Poster #208 - The Predictors of Rejection and Justice Sensitivity in Adolescence

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Rejection sensitivity (RS: anxious and angry) and justice sensitivity (JS: transgressor, victim, and observer) are multidimensional constructs which are related to cognitive‐affective processing. Earlier studies showed that anxious RS has been linked to depression and internalizing symptoms whereas angry RS has been related to externalizing problems and aggression in adolescence (Harper et al. 2006; London et al. 2007). JS, on the other hand, is considered as both a risk and protective factor for emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence. More specifically, whereas victim JS seems to be a risk factor for internalizing and externalizing problems, perpetrator and observer JS work as protective factors for externalizing problems (Bondü & Elsner, 2015). To date, research has mostly concentrated on the effects of different facets of RS and JS on adolescents’ social-emotional development. In contrast, little is known about predictors of different dimensions of RS and JS. Thus, the current study examines possible individual and social predictors of RS and JS to advance our understanding about their relationship with adolescents’ well-being. We expected that dimensions of temperament and empathy, attachment, perceived exclusion, and discrimination would be important predictors of RS and JS.
Participants included 6th and 9th graders (N = 898, 52.8% female). Ethnicity was 63.3% European-American, 22.4% African-American, and 14.3% other. We measured adolescents’ rejection sensitivity (Bondü & Elsner, 2015), justice sensitivity (Downey et al., 1998), attachment (Rochester Youth Development et al., 1991), empathy and sympathy (Vossen, Piotrowski, & Valkenburg, 2015), perceived exclusion (Eccles, Wong, & Peck, 2006) and discrimination (peer and teacher discrimination, Zullig et al., 2015).
Five hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine predictors of RS and JS (see Table 1 and Table 2 for final models). Results demonstrated that participants with higher surgency, attachment, and cognitive empathy were less likely to display anxious RS while participants with higher affective empathy, sympathy and perceived teacher discrimination were more likely to display anxious RS. Female participants were more likely to report anxious RS. Further, higher teacher discrimination, negative affect, and affective empathy predicted higher angry RS. With regard to victim JS, negative affectivity, affective empathy and sympathy were positive predictors while affiliation was negatively correlated with victim JS. Moreover, younger participants were more likely to be high in victim and observer sensitivity. Participants with higher affiliativeness, attachment, affective empathy, and sympathy were more likely to display observer and transgressor JS while participants who perceived more exclusion reported lower observer and transgressor JS. Additionally, effortful control positively predicted transgressor JS. Overall, our findings suggested that individual differences in facets of RS and JS were explained by different mechanisms.
The current study builds on the extant research by examining the dispositional and social predictors of individuals differences in RS and JS during adolescence. This is especially critical when considering the importance of RS and JS on adolescents’ mental health, social relationships, and aggressive behavior throughout the lifespan.

Authors

• Greysi Irdam, University of South Carolina
  Presenting Author

• Secil Gonultas, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelly Lynn Mulvey, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Eric Goff, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matthew Irvin, University of South Carolina
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ryan Carlson, University of South Carolina
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christine DiStefano, University of South Carolina
  Non-Presenting Author