1-043 - Another Boring Symposium: Understanding Boredom in Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Everyone gets bored. But more than any other age group, adolescents have a greater susceptibility for boredom. Boredom may be experienced in fundamentally the same way, and various causes of boredom have been identified (e.g., understimulation, social control). Despite a common experience, the response to boredom varies. Adolescents may respond by seeking stimulation that leads to vandalism, substance use and sexual risk behavior. In contrast, other adolescents may intentionally change a boring situation to find more interesting positive activities. These responses may depend on whether boredom is situational and/or a personal trait. Thus, boredom is a complex phenomenon and research has yet to address for whom and under what conditions boredom is risky during adolescence. This interdisciplinary and international symposium further unpacks boredom in adolescence, using both U.S. and South African samples, on three topics: understanding how boredom contributes to risk behavior, how the experience of boredom may serve as a motivator to restructure the experience, and common predictors of boredom across different samples. The four papers: identify how sensation seeking serves as a moderator of boredom on negative outcomes; investigate how state and trait boredom differentially contribute to substance use; evaluate whether boredom motivates individuals to seek alternative experiences; and examine parental and personal predictors of boredom across two different samples. Together, we focus on different levels of explanation and provide needed evidence regarding the negative and possible positive aspects of adolescent boredom. We will engage the audience and consider the place of boredom in promoting healthy adolescent development.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chairs

• Elizabeth Weybright, Washington State University

• John Schulenberg, University of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• Boredom by Sensation Seeking Interactions in Associations with Risk Behaviors and Psychosocial Adjustment: US National Data - Presenting Author: John Schulenberg, University of Michigan; Julie Maslowsky, University of Texas at Austin

• Boredom Prone or Nothing to Do? A Trait and State Look into Boredom and Substance Use in South African Adolescents - Presenting Author: Elizabeth Weybright, Washington State University; Linda Caldwell, Penn State University; Lisa Wegner, University of the Western Cape, Capetown South Africa; Edward Smith, Penn State University

• Boredom as a Seeking State: Boredom and the Pursuit of Novel Experience - Presenting Author: Shane Bench, Utah State University Eastern; Heather Lench, Texas A&M University

• Consistent Predictors of Boredom in Leisure among Two Samples of South African Youth - Presenting Author: Linda Caldwell, Penn State University; Elizabeth Weybright, Washington State University; Lisa Wegner, University of the Western Cape, Capetown South Africa; Edward Smith, Penn State University