RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: First-generation college students commonly experience financial, academic, and personal challenges that are exacerbated by a cultural mismatch between independent university settings and interdependent family environments. There is a paucity of research on the influence of cultural norms, including cultural mismatch, on first-generation college students' coping and help-seeking behaviors. The present research explored how cultural norms affect coping and help seeking for academic, financial, and psychological problems among diverse first-generation college students. METHOD: Eleven individual interviews were conducted to obtain pilot data, and 8 group interviews (n = 60) were conducted to examine cultural norms, relational concerns, coping, and social support. These same 71 participants (51% Ethnic Minority; 49% White; 70% female) completed a background survey (e.g., demographics, use of resources, coping, and family obligation). RESULTS: Most students were self-reliant and underutilized social support because of concerns about negatively affecting close relationships; these relational concerns included burdening others, being judged by others, and making matters worse. Concerns about face loss and group harmony were heightened among ethnic minority students. Despite limited quantitative evidence for White-Ethnic Minority differences in coping and psychological and academic functioning, minority students reported higher levels of family obligation. CONCLUSIONS: Results revealed a mismatch between hard independence (being self-reliant, resilient, and emotionally tough) and soft independence (being self-expressive, pursuing personal interests, and gaining a sense of freedom) and illuminate how relational concerns hinder help seeking among first-generation college students. These findings support culturally tailoring outreach efforts to address norms that promote self-reliance and the underutilization of services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Adaptación Psicológica , Conducta de Búsqueda de Ayuda , Grupos Minoritarios/psicología , Autoeficacia , Apoyo Social , Estudiantes/psicología , Etnicidad/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Universidades , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
In two experimental studies, we examine the extent to which strong or weak mitigating information after a provocation alters aggressive responding. In Study 1, we randomly assigned 215 (108 female) college-aged participants to a strong or weak provocation by having a research assistant talk to the participant about failing a task in a harsh or confused tone. This was followed by a second research assistant giving a strong or weak excuse to the participant regarding the first research assistant's behavior. Then, aggressive behavior was assessed using a researcher rating task. In Study 2, 63 (25 female) college-aged participants interacted with a confederate on the CRT. All participants were strongly provoked by receiving strong noise blasts. After five CRT trials, the confederate delivered weak or strong mitigating information to the participant regarding the noises blasts. The results indicated that: (i) strong provocations are more likely to increase aggression than weak provocations; (ii) strong mitigating information is more likely to decrease aggression than weak mitigating information; and (iii) the varying strength of mitigating information is important in situations involving weak, but not strong provocations: strong mitigating information is more likely than weak mitigating information reduce aggression when provocation is strong, but not when provocation is weak. We discuss the importance of mitigating information in decreasing aggressive behavior and the conditions in which mitigating information is especially likely to be effective. Aggr. Behav. 42:555-562, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.