Brittany Landrum

Previous research establishing the connection between social media and well-being is particularly relevant in light of findings of increased social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic. While research has fairly consistently established a relationship between media use, anxiety, depression and other indices of well-being, it has been less consistent in tying these variations to technology and user related factors. Researchers advocating for the interdependence of these factors suggest that the way users attune to the medium is decisive regarding its meaning for the user. Taking up the call for research to explore the dynamic interplay between users and technology and its relationship to well-being, we adopted a phenomenological approach using a reflexive thematic analysis method to highlight our participants’ concerns when using and engaging with social media during COVID-19. Specifically, we illuminate how participants are attuning to social media such that they experience it unsettlingly. Results revealed being unsettled during COVID-19 in the face of social media comprises three distinct movements: rupture, recollection, and resolution. Being unsettled emerges when an individual is experientially efficaciously detached from the past and its future instead engulfed in an encompassing and expanding now that is unclear and ambiguous. These results shed light on the inconsistencies found in previous literature and the importance of an experiential dimension in psychological research.

At the end of every semester, some students will boldly email me asking for their grade to be bumped. These requests and their motives seem closely tied to academic entitlement, which has mostly been studied quantitatively. Creating a dialogue with this published literature, this research seeks to uncover the lived meanings of a grade perceived as unjust. Using a Heideggerian life-world approach, I analyzed an email archive to explore how students are projecting lived understandings of themselves that are at odds with their grades. In their plaintive plea to change their grades, the students are seeking affirmation of their self-understanding, demanding to be seen and valued as they see themselves. These results are discussed in light of the literature reviewed and directions for future research are proffered.

Past research has examined how various elements and style of a syllabus influence students’ perceptions of the class. Furthermore, students’ learning and grade orientations have been shown to impact academic performance and effort. We sought to add to this literature by exploring how an assignment’s name might impact estimates of time to be spent on and the importance of the assignment. We also explored the separate interaction effect of the attitudes and behaviors subscales of these orientations on students’ perceptions separately. In total, 159 undergraduate students completed a survey with a written assignment called “Quiz,” “Exam,” or “Journal.” Participants answered questions from the LOGO-II scale, and regarding their anticipated effort, time to be spent on, and the importance of the assignment. We found that the quiz and exam were perceived as more important than the journal even though participants reported spending the least amount of time on the quiz. Significant interactions between name and learning/grade orientation suggest that for students with high motivation to learn (attitudes and behaviors), all assignments are perceived as an opportunity to learn. However, for students focused on grades (grade orientation behaviors), all graded assignments are opportunities for grades and hence equally important. These results support analyzing attitudes and behaviors separately. Results are discussed in light of previous research and directions for future research. Dans le passé, la recherche a porté sur la mesure dans laquelle le style d’un plan de cours et des divers éléments qui le composent influencent la perception qu’ont les étudiants du cours. La recherche a effectivement démontré que l’orientation des étudiants relative à l’apprentissage et aux notes a un impact sur les efforts qu’ils investissent et sur leur performance. Nous avons voulu contribuer à cette recherche en nous penchant sur l’impact que pourrait avoir le nom d’une évaluation sur le temps que les étudiants pensaient y consacrer et sur leur impression de son importance. Nous avons également étudié, séparément, l’effet de l’interaction des sous-échelles des attitudes et des comportements sur ces orientations. Au total, 159 étudiants du premier cycle ont complété un sondage portant sur une évaluation nommée ou bien «quiz », « examen » ou « journal ». Ils ont répondu à des questions de l’échelle LOGO-II, ainsi qu’à des questions au sujet de l’effort et du temps qu’ils prévoyaient consacrer aux évaluations et de l’importance qu’ils attribuaient à chacune. Les résultats indiquent que les étudiants perçoivent le quiz et l’examen comme étant plus importants que le journal, même s’ils indiquent avoir passé le moins de temps sur le quiz. Les interactions significatives entre le nom et l’orientation relative à l’apprentissage et aux notes portent à croire que les étudiants qui sont hautement motivés à apprendre (de par leurs attitudes et leur comportement) perçoivent toutes les évaluations comme des occasions d’apprentissage. Toutefois, pour les étudiants qui se concentrent surtout sur les notes, toutes les évaluations notées représentent des occasions d’avoir de bonnes notes et elles ont donc la même importance. Les résultats appuient l’analyse séparée des attitudes et des comportements. Ceux-ci font l’objet d’une discussion dans le contexte de la recherche antérieure d’une part, et en fonction de l’orientation de la recherche à l’avenir d’autre part.

Increasing motivation and raising retention rates are considerable challenges for providers of adolescent substance abuse treatment. Research has shown that motivation for treatment, social influences (peers, family, counselors), and for some clients external pressure from the juvenile justice system, can serve as key factors in successful retention. To further understand influences on motivation and retention, focus groups were conducted in two residential treatment facilities. Adolescent clients, parents, and treatment staff were asked to describe their experiences with the treatment process focusing specifically on factors related to treatment attrition and retention. Qualitative data analysis revealed five themes affecting retention either positively or negatively. Themes included relationships (with family, peers, and counselors), responsibility (degree to which clients embrace jobs, roles, and rules), emotional regulation (ability to express feelings appropriately), thinking (identifying behavior patterns and recognizing consequences), and self-efficacy (feelings of empowerment). Implications for future research and for developing strategies aimed at increasing motivation and retention are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to establish the psychometric properties of a noncommercial, publicly available, modular screening and assessment system for adolescents in substance abuse treatment. Data were collected in 2011–2012 from 1,189 adolescents admitted to eight residential treatment programs in urban and rural locations in the United States. Results from three sets of analyses documented the instruments to be reliable. Females reported more problems than males, and younger adolescents reported more problems than older youth. Implications and limitations are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.