The purpose of this study was to explore how having Mexican American friends influences a person?s perception to racial/ethnic (Mexican American) specific teasing. This study sought to extend the research on friendships and prejudice by investigating how friendship influences a person rating of ethnic specific teasing. This study is significant because promoting interracial friendships could be an avenue to alleviate some of the negative effects of racial teasing. Moreover, it may help facilitate and create a more comfortable social environment that might help ethnic minorities in school. Participants were asked to rate vignettes, including characters that were identified as Mexican American, which contained racial/ethnic specific teasing. They were asked to rate the vignettes according to adjectives that were either positive or negative, such as: humorous, friendly, mean, and cruel. Additionally, measures of empathy, social desirability, prejudice, and white racial consciousness were administered. Participants were asked to think of a Mexican American friend and complete a questionnaire, the Acquaintance Description Form F-2, as a way of measuring the intensity and closeness of this friendship. The major hypothesis was that participants who indicated a greater and more intense friendship with their Mexican American friend would rate the teasing as less positive and more disapproving. Analysis found that people have a more disapproving attitude toward teasing to the extent that they have, respectively, at least one Mexican American friend or a higher level of exposure to African Americans. Statuses of white racial consciousness were also found to be strong predictors for how participants rated vignettes. Findings somewhat supported both the Extended Contact Theory and the Intergroup Contact Theory, adding to the literature that finds when groups spend not only time together but quality time together benefits can be expected. Some of these benefits may help to reduce the positive perception of racial teasing and presumably less racial teasing. Future research should explore the relationship between white racial consciousness and attitudes and perceptions of racial specific teasing as a strong associate between the two emerged in this study. Additionally future research may explore whether less positive feelings of racial teasing is related to less racial teasing behaviors.

Thesis--Tubingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-222).

Stuttering has been defined as an atypical disruption in the forward flow of speech (Conture, 2001). The onset of stuttering is reported to be 2 to 3 years of age; the age at which the child is first learning to communicate more frequently with words rather than nonverbal behaviors. Interestingly, this is also the time at which children seek interactions with others rather than the former tendency to play independently. Because of the overt nature of this disorder, the timing of the onset and its co-occurrence with significant social developmental shifts, stuttering has the potential to impact the child’s ability to make and maintain friendships. The purpose of this report is to investigate the impact of stuttering awareness on the friendship preferences of preschool children who stutter. / text

The main objective of the present research was to contribute to the literature by examining relational aggression and friendship quality in a late adolescent sample. Specifically, these two studies sought to determine whether relationally aggressive behaviour is associated with both costs and benefits with respect to friendship quality for an older sample of adolescents. In the first study, a total of 1600 university students (74.7% female) responded to an online survey assessing their perceived friendship quality (comprised of positive and negative features) and their level of self-disclosure (i.e., intimacy) with a close same-sex friend. In addition, each participant rated their experience and use of relational aggression, in general (i.e., relational perpetration), within the friendship (i.e., relational victimization), and directed towards others outside of the friendship (i.e., dyadic aggression). Results indicated that both relational perpetration and relational victimization were predictive of negative outcomes for the friendship. A unique pattern for dyadic aggression was demonstrated in that it was associated with positive outcomes for the friendship. Self-disclosure moderated the relation between relational aggression variables and friendship features. The second study sought to investigate and identify associations between the same relational aggression variables, friendship quality, self-disclosure, and an additional measure of satisfaction in the close same sex friendships of 242 older female adolescents using a dyadic approach to account for interdependence in friendships. In contrast to Study 1, the results of the second study highlighted more costs than benefits when relational aggression is used within the friendship context. Specifically, for 121 female friendship dyads, the three forms of relational aggression were typically associated with poor outcomes for friendship quality. Analysis of similarities between friends demonstrated that dissimilar ratings of relational aggression resulted in better outcomes for the friendship. Dyads who reported greater similarities in self-disclosure were more satisfied, yet also rated their friendships as higher in negative features. These findings partially support conceptions of relational aggression as having both adaptive and maladaptive functions at the relational level for older adolescents and point to the importance of addressing issues of interdependence within friendships.

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Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-71).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Film. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-128). Filmography: p. 129-131. Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29572

Thesis (M. Div. with Concentration : Christian Care and Counseling)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-49).

Thesis--Tubingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-222).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-209)