Progress 07/01/03 to 06/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Information gleaned from this project has been disseminated in undergraduate and graduate Research Methods courses in the department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development, two dissertations, one state level presentation, one regional level presentation, and five manuscripts published in peer reviewed journals. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: This information is especially relevant for scholars, researchers, and parents who seek to understand adolescent identity development and the relation between adolescent development and behavior. Likewise, applied personnel and change agents may benefit from findings that connect adolescent identity development and behavior to the environments that adolescents construct. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
When teens adopt an active role in the design of the environments that they occupy, the shift from passive to active niche building corresponds with and is indicative of identity development. Likewise, niche building activity, as evidenced by content within environment (specifically, adolescent bedrooms), mirrors changing values and lifestyle choices. Differences in the bedroom content of adolescent boys and girls validates what is already known about gender differences in identity development: girls bedrooms, more so than boys bedrooms, contained items that demonstrated their preference for relationships and items to maintain these relationships (e.g., telephones). Boys bedrooms contained items that evidenced their preference for independence and achievement (e.g., awards, trophies, etc.). And, because assessment of bedroom contents verified known gender differences in identity development, our documentation of the association between increased niche building activity and identity development gains in ecological validity. Shifts from passive to active niche building are observable, much more so than the subtle, and invisible changes that correspond with modifications in self perception. Knowing that a shift from passive to active niche building corresponds with changes in identity, and that possessions contained and displayed in personal space are valid indicators of values and lifestyle choice provides a powerful tool for parents to monitor the psychological and social development of their adolescent offspring. Parents can easily and unobtrusively monitor niche building activity and note changes in bedroom content that coincides, or contradicts with the values and lifestyle choices that they prefer their children endorse. Had Eric Harris and Dylan Klebolds parents been aware of the relationship between behavioral residue, personal characteristics, and behavior documented in this project, the tragic event that occurred in Littleton Colorado on April 20, 1999 may have been avoided. Police searched each of the boys bedrooms shortly after the Columbine High School tragedy: "Videotapes found in Harris bedroom later that day include a tour of Harris' messy bedroom full of small pipe bombs, ammunition, a knife whose case had a swastika on it, shells and clips. Eric Harris points to these items on his dusty book shelves and says ... Thank goodness my parents don't search my room'." And, in police interviews, Harris and Klebold's parents said they had no idea about the arsenal of weapons their sons were amassing in their bedrooms, including knives, guns, cans full of gunpowder, coils of bomb fuse, and bombs - more than 100 of them including pipe bombs, propane bombs, and homemade grenades. Findings from this project highlight the need for greater parental awareness of the environments that their adolescent children frequent, and especially those environments that are constructed by their adolescent children. Constructed environments are littered with behavioral residue that provides much insight to the inhabitant's personal characteristics, emerging identity, and behavior.
Publications
- Jones, R. M., Ogletree, M., Coyl, D.D., and Dick, A.J. 2007. Antecedents of the adolescent identity crisis: Age, grade, and physical development. Adolescence (in press).
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our project involved a cross-cultural comparison of Eastern Indian and American adolescents to identify similarities and differences in identity development and niche-building as evidenced in the constructed environment. We sampled 8th and 9th grade adolescents from two different cultures (American n = 285, Indian n = 198) and focused our investigation of niche-building on the contents of these adolescent's bedrooms. During this past year, we investigated actual and preferred bedroom content, bedroom design activity, and the level of perceived influence by the immediate and extended family, friends, and social institutions among the American adolescents in our sample. Gender differences were identified for preferences, activity, and influence in bedroom design and decoration. Girls and boys differed in the type of items contained in their bedrooms. Girls rooms contained stuffed animals and pictures of people, including themselves, more frequently than the boys rooms. In
contrast, boys rooms contained sports-related items, and things for building or that they had built themselves. Although bedroom design activity for both boys and girls was influenced by older teens, friends, media, and popular culture, boys, but not girls, were also influenced by their mothers, fathers, girlfriends, and activities such as sports, Boy scouts, and music lessons. Behavioral artifacts are abundant in our material acquisitions. Material acquisitions reflect past decisions that are influenced by our beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals. Our findings, especially cultural differences in both identity development and possessed and/or desired bedroom content, support our contention that possessions are relevant to identity. Identities are constructed from beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals.
PARTICIPANTS: Randall Jones, Project Leader
TARGET AUDIENCES: Findings from this project are especially relevant for scholars, researchers, and parents who seek to understand adolescent identity development and the relation between adolescent development and behavior. Likewise, applied personnel and change agents may benefit from findings that connect adolescent identity development and behavior to the environments that adolescents construct.
Impacts
Environmental contents are readily observed, whereas changes in identity are not. Our findings indicate that contents within the adolescent bedroom reflect the adolescent's emerging identity. Parents who are aware of their adolescent children's possessions, and who monitor change in their adolescent children's niche-building activities may be more aware of their adolescent children's emerging identity. With this awareness these parents will be positioned to implement more timely and effective parental interventions.
Publications
- Jones, R. M., Taylor, D.E., Dick, A.J., Singh, A., and Cook, J.L. 2007. Bedroom design and decoration: Gender differences in preference and activity. Adolescence 42:539-553.
- Cook, J.L., and Jones, R.M. 2007. Identity, intimacy, and father involvement among first-time fathers . North American Journal of Psychology 9:153-162.
- Jones, R. M., Ogletree, M., Coyl, D.D., and Dick, A.J. 2007. Antecedents of the adolescent identity crisis: Age, grade, and physical development. Adolescence (in press).
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Our project involved a cross-cultural comparison of Eastern Indian and American adolescents to identify similarities and differences in identity development and niche-building as evidenced in the constructed environment. We sampled 8th and 9th grade adolescents from two different cultures (American n = 285, Indian n = 198) and focused our investigation of niche-building on the contents of these adolescents bedrooms. Our results revealed that niche-building differed across culture, gender, and level of identity development. The Indian adolescents possessed and/or desired a greater variety of electronic equipment, furniture, and decorative items for their bedrooms as compared to the American adolescents. Females possessed and/or desired a greater variety of items for their bedrooms as compared to the males. Females, more so than males, possessed and/or desired pictures of family members and make-up accessories for their bedrooms whereas males possessed and/or desired
more instrumental items like athletic equipment or items for building things more so than females. Adolescents who were committed to their emerging identities (i.e., foreclosed and achieved), regardless of gender and regardless of culture, were more likely to possess and/or desire pictures of themselves that reflected who they really were. Adolescents who were open to exploring their emerging identities (i.e., achieved and moratorium) were most likely to possess and/or desire computers, internet access, and globes and maps for their bedrooms, as compared to the adolescents who shunned exploration because of strong commitments (i.e., foreclosed) or no commitments at all (i.e., diffused). Most of our American adolescents were foreclosed in their identity development (strong commitments with little exploration of alternatives), whereas, foreclosure was the least likely identity classification for the Indian adolescents who were either achieved (strong commitments following exploration)
or diffuse (weak commitments following little or no identity exploration). Cultural differences in bedroom content and/or desired content were abundant and, in most cases, content differences reflect the cultural differences in identity development. American adolescents, more so than Indian adolescents possessed and/or desired CD players, stereos, and souvenirs from places where they had traveled. Conversely, Indian adolescents, more so than American adolescents possessed and/or desired globes or maps, computer and printers, bookcases, posters of places they would like to visit, pictures of family (e.g., father, mothers, grandparents, siblings), and items that reflect their ethnic and/or cultural identity. Behavioral artifacts are abundant in our material acquisitions. Material acquisitions reflect past decisions that are influenced by our beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals. Our findings, especially cultural differences in both identity development and possessed and/or desired
bedroom content, support our contention that possessions are relevant to identity. Identities are constructed from beliefs, values, attitudes, and goals.
Impacts
Environmental contents are readily observed, whereas changes in identity are not. Our findings indicate that contents within the adolescent bedroom reflect the adolescents emerging identity. Parents who are aware of their adolescent childrens possessions, and who monitor change in their adolescent childrens niche-building activities may be more aware of their adolescent childrens emerging identity. With this awareness these parents will be positioned to implement more timely and effective parental interventions.
Publications
- Singh, A. The Relationship between Culture, Gender, Identity, and Adolescents' Niche-Building: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. Doctoral Dissertation, 2006.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Findings from our project indicate that adolescent bedroom design is subject to several sources of influence; and in particular, Gender. In our study, boys bedrooms almost exclusively contained masculine items but the contents of the girls bedrooms contained a mixture of masculine and feminine items. Specifically, the items found in a majority of the male bedrooms, viz., athletic/sporting equipment, things for building or that you have built, were also commonly found in female bedrooms; whereas, a majority of the female bedrooms contained items that were rarely found in the male bedrooms, for example jewelry, make-up and/or hair accessories, pictures of your friends, pictures of your brothers and/or sisters. In turn, bedroom contents correspond with adolescent lifestyle choices that may affect immediate and long term well being. Among 8th and 9th grade males, bedroom contents that are associated with greater weight include posters of female musicians; 28 and 13 lbs
respectively, posters of male musicians; 20 and 15 lbs, cd players; 14 and 6 lbs, electronic games; 2 and 14 lbs, and a television; 9 and 7 lbs. Contents associated with less weight for the 8th and 9th grade males include athletic/sporting equipment; 7 and 22 lbs respectively, awards/certificates; 14 and 30 lbs, posters of male athletes; 13 and 16 lbs, and souvenirs from places they had visited; 19 and 22 lbs. Among the 8th and 9th grade females, bedroom contents that are associated with greater weight include posters of females movies stars; 22 and 10 lbs respectively, and a stereo; 9 and 3 lbs. Contents associated with less weight for the 8th and 9th grade females include pictures of friends; 10 and 7 lbs, souvenirs from places they had visited; 46 and 11 lbs, pictures of themselves; 7 and 2 lbs. Among the 8th grade participants, males who have a computer in their bedrooms weigh 8 more lbs than their peers, and females who have a computer weigh 48 more lbs than their peers. Among
the ninth grade participants, the existence of a telephone equates to 18 lbs for males and 7 fewer lbs for females. In addition to the health implications that are identified above, we have learned that bedroom content differs from desire. Desire, i.e., what would you like to include in your bedroom that you do not already have? is not dependent upon available resources, whereas actual content, i.e., items that are already located in your bedroom, is. Desire likely precedes procurement. For example, only 20.5 percent of our sample had a computer and printer in their bedrooms whereas 57.2 percent of those who did not expressed desire for the item. Given limited resources for many adolescents, the shift from passive to active niche-building may first appear in desire that translates into action as resources become available.
Impacts
Our findings indicate that some adolescent bedroom design preferences promote a sedentary lifestyle that may have immediate and long term health consequences. An awareness of these design preferences may influence adolescent bedroom design. Since parents provide opportunity structures in the form of money or items for adolescent bedroom design, perhaps they can help adolescents design their bedrooms
Publications
- Cook, J.L., Jones, R.M., Dick, A.J., and Singh, A. 2005. Revisiting Men's Role in Father Involvement: The Importance of Personal Expectations. Fathering: A Journal of Theory. Research, and Practice About Men As Fathers. 3, 165-178.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
Initial findings from our project indicate that adolescent bedroom design is subject to several sources of influence; for example, Media, Popular Culture, Friends, and Older Teens tend to exert the greatest influence on adolescent bedroom design, whereas parents, while not emerging as a significant source of influence, do provide opportunity structures (resources) for some aspects of the adolescents bedroom. In turn, aspects of bedroom design correspond with adolescent lifestyle choices which are likely detrimental to the adolescents immediate and long term well being. Male and female adolescents who have a refrigerator, a microwave oven, or even a television in their bedroom spend more time in their bedrooms and they weigh significantly more than their peers who do not have these items in their rooms. For some comparisons the weight differences are alarming. A microwave oven or toaster oven resulted in a 60 pound difference, a refrigerator resulted in a 30 pound
difference, a television resulted in a 7 pound difference, electronic games yielded a 6 pound difference, and magazines that you like to read produced 4 additional pounds. Conversely, adolescents who had a full length mirror in their bedrooms weighed, on average, 6 pounds less than their peers who did not, and teens who had pictures of yourself that show who you are resulted in 7 fewer pounds. These weight differences were evident for both males and females. In addition to the health implications that are identified above, we have learned that bedroom design differs across gender. Female adolescents are more actively engaged in designing their rooms than males, and female bedrooms contain both items that are traditionally male such as athletic equipment, and female items, such as stuffed animals, whereas male rooms rarely contain items that are traditionally feminine. During the coming year, we will summarize our findings in one or two manuscripts, we will continue to explore the data
that we have collected thus far, and we will initiate efforts to collect comparative cross cultural data from India to see if our findings can be extended to another culture.
Impacts
Our findings indicate that some adolescent bedroom design preferences promote a sedentary lifestyle that may have immediate and long term health consequences. An awareness of these design preferences may influence adolescent bedroom design. Since parents provide opportunity structures in the form of money or items for adolescent bedroom design, perhaps they can help adolescents design a bedroom that will be conducive to a healty lifestyle.
Publications
- Dick, A.J., Pence, D.J., Jones, R.M. and Geertsen, R. 2004. The Need for Theory in Assessing Peer Courts. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, 1448-1461.
- Coyl, D.D., Jones, R.M., and Dick, A.J. 2004. The Influence of Peer Status and Peer Relationships on School-Related Behaviors, Attitudes, and Intentions Among Alternative High School School Students. American Secondary Education, 32, 39-62.
- Jones, R.M., Dick, A.J., Geertsen, R., Cook, J.L., and Coyl, D.D. 2003. Ego Identity Status as an Indicator of Peer Court Efficacy. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 54, 3, 47-59.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
During the past five months we have constructed and revised a comprehensive questionnaire to assess adolescent identity, development, and behavior; the current layout and contents of their personal bedroom space, and desired changes that they would like to make to their bedrooms. We pilot tested the questionnaire with eight adolescents, and revised the questionnaire based upon their input. During August and September we met with administrators from the Cache County School District and principals from four middle schools and one freshman center. In October we adminstered 283 questionnaires to 8th and 9th grade students at the freshman center. We received completed questionnaires from about 250 of those students. The data are currently being entered for analysis. During the coming year we will analyze data from the initial data collections and locate middel schools to participate during the next wave of data collection.
Impacts
We beleive that bedroom design and preference mirror adolescent identity development and behavior. We anticipate that our data will provide parents and other adults with a list of adolescent design preferences that indicate probable risk and/or achievement for their adolescent children.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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