Alyssa DeitchmanDepartment of Applied Psychology
New York University
Dr. Elise Cappella Dr. Gigliana Melzi Dr. Adina Schick Ha Yeon Kim Daisy Jackson Kristin Lees Project Friend Research Team
High unemployment 70% of parents of college
students report feelings of anxiety over economy
College tuition increasing rapidly 70.5% of students experience debt
Class of 2010 9.1% unemployment
Fetterman, 2008; Hogwharter, 2009; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011
Generally understood as a static variable
Often used as an independent variable to predict outcomes
Thus, after an economic shock, income might be a dynamic variable
Luo, 2009; Teevam, 1995
Income
Occupation
Education
Socioeconomic Status
Household economic shock is defined as “an unexpected and substantial variation in household resources.”
Lam & Leibbrant (2005), p. 325; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012
Children and adolescents as population of focus◦ Mental health outcomes
Academic experiences and expectations not explored
Emerging adulthood new and relatively unexplored developmental period
•Stressed parents will not be able to provide emotional support
•Loss of respect for parents due to income loss
Fewer Educational Resources
•Tuition rates may force these students to take out loans
•May need a part-time job
•May have to delay graduation time
Questioning Future
• Students’ understanding of their future is influenced by parents’ position
•Lowering of academic and/or personal goal aspirations
•Gender differences exist
•Economic hardship for females is directly associated with lowered feelings of agency more so than males
•Females report more feelings of insecurity around economic loss
Caspi & Van Nguyen, 1985; Elder 1974; Lempers, 1989
Family Strains Self Esteem
Conger, 2008
Responses to economic difficulties are mediated by many contextual variables:◦ Social support◦ Intelligence◦ Age◦ Gender◦ Temperament
How their family responds to economic shock influences adults’ adaptation and coping to the situation more significantly than other contexts
Elder, 1974; McLoyd, 1989
Intrapersonal
Academic
Interpersonal Explored three domains of
college students
Intrapersonal
Academic
Interpersonal Explored three domains of
college students Investigated how economic
shock affects these three interconnected domains
Used qualitative methods to understand the experiences of college students who have undergone an economic shock
Household Economic Shock
1. How does household economic shock relate to students’ self-concept, agency, and identity?
2. In what ways do students perceive that their experience of economic shock relate to their friendships and social relationships?
3. How does household economic shock relate to students’ perceptions of their ability to achieve present and future academic goals?
Stressors
Emotional Distress
FamilyStrain
Peer Strain
CopingStrategies
Questioning Future
Increased Motivation
Recruited full-time NYU students
Eligibility screener assessed level of economic shock• Answer “yes” to 4 out of 5
prompts 7 responded• All female• 6 seniors (21), 1 junior (20)• 5 White students, 1 Asian and
1 Hispanic
Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997
A priori ideas established
about domains expected to emerge in interviews
Independent review of
transcripts (except 2) to confirm and
adjust domains
Independent cross analyses
followed by research team
consensus ratings
Stability check (final 2
transcripts) to ensure that the
domains accurately
reflect the data
‣ Categories: General (applicable to all cases) Typical (applicable to many cases)
Semi-structured interviews used to confirm or disconfirm domains expected to emerge
In-depth interviewing technique focusing on individual experiences Iterative process
Intrapersonal
Guilt
Anxiety
Shame
Interpersonal
Family Strains
Peers
Coping
Rationalization
Compromising
Increased Motivation
Self-Reliance and Efficacy
Re-Evaluating Values
“I’ve been having so many panic attacks about paying for graduate school because once I graduate I’m going to have to pay for it myself and ease the burden off my parents”
Intrapersonal
Anxiety
Shame
Guilt
“My sister was not getting paid by my dad because they were trying to get money back to its investors, so she’s basically still in DA, which is debtor’s anonymous…she decided to leave the company and then basically it went bankrupt last year. So, yeah, my sister now is way better but she had to seek help outside because it was hard for her to deal with my parents.”
Interpersonal
Family Strains
Peers
“I think this experience has made me more motivated to be successful and make sure I have a plan that I’m actually going to do something. I have no intention of moving back in with my parents. In that way it has made me much more motivated. I think also this has given me a lot of work experience because I’ve had to work, so I think that benefited me in the long run because I have a lot more experience when applying to grad school and for jobs, I have a lot more experience than a typical undergrad would.”
Coping
Rationalization
Compromising
Increased Motivation
Self-Reliance and Efficacy
Re-Evaluating Values
Intrapersonal:‣ Initial stress associated with economic shock‣ Anxiety provoking‣ Questioning future
Interpersonal:‣ Family strains more prevalent than peer strains
Coping:‣ Accommodative coping‣ Compromising lifestyle as way of confronting
economic situation‣ Increased efficacy and motivation not generalizable to
sample
Intrapersonal: no reports of lowered self-esteem Interpersonal: family strains stem from economic
loss Academic: economic loss related to questioning
professional goals ◦ Increased need for accommodative coping in emerging
adults Iterative inquiry:◦ Rich elaboration of individual experiences◦ Explored why or why not these domains were affected
Economic loss may truncate emerging adulthood period
Hypothesis generation for future research Mixed-methods Meaningful experience of economic loss can help
enhance understanding and support of young people
Thank you!!!
Questions?
General: Applicable to all participants• Interpersonal changes focused on family strains• Guilt• Anxiety• Coping:
• Compromising• Shift in Values• Rationalization
Typical to more than ½ of participants◦ Increased self-efficacy and self-reliance◦ Increased motivation◦ Changes in peer relationships◦ Shame