

Antiracism education can be a transformative experience for White college students. However, the process of learning can engender strong reactions (e.g., defensiveness) that disrupts participation. Though some White students are more successful in moving closer toward an antiracist position, little is known about this group. This gap in knowledge…

Objective: The present study identified student characteristics associated with using protective behavioral strategies (PBS) to reduce harms when consuming alcohol. Participants: 224 college students who drink alcohol (66.5% female, 89.7% White non-Hispanic, Mage = 21.04) completed an anonymous study survey. Methods: Participants reported use of…

This study investigated student belonging in high school. High school is a time in which students participate in academic and non-academic activities at school and develop a sense of belonging with friends, relationships with teachers and coaches, and value academic outcomes. This quantitative study will investigate the relationship between social…

Limited empirical research exists regarding the modern-day responsibilities of central office administrators. The purpose of the current case study was to provide further insight into perceptions of central office administrators and campus stakeholders regarding the collaboration that occurs to implement districtwide initiatives. The researcher…