Browsing by Author "Ingram, Amber"
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Item Motivated to Make a Difference: Understanding Adolescents' Civic Engagement Using Self-Determination Theory(University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Ingram, Amber; McDonald, Kristina; University of Alabama TuscaloosaCivic engagement is a powerful tool that can empower youth to make positive change in their community. An important step in understanding youth’s civic participation involves considering the underlying motivational process that prompts them to action. Past research has delved into some of the individual processes that are linked to youth civic engagement, yet they often lack a broader, more fulfilling picture of motivation. This study builds off previous research by examining some of the interpersonal and intrapersonal factors that influence youth civic engagement, but it also provides a novel picture by examining engagement through the motivational processes outlined in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Specifically, this study examined a moderated mediational model through which youth civic engagement could be predicted by the fulfillment of basic needs outlined by SDT. Furthermore, I expected this relationship to be mediated by youth civic competence and the mediational pathways to be moderated by parental civic engagement. Findings indicated that there was a significant conditional indirect effect of basic needs satisfaction on youth civic engagement through civic competence at medium and high levels of parental civic engagement. However, basic needs satisfaction did not directly predict youth civic engagement, nor did parental civic engagement significantly moderate the link between needs satisfaction and civic competence. This study provides a unique look at the interplay of factors that influence youth prosocial motivation as well as the possible implications of these findings.Item "She likes her, she likes her not?: " how perceptions of closeness between best friends and rivals influence adolescents' friendship jealousy(University of Alabama Libraries, 2018) Ingram, Amber; Parker, Jeffrey G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaClose friendships become increasingly prevalent during late childhood and early adolescence. While these friendships can provide general positive outcomes, they also have the possibility of generating negative emotions, such as jealousy. This may be especially true when the child perceives closeness between their friend and a third person. This link between perceptions and jealousy has been explored in the romantic literature, but not in the friendship literature. The purpose of the present study was to directly test this link between friendship jealousy and perceptions. It was hypothesized that children who perceived higher intimacy between the best friend and third child would be more prone to jealousy. It was also hypothesized that sex, self-esteem, and a child’s own closeness would independently moderate this link. The results showed that, contrary to the hypothesis, the more children perceived closeness between their best friend and a third person, the less jealous they became. In addition, sex and self-esteem were significantly related to jealousy, but these variables did not moderate the relation between perceptions and jealousy. Although own closeness was only marginally related to jealousy, there was a significant sex by closeness interaction, such that boys had an increase in jealousy the closer they were to their friend. Further analyses did show significant age differences, with older children viewing less closeness and becoming less jealous. Furthermore, children in this study appeared to be fairly accurate in judging the closeness of their friend with another peer. These findings uniquely contribute to the friendship literature by highlighting the importance of perceptions in friendship jealousy. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.