Institutional Scholarship :: Browsing by Author "Lilgendahl, Jennifer"

Browsing by Author "Lilgendahl, Jennifer"

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A Longitudinal Study of How Autonomy Supportive Parenting Relates to Motivation, Coping, and Well-Being Across the Transition to College
(2018) Prinz, Ishaan; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Autonomy supportive parenting and parental involvement are associated with many positive life outcomes. On the basis of self-determination theory (SDT), our longitudinal study examined how students’ perceptions of parenting related to well-being across the transition to college. We also explored how academic high point and low point narratives mediated this process through the respective mechanisms of motivation and coping. Our main sample consisted of N = 375 students from the Identity Pathways Project who took part in four waves of data collection (summer before freshman year to fall of sophomore year). We found that students who perceived their parents to be less autonomy supportive and more involved decreased significantly in wellbeing across the four waves. While neither motivation nor coping mediated this relationship, adaptive coping themes were associated with higher well-being. Finally, our data indicate that autonomy supportive parenting is cross-culturally important for well-being, as suggested by SDT.
A Master Narrative Approach to Examining Romantic Relationship Deviations
(2015) Colombo, Lucas F. J.; Le, Benjamin; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
The present research aimed to investigate the ways in which people in romantic relationships interpret how their relationships differ from what is considered normal. A sample of 200 individuals in relationships completed a survey that asked them to describe their relationship deviation in narrative form and to give an example of when this deviation was manifested. They were also asked to describe an experience in which they discussed their relationship deviation with another person. These narratives were coded for a variety of themes. As hypothesized, several personality characteristics, namely Extraversion and a growth-oriented implicit theory of relationships, were correlated with several narrative themes, specifically positive growth, disclosure, resolution, positive affect, and approval. These narrative themes were also correlated with relationship quality. The narrative theme of positive growth was also found to mediate the relationship between a growth-oriented implicit theory of relationships and relationship quality. Future research can investigate the effect that the severity or centrality of a relationship deviation to an individual’s relationship has on relationship quality, and can also expand upon the efficacy of using narratives to study master narrative deviations.
A Narrative Approach to Bicultural Identity Development
(2009) Levenson, Chloe M; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study examines bicultural identity integration and development among bicultural college students. Participants completed measures of bicultural identity integration (measuring concepts of bicultural distance and conflict), ethnic and U.S. identity, scales of well-being and wrote three biculturally significant memories. Narratives were coded for various themes; integral narrative coding variables to our study goals were exploration, growth, emotional valence of narrative ending, redemption sequences, bicultural conflict/uncertainty/confusion and bicultural distance. Results indicated that bicultural distance was associated with patterns of negative autobiographical reasoning. Bicultural conflict was negatively correlated with emotional valence of narrative endings and past conflict. Furthermore, a hierarchical moderated multiple regression demonstrated that individuals with past bicultural conflict and high levels of narrative exploration were more biculturally integrated than individuals with past conflict who lacked narrative exploration. Moreover, by taking a developmental perspective that integrated measures of past and present bicultural experiences, it became clear that conflict has the potential to be a positive influence on bicultural identity development.
Autobiographical Reasoning in Memories of Academic Successes and Failures of College Students
(2007) Havassy, Amy; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
The purpose of the current study was to examine if the way one thinks about their intelligence would have an effect on the way they discuss academic memories. One main hypothesis stated that people who thought about their intelligence with an incremental orientation would show more positive self-transformation in memory narratives. The second main hypothesis stated that incremental women would show the most self-transformation, while entity women would show the least. 65 college students completed a pre-test questionnaire measuring theory of intelligence, self-esteem, academic contingent self-worth, goal orientation, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Then participants answered two memory prompts about a success and failure within academics. Follow-up questions to the memories were also answered. Results showed incremental theorists had significantly more positive self-transformation than entity theorists in success memories, but not in failure memories. There was no significant interaction between gender and theory of intelligence. In light of the results, the academic environment and background of participants were discussed.
Bicultural Identity Exploration
(2011) Dhadvai, Sandeep; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study sought to understand the process by which people formulate their bicultural identity as measured by BII. The narrative approach was utilized to investigate positive exploration as the process by which people form optimally integrated bicultural identities. Openness to experience and parental autonomy support were also tested as predictors of both exploration and BII. Participants in this study completed measures of demographics, BII, parental autonomy support, personality, and openness to experience facets before completing family and college narratives about bicultural identity exploration. Results indicated the presence of a relationship between openness to experience and both exploration and BII. Parental autonomy support was also predictive of BII. Analysis of the narratives showed correlations between exploration in both settings and also a relationship between past event valence and conclusion valence in both narratives. Being multiracial was the only predictor of positive exploration.
Bicultural Identity Exploration: Examining Bicultural Identity Exploration through Narratives
(2011) Sadarangani, Sneha; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Bicultural students from Haverford College were assessed for their level of identity exploration and Bicultural Identity Integration (BII). Participants were required to provide narratives of two experiences that triggered exploration of their bicultural identity within two different contexts, the family and college environment. Their level of exploration was evaluated from their narratives and correlated with their score on the BII scale. We predicted that participants who exhibited high exploration and a positive resolution at the end of their narrative would have high BII. Also, participants who exhibited openness to experience would have high BII and this would be mediated by positive narrative exploration. Moreover, high parental autonomy support would be correlated with high BII and this would be mediated by positive narrative exploration. However, the data failed to support our primary hypothesis and we were unable to find a relationship between BII and narrative exploration. Since we were unable to prove our mediation hypothesis, we were unable to effectively analyze the other two main hypotheses. However, we found some significant correlations. Openness and maternal autonomy support were both correlated with narrative exploration and greater negative affect in the college narratives was associated with lower BII.
Bicultural Identity Exploration: Narrating Identity Exploration in Family and College Contexts
(2011) Vickery, Simon; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
The present study examined the relationship between identity exploration and Bicultural Identity Integration in narratives from family and college contexts. We hypothesized that higher levels of identity exploration and positive narrative endings would be associated with higher levels of Bicultural Identity Integration, and that this relationship would be mediated in part by Parental Autonomy Support and Openness to experience. We did not find statistical support for the relationship between identity exploration and Bicultural Identity Integration; however, we found that Openness and maternal Autonomy Support were associated with BII Harmony, and limited support for a positive relationship between Openness and identity exploration. These results may indicate that a portion of the bicultural individuals in our sample were experiencing identity foreclosure. It is also possible that our study was limited by methodological errors and small sample size. The utility of linguistic analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count program is discussed.
Career Identity and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood: The Roles of Parenting and Socioeconomic Status
(2020) Litvitskiy, Nicole; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Developing one's identity is a major psychological process that primarily occurs during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Many findings point to the importance of one's identity development for their mental well-being, and additional literature supports a link between career identity development and mental health in emerging adults. Parenting and socioeconomic status (SES) have been linked to these two psychological factors, but questions remain about the directionality of the relationships and the unique role of SES. In Study 1, we employ a longitudinal design to examine how parental autonomy support predicts career identity development and mental health, and vice versa. Additionally, we assess the role of SES as a potential moderator of these effects. In Study 2, we aim to replicate and extend these findings through the added use of a narrative approach. Results indicate that autonomy support predicts healthy career identity development and mental well-being, and this finding is especially true for low SES students. Additionally, the use of a contextualized narrative approach offers further insight into identity development and the role of parenting. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.
Career-Parent Identity Integration in College Women and Mothers: The Effects of The Big 5 Traits and SES
(2020) Bettio, Elena; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study examined the relationships between the Big 5 personality traits, career-parent identities, work-family conflict, well-being, and socioeconomic status in college women and current mothers. Through the use of an identity developmental and narrative approach, we examined how these variables were correlated with each other and how they varied according to SES. As hypothesized, we found correlations between identity exploration and commitment with the personality traits of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness; these associations were more often found and stronger for adult mothers than college students. The negative relationships that were predicted among neuroticism, work-family conflict and well-being were generally supported. Little evidence was found for the effect of socioeconomic status on these variables; for college-aged women, high SES only affected the reported levels of work-parent ruminative exploration, and in the adult mothers sample, contradictory findings for SES were found. However, we did find evidence of greater difficulties among lower SES mothers, as the correlations of identity conflict with life satisfaction and neuroticism were stronger for this group of women. The results also suggested that work-parent identity development is not as relevant in association with the Big 5 for college-aged women, perhaps because it requires the imagination of future scenarios. In contrast, the associations that were observed in the current mothers sample were consistent with previous literature. Nevertheless, more research needs to be conducted with bigger samples in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of SES. Additional limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Centering Student Voices: A Narrative Approach to Social Identities, Marginalization, and Adjustment in College
(2021) Jennings, Sarah; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
The present study examines how the experience of marginalized identities informs the narration of college experiences and relates to adjustment and well-being. Students at a highly selective liberal arts college (N = 107) completed a comprehensive social identity profile, three sets of narratives including their college transition, experiences of microaggressions, and Haverford College masternarrative and deviations, and adjustment measures. The narratives were coded for indicators of autobiographical reasoning and thematic content. Analyses replicated previous findings on correlations between identity marginalization and poorer adjustment, and mediator and moderator analyses focusing on narrative qualities showed that students with more marginalized identities who processed their college narratives with more positive meaning, less negative meaning, and constructing an agentic alternative narrative had better outcomes among social adjustment, belonging, and life satisfaction. The importance of narrative identity processing, the novel approach taken to intersectional identity, and recommendations for more equitable college communities are discussed.
Culture and Repressive Coping: Analysis of a Possible Difference between Collectivistic Cultures and Individualistic Cultures
(2013) Lee, Seungmin; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Repressive coping or repression had been well studied for its relationship with autobiographical memory and attention. Repression is also related with positive psychological adjustment outcome, negative physical health outcome, and negative narrative identity growth outcome. However, previous studies in this field of repression only included individualistic individuals such as Western Europeans or North Americans as their participants, though collectivistic East Asian individuals might differ from the former on how they repress negative memories and the following outcomes from their repression. Surprisingly, various cross-cultural researches in emotion regulation and autobiographical memory report than East Asian individuals exhibit similar characteristics with those of Western European repressors. This article questions the possible role of culture in framing the individual’s repression and ask if repressive coping is more prevalent in collectivistic than in individualistic cultures.
Dealing with Romantic Rejection: The Effect of Implicit Theories and Self-Esteem on Rejection Narratives
(2008) Yasinski, Carly; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Effects of Dweck’s model of implicit self-theories on narratives of romantic rejection are investigated. Specifically, an entity theory of personality, or a view that personality cannot change, and an incremental theory of personality, or view that personality can change, were found to be both causally and correlationally associated with the manner in which participants narrated personal experiences of romantic rejection. Implicit theories of personality interacted with self-esteem in their effects on these narratives, as well as exhibited separate main effects. An experimental study showed that participants primed with an entity theory were more likely than participants primed with an incremental theory to exhibit defensive processing such as self-protection and to attribute their rejection to the person who rejected them. In addition, this experimental study showed that people with high self-esteem tended to narrate experiences of romantic rejection in a more emotionally positive manner than people with low self-esteem, with those primed with an incremental theory with high self-esteem showing more positive change in their narratives than most other participants. The correlational study showed that entity theorists with low self-esteem tended to exhibit less positive change in their narratives, and have a more helpless mindset towards future romantic endeavors than all other participants. Implications for future studies regarding the priming of implicit self-theories and the study of these theories in relational to narrative processing are discussed.
Departures: the Relation of Master Narrative Deviations to the Self
(2013) Szymanowski, Kathryn; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Building on research examining the role of cultural and social forces in shaping narrative, this study examined the content of master narrative deviations, as well as the interrelationship between such deviations, experiences of telling others about them, and personality characteristics. Seventy-eight participants provided narratives of master narrative deviations and of telling such deviations. They also completed Loevinger’s ego development task and several measures of well-being. The results suggest that feelings of deviating from master narratives occur in a wider variety of domains than previous studies have suggested. They also suggest that feeling silenced may spur processes of ego development. Further, ego level may be important in determining the effects of telling experiences on narrative identity. For example, a positive telling experience seems to promote counter narrative development in individuals with low ego levels; the same effect is not present in individuals with higher ego levels. Findings are discussed in light of the need for more research on how individual differences affect identity processes.
Effects of Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Gender on Self-Defining Academic Memories
(2007) Karzon, Lindsay S.; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study examines students’ perceptions of academic successes and failures. Our study focuses on narrative identity exhibited through autobiographical reasoning in self-defining memories as well as implicit self theories or beliefs about the extent to which one believes intelligence is a fixed or malleable entity. In addition, two differing perspectives of gender differences are explored.
Examining Individual Differences in Career and Parent Identity Integration in College Students and Current Mothers
(2020) Aronowitz, Caroline; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Women face the complex and unique problem of having to negotiate their career and parent identities. From as young as adolescence and long through adulthood, these identities can and often exist in conflict. The present study aims to investigate the ways in which women integrate their career and parent identities into one coherent career-parent identity. Through a two sample, narrative identity approach, the study examines individual differences in personality traits and socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of college-aged women (Study 1) and a sample of current mothers (Study 2). Findings generally suggest relations between the Big Five personality traits with several aspects of career, parent, and career-parent identity exploration and commitment variables for samples, replicating and extending previous literature. Study 2 reveals significant differences between socioeconomic status with work-parent identity conflict. The findings of these studies demonstrate significant findings that are relevant to the struggles that women face when attempting to integrate two complex and prevalent identities in their lives.
Fluidity and Diversity in Non-heterosexual Women's Sexual Identity Processes and Implications for Their Well-being
(2012) Chu-Richardson, Yani; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Recent studies have suggested that sexuality is more socially constructed and contextually dependent than traditional conceptions of sexual identity account for; in fact, fluidity has been supported as a predominant characteristic of sexuality for the majority of nonheterosexual women (Diamond, 2008). This study investigated the diversity and fluidity of women who have had non-heterosexual experiences, attractions, or identifications in order to understand how sexuality identity processes and well-being relate to sexual desires and preferences that are defined by continuous change. The primary focus of inquiry was on how processes of exploration and commitment relate to self-labeling, fluidity, and well-being. These variables were measured within an online survey that included multiple self-report measures and personal narratives that were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. As predicted, every facet of fluidity was found to be associated with sexual identity exploration. Sexual identity commitment and exploration were also found to be positively related to well-being. As the first study to have investigated fluidity's relationship to well-being, the findings supported that fluidity most often stimulates exploration of sexual identity in ways that promote well-being. However, if an individual has fluidity that is associated with identity uncertainty, distancing themselves from exploration of this aspect of their sexuality can be detrimental to well-being. A theoretical model of the complex relationship between fluidity, exploration, and well-being was proposed.
Growth in Narratives of Romantic Rejection: Differences in Self-Esteem and Implicit Theories
(2008) Benson, Jennifer; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
Our study explores the individual, interactive, and additive effects of self-esteem and implicit theory on narrative processing of romantic rejection. In Study 1, participants completed questionnaires including measures of self-esteem and implicit theory, afterwards providing a narrative of romantic rejection. Results indicated that entity theorists showed more blame for their rejecter's behavior and more optimistic future perspectives than incremental theorists, participants higher in self-esteem showed more blame for the rejecter and more optimistic future perspectives than those low in self-esteem, and interaction effects were found for the positivity of self-views in the past, the degree to which self-views had increased, and levels of self-enhancement. In Study 2, participants completed the same questionnaire without the implicit theory measure, were primed with either an entity theorist or incremental theorist mindset, and then completed the same narrative prompt. Those in the entity theorist condition showed more defensiveness and other blame than those in the incremental theorist condition, while those high in self-esteem showed more intense and persistent negative affect, more self-enhancement, more optimistic outlooks, and more positive shifts in self-views than those with low self-esteem. Results from both studies together suggest that the entity theorist mindset is tied to more defensive responses to rejection in terms of attribution and behavioral responses, while self-esteem predicts both emotions and meaning assigned to the event, and both variables together affected the meaning assigned to the event as well as the likelihood of growing from it. Results thus attest to the importance of considering implicit theory and self-esteem both individually and in interaction in predicting the healthiness of narratives of romantic rejection.
How Do I Reconcile My Two Cultures? Narrative Approaches to Bicultural Identity Integration and Development
(2009) Festa, Lindsay; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
The formation of bicultural identity is investigated using the narrative identity approach. Previous research has suggested that two dichotomies exist in bicultural individuals that help to form their identity: conflict vs. harmony and distance vs. integration. Subjects were asked to respond to three narrative prompts, which in turn were coded for different variables, including identity exploration and growth. Specifically, conflicted and distanced individuals were less likely to explore their identity and/or grow from previous experiences. However, contrary to previous research, past conflict was found to be a springboard for bicultural identity integration only if accompanied by exploration. Limitations of the current study, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.
"I, Though, Don't Quite Fit the Mold": Individual Differences in the Narration and Processing of Master Narrative Deviations
(2013) Alpert, Elizabeth; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study investigates individual differences in processing and narrating master narrative deviations (MNDs), or having diverged in some way from that which is considered normal, expected, or accepted by society. Participants provided a written narrative of an MND experience, as well as answering questions about their feelings surrounding their MND and their experiences telling their story of MND to others. Participants also completed measures of ego development and well-being. Results demonstrated various associations of feelings of being silenced and telling experience positivity with MND narrative qualities, and between these variables and well-being as an outcome. Ego development moderated some of those relationships. Exploratory analyses also revealed differences in experiences and expressions of MND across varying types of MND. This study provides insight into personality-related and social factors that influence how people process and narrate MND experiences, which are considered to be universal to some extent, as well as how interactions among these variables relate to well-being as an outcome.
Identity Development and Intergenerational Conflict in Bicultural Emerging Adults : A Narrative Approach
(2010) Pacas, Laura; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
This study examines the relationship between bicultural identity integration (BII) and parental autonomy support as mediated by intergenerational conflict. Utilizing the narrative approach, we examine if making meaning of conflicts facilitates levels of BII in emerging adults. Participants completed measures of BII, parental autonomy support, intergenerational conflict, and acculturation style of their parents. Subjects then wrote a narrative about a cultural conflict that they have experienced with their parent(s). The narratives were coded for exploration, resolution, and growth. Results indicate that only maternal autonomy support was correlated with aspects of BII. Paternal and maternal autonomy support was negatively correlated with intergenerational conflict. Furthermore, narrative characteristics were not correlated with BII, though they were correlated with conflict. Acculturation was also seen as a large predictor of conflict, more conflict being reported in parents with a separated acculturative style than integrated or non-immigrant parents. We controlled for neuroticism in all our analyses.

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