During a period of increased independence from parents, youth turn to peers for support, and consequently become more vulnerable to peer pressure (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). During middle adolescence, vulnerability to peer influence begins to decline (Steinberg & Monahan, 2007). Empirical research has documented this trend in vulnerability to peer pressure across adolescence, but less attention has been afforded to the age-related changes in similarity. To address this, age-related changes in peer similarity in delinquency across the adolescent years were examinded using intraclass correlations. Moderating variables, including gender, reciprocity, and closeness, and control variables, including friendship stability and romantic partner status, were examined. Results indicated an increase in friend similarity in delinquency from 5th to 7th grade and a decrease in similarity from 7th to 9th grade. Implications of this study are discussed in terms of contribution to the field and implementation of the findings. / by Ashley D. Richmond. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Attachment, a vital part of human life, is defined as a strong emotional bond with a caregiver that is formed through repetitions of behaviors that children adjust to accordingly. One forms a view on relationships that transfers from parents to peers as a result of their internal working model (IWM). A secure attachment can form a healthy model while an insecure one may form an unhealthy, negative model. The present study assesses preadolescents' attachment styles toward their friends and examines whether their attachment styles interact with peers' attachment styles to predict liking of the peers and aggression toward the peers. / by Alexzandria May. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Close friends have been shown to influence adolescent problem behaviors, especially alcohol abuse (Urberg, Degirmencioglu, and Pilgrim, 1997). The degree of influence, however varies as a function of individual characteristics such as peer acceptance (Laursen, Hafen, Kerr, and Stattin, 2012) and age (Popp et al., 2008). The present study examines whether differences in influence extend to perceptions of friendship quality. Using a sample of 764 Swedish adolescents involved in stable samesex reciprocal best friend relationships that lasted at least one year, analyses used distinguishable dyad actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) analyses (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) to track influence over two years of the friendship. More satisfied friends were more influential than less satisfied friends on intoxication frequency and truancy. The findings of this study indicate that influence accompanies perceptions of quality. Those with higher perceptions of quality exhibit more influence on friends who perceive relatively lower quality. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

The aim of this study is to investigate what interpersonal relationships are constructedwhen a teacher comments on students’ texts. The investigation is based on 201 comments from one teacher and are analysed with a qualitative and a quantitative method. The theoretical frame of the investigation is founded on functional grammar and interpersonal perspectives, using the categories address, directions, praise, caution, and additions. The results show that directions are the most common feature of interpersonal perspectives found in the teacher’s comments. The second most common category is additions, constituting of confirmations, corrections and help in the teacher’s comments. Furthermore, two equally detected categories in the investigation are address and praise that are detected 53 times each. The least detected category is caution.

Baumeister and Leary (1995) propose with their Need to Belong Theory that negative affect would occur upon the disruption of an existing or even potential social connection. The present paper presents two studies that sought to resolve past contradictory research by examining how rejection by various sources (romantic partners, family members, close friends, or strangers) impact the rejectee’s emotional responses. The first study, which used a recalled memory of rejection, yielded no significant differences in mood, need to belong, threat to the four fundamental needs, or state self-esteem for the different sources. However, the second study, which used imagined scenarios, found that the source of rejection had a significant effect on the rejectee’s levels of hurt feelings, sadness, and perceived level of rejection, indicating that the effects of rejection are influenced by the relationship people have with their rejecters. This has many implications on how we understand relational dynamics and rejection.

Background: Genital herpes is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the United States. As genital herpes is incurable and contagious, individuals with genital herpes face the decision to disclose their status to potential sexual partners with each new relationship formed. Such disclosure places individuals with genital herpes in a position to face rejection, which is commonly reported as one of the most concerning aspects of having genital herpes. The present study seeks to further understand the nature of genital herpes disclosure by addressing two core aims: 1) to understand determinants of and reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure and 2) to explore the relationship between past partner reactions to a disclosure and future intentions to disclose. Methods: Data on genital herpes disclosure experiences were collected via an online questionnaire, which was distributed through a variety of online channels including social media websites and email lists. Individuals who self-identified as having genital herpes and were 18 years and older were eligible for participation. Results: In examining Aim 1, the majority of participants (80.4%) disclosed to their last sexual partner. Age, relationship length, type of relationship, and expectations of a partner's response were significantly associated with the decision to disclose at the bivariate level. Expectations of a partner's reaction (AOR = .20, 95% CI .074-.539) and relationship type (AOR = 8.31, 95% CI 1.96-35.32) remained significant in multivariable modeling, explaining 45.2% of the variance in disclosure. Respondents who reported being in socially committed relationships and those who expected more positive partner reactions to a disclosure were more likely to disclose. Disclosure was also significantly associated with many romantic relationship building activities (e.g., establishing an exclusive relationship) but largely not associated with the sexual progression of a relationship. The decision to disclose was commonly multi-faceted, with the majority of participants reporting more than one reason that they did or did not disclose. Primary reasons for disclosure included "I wanted to be honest", "To protect my partner from getting herpes", and "It's my partner's right to know", while the most common reasons for non-disclosure were "I was concerned my partner would react badly", "I was ashamed", and "I was concerned that my partner would have rejected me". Regarding Aim 2, participants reported low levels of negative reactions and perceived rejection in response to their last disclosure experience. Intentions to disclose in the future were high among those who anticipated future sex partners. Discussion: The decision to disclose is often multi-faceted, and relationship characteristics play a key role in the decision to disclose. Among those who did disclose in this study, the majority did not report negative repercussions, including bad partner reactions and rejection. Future studies should examine if individuals are able to accurately assess potential partner reactions in order to better understand the differences between those who choose not to disclose and those who choose to disclose but experience a negative partner reaction or rejection.

This study involves a first attempt to identify Chinese auditors’ values and examines their effects on ethical ideologies and ethical judgments and intentions. A survey methodology is used and the survey instrument includes a self-administered questionnaire and a short auditing ethical case. A sample of Chinese CPAs with auditing experience was drawn from accounting firms located in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Kunming cities during 2006-7. Three hundred and twenty-five useable responses were received. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Forsyth’s (1980) model of ethical ideologies. This study identifies Chinese auditors’ cultural values as (1) Chinese traditional cultural values, (2) interpersonal relationships (guanxi), and (3) attitudes towards money. This study posits that Chinese auditors’ cultural values will impact on their ethical ideologies and that their ethical judgments and intentions are, in turn influenced by the ideologies they prefer. In this study, Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments and intentions are examined using a well understood ethical dilemma in auditing, specifically whether an auditor should accept a client’s suggestion to inappropriately alter the financial position or to adhere to accounting and professional standards. Four research questions are proposed in this study: 1. What national cultural values best describe Chinese auditors? 2. How do Chinese cultural values impact ethical ideologies (i.e., Idealism and Relativism) as they apply to practicing auditors? 3. Do identifiable ethical ideologies, adopted by auditors, influence the decision making process in issues relating to audit independence? In particular, ethical judgments and intentions. 4. How do certain contextual matters, namely firms’ ethical culture and personal factors influence ethical ideologies? / Chinese auditors’ beliefs about their national cultural values are measured using the Chinese Cultural Values (CVS) used in the Chinese Culture Connection (1987). Chinese auditors’ guanxi orientations are measured using a 12 item scale based on Ang and Leong’s (2000) 9 items favour-seeking guanxi scale and three items constructed by the author concerned with rent-seeking guanxi orientations. Chinese auditors’ attitudes towards money are measured using Tang and Chiu’s (2003) the Love of Money Scale (LMOS) scale. Chinese auditors’ beliefs about their firms’ ethical cultures are measured using Hunt et al.’s (1989) corporate ethical values scale. Chinese auditors’ ethical ideologies are determined by using Forsyth’s (1980) ethical position questionnaire (EPQ). Finally, Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments and intentions are measured using an auditing case study. The major statistical methods used in this study are descriptive, t-tests, correlations, and regression analysis. The following significant results are presented in this study: 1. Chinese auditors display strong views about their traditional cultural values in four of the five national dimensions, the exception being Confucian Work dynamism past orientation. Young auditors appear less concerned with Integration issues compared to their older counterparts. Again, younger and less experienced auditors display less interest in the Human-heartedness dimension compared to their older counterparts. Auditors with Masters Degrees identify less with Confucian Work dynamism future orientations when compared to those who hold a Bachelors degree. / Attitudes towards the Confucian Work dynamism dimension future orientation are found to be positively associated with Idealism, however attitudes relating to Confucian Work dynamism dimension past orientation component are found to be negatively associated with Idealism. Further, attitudes relating to Confucian Work dynamism dimension past orientation component are found to be negatively associated with Relativism. 2. Chinese auditors display significantly higher mean scores in both favour-seeking and rent-seeking guanxi orientations. Young and less experienced auditors are more likely to use rent-seeking guanxi than older and experienced auditors. Chinese auditors’ rent-seeking guanxi orientations are found to be negatively associated with Idealism and both favour-seeking and rent-seeking guanxi orientations are found to be positively associated with Relativism. 3. Chinese auditors’ attitudes towards money are high in two of the four dimensions relating to the love of money, namely the importance of money and the desire to be rich dimensions. Their attitudes towards money are significantly higher than for Hong Kong employees. Male auditors displayed significantly higher mean scores in the desire to be rich dimension than female auditors. Young auditors have significantly higher mean scores in the success and motivator dimensions compared to older auditors. Chinese auditors’ beliefs about the importance of money are found to be positively associated with Relativism. Interestingly, no association with Idealism was identified in this study. 4. Chinese auditors have stronger beliefs about their firms’ ethical cultures to compare the mid-point value but their beliefs are significantly lower than for American subjects. / Junior and senior auditors are less likely to believe their managers display unethical behavior compared to accounting firm partners. Auditors employed in work environments where punishment systems exist are likely to disclose attitudes that are positively associated with Idealism. Alternatively, auditors employed in work environments where managers are believed to display unethical behaviour are likely to disclose attitudes that are positively associated with Relativism. 5. Chinese auditors display relatively higher ethical positions (on both Idealism and Relativism) to compare the mid-point value. Males hold stronger relativist positions than females and older auditors are more idealistic than their youthful counterparts. Auditors who hold senior positions are more likely to be relativists compared to juniors. Chinese auditors’ ethical judgments are found to be positively associated with Idealism and negatively associated with Relativism. However, their ethical intentions are only found to be negatively associated with Relativism. Young auditors appear less ethical in terms of their judgments than older auditors and less experienced auditors are less intentioned compared to experienced auditors. This study contributes to our understanding of Chinese auditors’ values and their ethical ideologies and the effects these have on their ethical judgments and intentions. It is the first research to include a wide range of ethical decision-making factors within a business context in China using qualified CPAs. It is believed that valuable insights have been gained about the various cultural factors influencing ideological processes and how these flow through to the decision making level. / The study also contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing additional evidence that ethical decision making is a universal concept involving moral philosophies such as those suggested by Forsyth (1980) and Hunt and Vitell (1986) and applies in an auditing context in China. Moreover, this study develops a rent-seeking guanxi scale based on Su et al.’s (2003) classification of guanxi orientations and Ang and Leong’s (2000) guanxi scale. It contributes by providing a scale to measure the extent to which business relationships involves back door deals and power dependence. One of the significant contributions of this study is that it contributes to the construction of a meaningful measure for the guanxi scale which includes favour-seeking guanxi and specifically for the first time, rent-seeking guanxi. Thus a confirmatory analysis with an independent sample could be used in the future to re-test the guanxi scale with the two dimensions developed in this study. contributions of this study is that it contributes to the construction of a meaningful measure for the guanxi scale which includes favour-seeking guanxi and specifically for the first time, rent-seeking guanxi. Thus a confirmatory analysis with an independent sample could be used in the future to re-test the guanxi scale with the two dimensions developed in this study.

This study examines the transition to marriage among low-income urban mothers and fathers who are unmarried and have a newborn baby together. The study contributes to an emerging body of research that explores the concept of obstacles to marriage by testing whether obstacles to marriage operate in the way that the descriptive literature has proposed: by standing in the way of loving and committed couples who might otherwise make a smooth transition to marriage. Using survival analysis techniques and data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, and introducing a new measure, the Headed to Marriage Index, the study tests the influence that three categories of determinants of marriage — relationship quality, investment in the relationship, and guiding values and beliefs — have on how long couples with a newborn remain unmarried to each other. It also determines whether and how the association between these determinants of marriage and time to marriage is affected by the presence of three obstacles to marriage: low education, poverty, and multiple partner fertility. Results show that the Headed to Marriage Index can be used to estimate hazard of marriage among these couples, and that as a predictor of marriage behavior, this simple index performs nearly as well as the individual components that it comprises. Results also show that low education, being in poverty, and having multiple partner fertility are formidable obstacles that might help to explain why some new parents never marry each other, even though they report wanting to. Finally, interaction terms using the Headed to Marriage Index and each of the three obstacles to marriage test the hypothesis that the extent to which these obstacles to marriage matter might differ depending a couple’s score on the Headed to Marriage Index. The results provided evidence that poverty is an obstacle to marriage for couples at all levels of the Headed to Marriage Index, but that its effect grows stronger as HMI score increases. Poverty is a significant barrier to marriage for those who are otherwise most prepared and oriented toward marriage. / text

This study provides evidence that individuals who share similar experiences that are grounded in the actual features of the courtship are likely to remain married over 13 years later. Using logistic regression and path analyses to examine 168 married partners, results support previous research suggesting that “enduring dynamics” best predicts the developmental pathway for couples who remain married, whereas “disillusionment” prefigures marital instability. Specifically, findings revealed that marriages are more likely to be stable when premarital partners (a) feel similar depths of love for one another, (b) move toward marriage at comparable rates over the course of the courtship, and when feelings of (c) love and (d) ambivalence reflect how frequently they experience conflict and downturns in their estimations of the likelihood of marriage. Gender differences and exceptions to this pattern are discussed. / text

This 14-year longitudinal study extends previous research on money in marriage by using multiple measures of money to predict seven dimensions of marital quality. Data collection began when the couples were newlyweds and extended through the first decade and a half of marriage, thus making it possible to examine the effects of money on marital quality across time. Overall, the findings indicate that money affects marital quality. Specifically, low income was associated behavioral negativity over the entire course of the fourteen year study. Low-income couples who were content with their financial situations were more satisfied than low-income couples that were unhappy about their financial situation. The effects of money on marriage increased over time such that by the time couples were nearly a decade a half into marriage couple’s income was associated with both positive marital behaviors and marital satisfaction. Similarly, the link between financial satisfaction and marital satisfaction emerged over time. The implications of these findings as well as directions for future research are discussed. / text