Academic Help Seeking From Peers During Adolescence: The Role of Social Goals

• In Event: Motivational, Cognitive, and Dispositional Antecedents of Academic Help Seeking

Abstract

Given the increased amount of peer interaction during early adolescence and the importance of peers in promoting learning and adjustment (Ryan & Ladd, 2012; Wentzel, 2009), help seeking amongst peers is an important topic for early adolescent developmental research. Help seeking has been examined in relation to students’ achievement goal orientation (Butler, 2006; Karabenick & Newman, 2006; Ryan & Pintrich, 1997). However, help seeking among peers involves social interaction between two parties and may be affected by what students strive for in their peer interactions. This study examined the influence of social goals on academic help seeking among peers (Karabenick & Newman, 2006; Ryan & Shim, 2012), as social goals have implications for early adolescent academic adjustment (Anderman, 1999; Kiefer & Ryan, 2008; Ojanen et al., 2005). We also examined mean-level changes in variables, along with mean-level differences and moderation by gender in associations between goals and help seeking.
Data were collected as part of a larger longitudinal study that investigated motivation and peer relations across the middle school transition in a southeastern state (N=345; 49% females). Students reported social goals (dominance, intimacy, popularity; Jarvinen & Nicholls, 1996) and help seeking among peers (adaptive, expedient, avoidance of help seeking; Ryan & Shim, 2012) in the fall and spring of sixth grade. Given that academic and social efficacy and teacher support influence help seeking (Karabenick, 1998; Karabenick & Newman, 2006; Ryan & Shim, 2012), we controlled for these variables. Measures were reliable (α's ranged=.73-.82) and supported by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
As expected, hierarchical regression analyses indicated goals were significantly related to subsequent expedient and adaptive help seeking (but not avoidance of help seeking) and were moderated by gender while controlling for efficacy, teacher support, and prior help seeking (see Table 1; simple slopes analyses are presented below, see Figures 1-3 for interactions). Popularity goals were positively related (β=.12, p=.050) and intimacy goals were negatively related (β=-.11, p=.050) to expedient help seeking. For boys, dominance goals were negatively related to adaptive help seeking (β=-.11, p=.049) and positively related to expedient help seeking (β=.22, p=.003). For girls, intimacy goals were positively related to adaptive help seeking (β=.22, p=.019) and dominance goals were negatively related to expedient help seeking (β=-.20, p=.006). There were also gender differences in the mean-levels of constructs across time.
This study examined longitudinal associations of social goals with help seeking from peers across the first year of middle school. While prior research focused primarily on the influence of academic motivational beliefs on help seeking as well as help seeking from teachers, the current findings advance research by demonstrating social goals have implications for understanding the development of help seeking among peers during early adolescence. Conceptually, the findings extend theory on social motivation by demonstrating the utility of the content goal approach and have implications for the study of social motivation and help seeking from peers during adolescence. Practically, the findings suggest educators may consider social goals to enhance early adolescents’ subsequent help seeking among peers.
 

Authors

• Sarah M. Kiefer, University of South Florida

• Sungok Serena Shim, Ball State University