2-193 - Factors Associated with Relationship-Promoting Cognitions, Coping Strategies, and Behaviors in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Historically, researchers have focused on mapping social-cognitive processes and behaviors linked to poor adjustment with peers, such as pursuing revenge goals and behaving aggressively. In contrast, this symposium brings together three papers focused on elucidating contextual and individual factors that predict cognitions, coping strategies, and behaviors that may promote positive peer relationships – such as forgiveness and apologizing – during adolescence and emerging adulthood. The first paper tested whether relationship context predicted coping strategies, revealing that early adolescents reported greater use of appeasement, such as telling the person that everything is okay, with a friend, whereas coping by avoiding or seeking revenge was endorsed more frequently with other peers. Moreover, the strategies adolescents endorsed to cope with challenges with their friend predicted their observed behavior with that person; for example, emotional coping predicted positive approach behaviors. The second paper examined the associations between youth’s physiological reactivity and their willingness to forgive peers who had provoked them, documenting that vagal tone moderated the associations between youth’s interpretation of hypothetical provocation situations and their reported forgiveness of the provocateur. The third paper assessed emerging adults’ reported use of apologizing in response to challenging situations occurring with friends. Apologies were more likely in some situations (e.g., if the participant had transgressed against the friend) than others (e.g., minor conflict); moreover, associations between apologizing and friendship quality varied as a function of the situation in which apologies were being offered. Taken together, these papers provide new insight into relationship-maintenance processes during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chairs

• Miriam Holley Kirmayer, McGill University

• Melanie A. Dirks, McGill University

Individual Presentations

• Examining Friend-Specific Social Cognition in Relation to Observed Behavior with Friends - Presenting Author: Rebecca G. Etkin, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Sarah V. Spencer, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Julie C Bowker, University at Buffalo, SUNY

• Interpretations, Emotions, and Vagal Tone Predict Forgiveness Goals after Peer Provocations - Presenting Author: Kristina McDonald, University of Alabama; Stephen Ungvary, University of Alabama; Carolyn E Gibson, University of Alabama; Albert Reijntjes, Utrecht Univeristy

• Emerging Adults’ Apologizing Behavior in Challenging Friendship Situations: Associations With Friendship Quality and Goals - Presenting Author: Miriam Holley Kirmayer, McGill University; Melanie A. Dirks, McGill University