3-086 - You + Me = Us: Developmental processes in supportive youth-adult relationships

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Adults serve as role models, sources of social support, and providers of social capital for youth (Chu, et al, 2010). Support from non-parental adults improves a number of youth outcomes (Chang, Greenberger, Chen, Heckhausen, & Farruggia, 2010) and the majority of adolescents report the presence of an important adult in their lives (Beam, Chen & Greenberger, 2002; DuBois and Silverthorn, 2005). A number of relational characteristics have been associated with better outcomes for youth, including closeness (Rhodes, 2005) and attunement (Pryce, 2012). Yet there is little work exploring how supportive youth-adult relationships (YARs) develop. This symposium attempts to bridge this gap, presenting in-depth qualitative and mixed methods research that looks across contexts and relationships, focusing on understanding the developmental processes that help form important YARs. Paper 1 reports on findings from a longitudinal, mixed methods study of YARs, using data from five time points across three years to examine the characteristics and developmental trajectories of YARs that youth name as significant. Paper 2 foregrounds youth characteristics as an influencer of developmental processes in YAR, examining how adolescents’ attachment styles influence the development and their experiences of relationships with important adults. Paper 3 identifies the specific needs that youth report being met through their YARs and examines how those needs help drive relationships. Paper 4 considers cultural similarities and differences between youth and adult staff at youth programs, examining the ways in which staff and youth’s cultural backgrounds influence the development of trust and support in those relationships.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Nancy L Deutsch, University of Virginia - Youth-Nex: The UVA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Individual Presentations

• The initiation, development, and maintenance of supportive youth-adult relationships - Presenting Author: Victoria Mauer, University of Virginia; Non-Presenting Author: Nancy L Deutsch, University of Virginia - Youth-Nex: The UVA Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

• Adolescent Attachment and Self-Esteem: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Role of Supportive Youth-Adult Relationships - Presenting Author: Mark Vincent B. Yu, University of California, Irvine

• Coach, friend, or parent: A youth-centered analysis of needs met in significant youth-adult relationships - Presenting Author: Haley E Johnson, University of Virginia - Curry School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Miriam R Arbeit, Suffolk University; Non-Presenting Author: Anita A Grabowska, University of Virginia - Curry School of Education

• How Cultural Match and Mismatch Unfolds in Youth-Adult Relationships in Youth Programs - Presenting Author: Aisha N Griffith, University of Illinois at Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: So Jung Lee, University of Illinois at Chicago; Non-Presenting Author: Ellen K Buttitta, University of Illinois at Chicago