Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Friendship adjustment'

Not many children report relationships with friends that are both close and conflictual. There is a paucity of research examining the trajectory of children's relationship closeness and conflict together over time. This is unfortunate because contentious relationships are related to cardiovascular problems, at least in young adults and because the trajectories of these two aspects of children's relationship quality over time is not understood. Therefore, two longitudinal data sets with younger (mean age 7.5 years at Time 1; four data points over 2 years) and older (mean age 9.9 years at Time 1; two data points over 1 year) children were studied. In both cohorts, measures of friendship quality and peer nominations of liking/disliking as well as overt and relational (older cohort) aggression were completed. Children who reported relationships high in both closeness and conflict were generally satisfied with their friendships; they were not more likely to end their friendships than were children who reported different levels of closeness and conflict (younger cohort). Both boys' and girls' relationship closeness increased over time according to growth curve analyses. The relationships of girls who remained in the same friendship, and who therefore provided ratings on the same friend at each time point, tended to increase in closeness at a different rate over time than the relationships of girls who provided ratings on different friends (younger cohort). Children who reported relationships high in closeness and in conflict were not more aggressive over time than were children who reported different levels of relationship closeness and conflict. However, girls' closeness and overt aggression tracked each other (increased) over time (younger cohort). Girls who reported low social support and negative interactions in their friendships increased the most in overt aggression over time (older cohort). Aggressive and nonaggressive children generally reported similar friendship quality (both cohorts), but the friendship closeness of chronically aggressive boys decreased over time (younger cohort). There were negligible friendship quality differences amongst the sociometric groups. The discussion centers on friendship quality changes in children's continuing friendships, the potential dire effects of turbulent friendships and the friendships of aggressive as well as controversial children.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 22, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Amanda J. Rose. Includes bibliographical references.

While friendship patterns and the relationship between friendship status and school adjustment have been studied in same-age classrooms, little is known about friendship patterns and the contribution of friendship status to school adjustment in mixed-age classrooms. The purposes of the present study were to investigate friendship patterns in a large sample of mixed-age (ungraded) primary classrooms and to examine the contribution of friendship status to school adjustment in a smaller subsample of ungraded primary children. Peer acceptance level and age relative to classmates both had a significant impact on the number of reciprocated friends children had, and on the relative age of their friends. High-accepted and relatively old children had more reciprocated friends than did less accepted and relatively young children. Also, high-accepted children had more relatively old, and intermediate age friends than did than average- and low-accepted children, and average-accepted children had more friends at all relative ages than did low-accepted children. Children who were older in relative age had more friends who were also older in relative age than did children who were intermediate and young in relative age. Intermediate age children had more relatively old friends than did relatively young children. Chi square tests of independence revealed that low-accepted children had more friends who were young in relative age, and high-accepted children had more relatively old friends than expected by random pairing, and that relatively young children had more relatively young friends and relatively old children had more relatively old friends than expected by random pairing. There were some similarities in friendship patterns between the larger data sample and the school adjustment subsample. Peer acceptance influenced friendship patterns in a similar manner, however, there was no significant effect of relative age. Also, high- and average-accepted children had more friends who were young and intermediate in relative age than did relatively young children. High-accepted children also had more relatively old friends than did average and low-accepted children, and average-accepted children had more relatively old friends than did low-accepted children. Chi-square analysis revealed patterns similar to those in the larger sample; high-accepted children had more relatively old friends and low-accepted children had more relatively young friends than expected. There was no significant of relative age on the relative age of children's friends. In the school adjustment subsample, children's attitudes toward math, reading, and science were positively related to math, reading, and science achievement scores. Friendship status was significantly related to children's attitudes toward math and achievement scores. Specifically, if children had at least one friend, they had more positive attitudes toward math and higher average achievement scores. Also, females had more positive attitudes toward math, but not other subjects.

International students who experience difficulties in a new culture are often considered to have suffered a breakdown in their normal healthy psychological functioning, and therefore need therapy and counselling (Pedersen et al, 1976). This study views failure and problems experienced by the sojourner as a result of lack of the necessary new social skills and knowledge. Social networks, particularly friendships, are thus extremely important in that such networks are not only source of social support, but also major channels through which such skills and knowledge are acquired. Guided by social support theories and social skills theories, this study examines the following research questions through the survey and the interview with a sample of Chinese students at Northwest University I and five other universities across the United States. How is adjustment of Chinese students related to their friendship patterns? What are the friendship patterns of Chinese students? What are the primary functions of the friendship patterns of Chinese students? How is the degree of difficulty felt by Chinese students in different social situations related to their friendship patterns? How is social adjustment related to the degree of difficulty felt by Chinese students in different social situations? Some additional questions related to the five research questions were also addressed in this study. The study showed there were different functions for different friendship patterns among Chinese students. Despite different functions, friendships are very important for Chinese in their adjustment to the United States. However, students belonging to the bi-cultural friendship pattern were more satisfied with social as well as academic aspects of their life in this country than those who belong to the mono-cultural friendship pattern. Among different factors contributing to social adjustment, social skills account most for the variance of social adjustment among Chinese students. This study concluded with suggestions for forming institutional policies toward international students in American higher education, training of international students both at the home country and the host country, and advice to prospective international students, particularly Chinese students.

Thesis advisor: James R. Mahalik
Objectives. Adolescent friendships play a particularly critical role in one’s physical, social, and emotional development. Difficult, inequitable, friendships in late adolescence and young adulthood are particularly concerning as the experience one has in these formative friendships can negatively impact one’s physical and psychological development (Ehrlich, Hoyt, Sumner, McDade, & Adam, 2015; Engels & Bogt, 2001; Hartup, 1996; Parker, Rubin, Erath, Wojslawowicz, & Buskirk, 2006). The goal of this dissertation was to examine one particular type of problematic and inequitable peer relationship experienced in late adolescence and young adulthood, colloquially termed a “high-maintenance” friendship. Specifically, this study examined the association between high-maintenance friendships and social emotional adjustment in late adolescents and young adults in a college setting and had four overarching purposes. First, it provided a preliminary definition for the construct of high-maintenance friendships among late adolescents and young adults in a college setting. Second, it explored late adolescents’ and young adults’ beliefs around why they have stayed in friendships that were high-maintenance. Third, the study applied the principles of interdependence theory to high-maintenance friendships and examined whether individual-level factors such as self-esteem, behavioral expectations, attachment style, loneliness, and gender were linked to the likelihood that one will stay in a high-maintenance friendship. Fourth, the study explored whether the degree to which a high-maintenance friendship impacted one’s emotional well-being (i.e., making them upset) was associated with one’s likelihood of staying in the high-maintenance friendship. Method. Participants were 256 late adolescents and young adults from a mid-size, elite, private university in the Northeastern United States (Mage = 19.09 years; 53.1% female). A mixed method, two-phase, exploratory, sequential design was implemented across two phases. The first phase implemented a qualitative content analysis in an effort to identify, develop, and define the construct high-maintenance friendships. The second phase of the study utilized a series of hierarchical linear regression analyses to explore the relationships between individual level characteristics and one’s likelihood of staying in high-maintenance friendships. Results. Qualitative analyses yielded a three-factor model, suggesting that late adolescents and young adults conceptualize the most salient characteristics of a high-maintenance friendship as: 1. one sidedness, 2. requiring substantial effort, and 3. general high expectations. Additionally, qualitative analyses generated a four-factor model of environmental obstacles that late adolescents and young adults recognized as why they stayed in a high-maintenance friendship: 1. positive friendship qualities, 2. shared experiences, 3. shared contexts, and 4. decrease in high-maintenance behavior over time. Quantitative analyses challenged the study’s hypotheses and indicated that lower levels of emotional closeness expectations and lower levels of avoidant attachment style predict to increased likelihood of staying in a cross-sex high-maintenance friendship. Quantitative analysis also indicated that the more a participant endorsed that the high-maintenance friendship impacted their emotional well-being, the less likely they were to stay in the friendship. Conclusions. The findings across the four phases of this study extend the current literature on difficult peer friendships in late adolescence and young adulthood by highlighting that: (a) high-maintenance friendships are inequitable, but those who experience social emotional distress in the friendship tend to not stay in the friendships, (b) there may be an optimal level of tolerable inequity which one can have in a close friendship without experiencing social emotional distress, and (c) there may be ways to increase one’s social emotional resilience and to restore an optimum level of inequity, even in problematic, high-maintenance friendships
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology

This study evaluates the efficacy of a self-guided, low-intensity curriculum, Marriage Moments, based on Fowers' (2000) virtues model of marital quality that emphasizes friendship, generosity, justice and loyalty. The Marriage Moments program consists of a guidebook and a video that were designed to strengthen marriages during the transition to parenthood and is used in the context of a home visitation program for first-time parents. Participants in the study included 119 married couples who had recently given birth to their first child. They were assigned to either a treatment, comparison or control group. The treatment group received the Marriage Moments curriculum as well as the Welcome Baby home visitation curriculum, the comparison group only received the Welcome Baby curriculum and the control group received neither program. Data were gathered through a battery of self- and spouse-report measures given at 3-months, 4-months, and 9-months postpartum. Relationship outcome measures included in this study were the Marital Virtues Profile, Revised-Dyadic Adjustment Scale, RELATE Satisfaction subscale, Transition Adjustment Scale, Father Involvement Scale, Household Labor Scale, and Maternal Depression Scale. Despite positive evaluations of the program from participants, analyses revealed a lack of significant, positive effects for members of the treatment group. Further research is needed before reliable conclusions can be drawn about the value of a marital virtues model as a guide for low intensity intervention.

L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser l’adaptation socio-affective et la satisfaction de vie des enfants âgés de 9 à 12 ans en lien avec les différents usages des Technologies Numériques de l’Information et de la Communication, tout en prenant en compte la qualité des relations amicales dans les contextes hors-ligne, en ligne et en mode mixte. À partir de l’approche écosystémique (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), le modèle opérationnel « P.P.C.T.» (Bronfenbrenner, 1996) a permis de procéder à l’analyse spécifique de l’impact des caractéristiques individuelles, contextuelles et temporelles sur le développement socio-affectif des enfants. Notre échantillon se compose de 508 enfants âgés de 9 à 12 ans, soit 248 garçons et 260 filles. Ils sont 87% à utiliser les TNIC à des fins communicationnelles. Le développement socio-affectif a été appréhendé à travers le Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ ; Goodman, 1997) et la version française de la Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS ; Huebner, 1994 ; Fenouillet & al., 2015). Les enfants, tout comme les parents, ont répondu à divers questionnaires, tels que le Network of Relationships Social Provision Version (NRI-SPV ; Furman & al., 1985) et des échelles que nous avons adaptées. Nos principaux résultats indiquent que quelle que soit l’utilisation des TNIC, la majorité des enfants présente une adaptation socio-affective satisfaisante ainsi qu’une satisfaction de vie harmonieuse. Toutefois, à l’intérieur des différentes plateformes utilisées, sur les Réseaux SocioNuméiques, nous retrouvons un effet significatif du genre, les garçons présentant plus de troubles aussi bien intériorisés qu’extériorisés que les filles. Il en est de même sur les troubles extériorisés lorsque les garçons communiquent sur les jeux en réseau. Le support social au travers de l’ami hors-ligne et/ou mixte est un facteur de protection tout comme le fait de partager un lien d’amitié sur le RSN avec des membres de la famille. À l’inverse, le support social de l’ami en ligne et un lien d’amitié sur le RSN avec des inconnus ou des célébrités sera un facteur de risque. De plus, le bien-être des enfants sera impacté lorsqu’ils utilisent les TNIC dans une pièce isolée. Cette recherche, à caractère exploratoire, du fait des rares travaux francophones dans ce domaine est néanmoins prometteuse et encourage à proposer des pistes de recherche ainsi que des pistes d’intervention. Dans un souci de prévention, il est nécessaire d’accompagner les enfants à risque de développer des troubles psychologiques afin de pouvoir réduire ou, mieux, éviter les impacts négatifs qui sont associés à ces usages
The purpose of this study is to analyze the social emotional adjustment and the life satisfaction level of children between 9 to 12 years old related to their use of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT) taking into account the quality of their friendships in different contexts: online, offline and in a mixed mode. Following the ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1996), the PPCT operational model (Process, Person, Context, Time) allowed to specifically analyze the impact of individual, contextual and temporal characteristics on children's social emotional adjustment. Our sample consists of 508 children (248 boys and 260 girls). A vast majority of them (87%) use DICT for communication purposes. Social emotional adjustment is measured with the Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) and with the French version of the Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS; Huebner, 1994; Fenouillet & al., 2015). Children, as well as their parents responded to several other measures like the Network of Relationships Social Provision Version (NRI-SPV; Furman & al., 1985) and other adapted scales. Our main results show that, whatever the use of DICT, the majority of children show a satisfactory level of social and emotional adjustment as well a good life satisfaction. However, relating to the use of DICT, we found a significant difference between boys and girls. That is, compared to girls, boys show more externalized and internalized symptoms than girls. The situation is the same with online videogames: boys show more externalized symptoms than girls. Social support offered by offline friends or mixed friends (online and offline) represents a protecting factor. This is also true for online friendships with family members. Conversely, exclusively online friendships with strangers or with celebrities is a risk factor for social emotional adjustment. The well-being of children is negatively affected by connecting online in an isolated space. Lastly, because there are only a few francophone studies in this field, this exploratory study is promising in terms of research and intervention projects in the future. In a prevention perspective, it is necessary to support at risk children in order to prevent the psychological problems that can be related to the use of DICT

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
教育心理與輔導學系在職進修碩士班
98
For adolescents, the harms caused by relational victimization may be more severe than physical injuries. People with experiences of relational victimization may suffer from psychological maladjustment. The present research aimed to investigate the impact of friendship features on the experiences of relational victimization and psychosocial adjustment among junior high school students. Two types of relational victimization were defined as from the “general classmates”and “close friends” depending on the victimized source. Four variables representing friendship features were included in this study, i.e., positive friendship quality, negative friendship quality, numbers of mutual friends, and friendship satisfaction. The moderating role of friendship features in the relationship between relational victimization and psychosocial adjustment was examined. The participants were 873 junior high school students (446 boys and 427 girls; 446 seventh graders and 427 eighth graders). The “Relational Victimization Scale for General Classmates”, “Relational Victimization Scale for Close Friends”, “Close Friends Nominate Questionnaire”, “Friendship Quality Scale” and “Psychosocial Adjustment Scale” were used. The results were: (1) The experience of relational victimization and psychosocial maladjustment correlated positively; (2) Relational victimization and friendship quality significantly predicted psychosocial adjustment; (3) Different relational victimization correlated friendship quality differently; (4) The variable of “positive friendship quality” buffered the relationship between “relational victimization from general classmates” and “loneliness”; (5) The variable of “numbers of mutual friends” buffered the relationship between “relational victimization from close friends” and “externalized behavioral problems”.

A conceptual integration of friendship and social support, explored via factor analysis, was examined in relation to adjustment in 242 undergraduate university men and women. Despite considerable overlap between theoretical components of adult friendship and social support, empirically these two areas have remained quite distinct. The present study sought to consolidate the two important research areas, looking at sex differences and the ways in which interpersonal resources can facilitate adjustment. Subjects were recruited from two local universities for this questionnaire-based study. Participants provided information about their best same-sex friend, their social network as a whole, a romantic relationship (if applicable) and various aspects of adjustment, including depression, self-esteem, quality of life and physical symptoms. Best friend and social network items, respectively, were grouped into subscales representing previously postulated dimensions of friendship and social support. These subscales were entered into exploratory factor analyses, separately for best friend and for network, to determine whether as predicted, friendship and support would combine conceptually. The factors which emerged were entered into hierarchical multiple regressions in order to investigate the connections between these relationship factors, daily hassles and adjustment. The results suggest that relationship factors, particularly those offered by a large, high-quality social network, offer protective benefits for college students. Further, having a trusted, satisfying best friendship and a high-quality romantic relationship appears to enhance certain aspects of adjustment for students as well. Daily hassles were found to detract significantly from the well-being of young men and women. From a theoretical perspective, support was gained for viewing friendship and support not as distinct constructs, but rather, as joint contributors to the phenomena of interpersonal relationships. Practical implications include the need to examine ways of helping college students with small, less than adequate social networks build larger, more beneficial sets of resources.

In the present study, the quality of one's friendship with both same-sex and opposite-sex best friendships in preadolescence and adolescence was examined as having special significance for psychological development. Specifically, this study was conducted to explore the relationships among seven aspects of friendship quality (Self-Disclosure, School Help, Conflict, Shared Experience, Trust/Loyalty, Validation/Caring, and Closeness) and psychosocial adjustment (Self-Worth, Depression and Alienation), and how these relationships varied as a function of age (grade five, eight and eleven) and gender. In examining the findings, a complex pattern emerged, suggesting that the various aspects of friendship quality were differentially related to particular indices of adjustment. Moreover, the relations between friendship quality and various indices of adjustment were found to vary developmentally across the adolescent period and differed for boys and girls.

The current project is the first study to investigate the competence of academically gifted youth across multiple dimensions of the peer system. To date, there is no comprehensive examination of the social functioning of gifted youth, severely limiting what is known about the overall social world of gifted youth and the extent to which the subset of gifted youth with peer problems experience the same adjustment difficulties related to negative peer interactions. By examining how aspects of sociometric status, friendship and social network centrality relate to a myriad of outcome variables, the current study permits a comprehensive investigation of the risk profile associated with problematic peer relations among gifted youth within the adjustment domains (behavioral, academic and psychological functioning). Participants included 327 adolescents, 149 identified as gifted, who were initially assessed in the 7th grade and were then reassessed 2 years later.

Consistent with prior research, findings from the current student provided evidence that academic giftedness was generally associated with more positive peer relations as well as more positive functioning across behavioral, academic and adjustment domains when compared to non-gifted adolescents. However, findings from the current study did not find evidence suggesting that gifted youth experience significantly less peer problems than their non-gifted peers. As such, the current study substantiates predictions that there are indeed subgroups of gifted youth who experience peer problems and they were found to be similarly at risk as non-gifted adolescents with peer problems regarding negative behavioral, academic and psychological adjustment. However, the most alarming finding revealed that the negative effects of being rejected were more pronounced for gifted students, who were the most victimized students in the entire sample, even more than non-gifted peers who were rejected. Findings from the current study highlight the complexity of the social world of gifted adolescents and underscore the importance for future research to continue examining the social difficulties of gifted youth. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed.

Dissertation

Friendship has consistently been found to act as a buffer against psychological maladjustment for healthy youth and youth experiencing difficulties including parental divorce and natural disasters. Less known is the role of friendship may have for females coping with a chronic health problem. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the health factors and friendship precursors that may influence friendship, and in turn, how those friendships may predict psychosocial adjustment. A sample of chronically ill females (N = 30) was compared to a control group of healthy females (N = 45) on measures of opportunities for social interaction, similarity to their best friend, social capability, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment. Results revealed that health condition and friendship precursors were not associated with friendship quality. However, higher friendship quality was predictive of fewer externalizing symptoms for healthy girls. Additionally, positive parent relationships predicted fewer internalizing symptoms for both groups of females. Notably, chronically ill girls noted their friendships were higher in punishment and lower in companionship than healthy girls. Further assessment, including objective measures, will elucidate the beneficial processes of friendships and parent-child relationships that buffer youth from maladjustment.

Dissertation

碩士
大葉大學
國際企業管理學系碩士班
107
This research is intended to find out the interaction between public junior high school teachers’ perceived organizational support and workplace friendship and their work accommodation. And moreover, to analyze would the level of Type A personality interfere the influences on it. We chose to use the method of questionnaire and convenience sampling on official public junior high school teachers as the research population to collect the data and reclaimed 359 questionnaires in total. Afterwards, we ran the collected data with statistic software SPSS 22.0 to analyze it and found the following results. 1.Perceived organizational support of teachers has obvious positive influence on their work accommodation. 2.Workplace friendship of teachers has obvious positive influence on their work accommodation. 3.Type A personality of teachers has minority interference. According to the paper studies and research analyzing results, we will propose practical advises to educational administration, junior high schools and teachers to help teachers to fit in their work place well. Also this research will become a reference for further studies.

碩士
中華大學
科技管理學系碩士在職專班
101
This research is aimed to understand the status of junior high school students’ self-concept, learning adjustment, friendship quality and well-being in Changhua County and to compare different background variables differences and to analyze the correlationand predictability of junior high school students’ self-concept, learning adjustment, friendship quality and well-being in Changhua County. The research method is conducted with questionnaire. The research subjects are 526 students in 3 schools out of all Changhua County public junior high students in all grades. Data are analyzed with statistical methods,such as mean, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation, and canonical correlation analysis. The conclusions are as follows: 1.The status of junior high school students’ self-concept, learning adjustment, friendship quality and well-being in Changhua County is above the average. Among all the aspects, “social self” in the self-concept are the best. “Learning environment” in the learning adjustment are the best; however, “learning method and habit” still needs improving. Besides, “emotional relation and company” in friendship quality is the best. 2.As for the aspect of self-concept, there are no obvious differences between boys and girls. Student athletes’ self-concepts are significantly superior to average students’. The seventh graders and eighth graders are significantly superior to the ninth graders. 3.As for the aspect of learning adjustment, girls are significantly superior to boys. There is no significant difference between the student athletes and average students. The seventh graders are significantly superior to the ninth graders. 4.As for the aspect of friendship quality, girls are significantly superior to boys. There is no significant difference between the student athletes and average students. There is no significant difference in students of all grades. 5.As for the aspect of well-being, there is no significant difference between boys and girls. The student athletes are significantly superior to the average students. There is no significant difference in students of all grades. 6.There is positive correlation between self-concept and learning adjustment, self-concept and friendship quality, as well as learning adjustment and friendship quality. 7.Junior high school students’ self-concept, learning adjustment and friendship quality have the predictability toward their well-being.

碩士
國立清華大學
科技管理研究所
101
This paper examines how friendship opportunity provided by foreign subsidiary influences the expatriate adjustment for fitting into the new culture and how adjustment subsequently influences affective commitment to the foreign operation. Data was collected from 155 expatriates, mainly Taiwanese, working in multinational corporations. Hierarchical regressions are used in the statistical analyses. Results indicated that the opportunity for establishing friendship in workplace was related to expatriate’s affective commitment towards foreign subsidiary through expatriate adjustment. In addition, the results showed that adjustment acted as a full mediator of the relationship between friendship opportunity and affective commitment towards the foreign subsidiary. The results also showed that length of time on current assignment moderates the relationship between adjustment and affective commitment towards the foreign subsidiary. Specifically, friendship opportunity influence expatriate’s emotional attitudes toward the foreign subsidiary through the mediation effect of expatriate adjustment. There are implications for the settlement of expatriates. First, MNCs are encouraged to provide expatriates with more opportunities to support them establishing close ties with their new coworkers and building up friendships. Second, this study provides evidence showing that MNCs should be aware of the effect of moderation effect of expatriates’ length of time on current assignment when considering expatriates’ commitment toward foreign operation.

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
人力與知識管理研究所
107
This study aims to explore the impact of executive leadership styles on job involvement.And explore the relationship between organizational climate and workplace friendship. The research purpose is: (1) Exploring the influence of supervisory leadership style, job involvement status of the subordinates, and organizational climate. (2) Exploring the mediating effect of organizational climate on the leadership styles and job involvement. (3) Exploring the adjustment effect of workplace friendship in the relationship between leadership styles and organizational climate. (4) Exploring the adjustment effect of workplace friendship in the relationship between organizational climate and job involvement. For the purpose of the above research, Exploring the correlation between research variables, Discuss five research questions, And establish research structures and assumptions. The study is conducted on the basis of the questionnaire survey research method, The administrative staff of the administrative departments and academic units (including internal or long-term employment) of the Southern Private Science and Technology University are the research subjects. Issued a total of 350 questionnaires, Effectively recover 350 copies, The survey results are then scrutinized with multiple statistic instruments, including Descriptive Statistic Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Regression Analysis, to generate significant findings as follows: (1) Leadership styles has a significantly positive effect on job involvement. (2) Leadership styles has a significantly positive effect on organizational climate. (3) Organizational climate has a significantly positive effect on job involvement. (4) The organizational climate has a complete intermediary effect between leadership styles and job involvement. (5) Workplace friendship has no significant adjustment effect between leadership styles and organizational climate. (6) Workplace friendship that has adjust effect between the organizational climate and workplace friendship. According to the finding, Leadership styles, Organizational climate and workplace friendship have an important influence on job involvement. the suggestions for the future research are provided at the end of the thesis. For the head of the unit, administrative staff and follow-up researchers.

A investigação tem revelado uma heterogeneidade significativa na vivência da retirada social ao longo do desenvolvimento, não só nos seus correlatos ao nível do grupo de pares e das relações de amizade, mas também nas trajectórias longitudinais de cada indivíduo. No entanto, pouco ainda se conhece sobre possíveis fontes desta variabilidade na adolescência. Utilizando uma amostra normativa integrada num projecto de investigação longitudinal ainda em curso, procurámos atingir três grandes objectivos: 1) testar a estrutura factorial, através de uma análise factorial confirmatória, da versão portuguesa do Friendship Quality Questionnaire, um instrumento que permite avaliar a percepção que os adolescentes têm de diferentes aspectos qualitativos das suas amizades; 2) explorar, através de análises de regressão hierárquica múltipla num delineamento transversal, se as associações entre a retirada social e as experiências com os pares (exclusão, vitimização, popularidade e aceitação) variam em função da exibição de comportamento pró-social (uma característica habitualmente valorizada pelos pares), das dimensões da qualidade da amizade e também do sexo — depois de controlar os efeitos da participação em amizades recíprocas; 3) examinar longitudinalmente a heterogeneidade e as diferenças individuais na evolução desenvolvimental da retirada social durante três anos, através da análise de General Growth Mixture Modeling para identificar subgrupos distintos de indivíduos com diferentes trajectórias, bem como os factores que prevêem a mudança e o crescimento, e ainda quais as consequências desenvolvimentais dos diferentes percursos. Os nossos resultados suportaram a qualidade do ajustamento do modelo hexafactorial do FQQ proposto pelos autores, que revelou também bons níveis de fiabilidade e validade. O nosso estudo transversal demonstrou que a retirada social está associada a dificuldades com os pares e que o comportamento pró-social está ligado ao sucesso nessas interacções. Os efeitos de moderação, porém, apresentaram resultados mistos: para os jovens socialmente retirados, o comportamento pró-social, as amizades pouco conflituosas e caracterizadas por maior validação e cuidado parecem ser factores protectores da exclusão; pelo contrário, a exclusão e a partilha de intimidade aumentam o risco de menor aceitação pelos pares. As análises longitudinais identificaram três trajectórias distintas de retirada social: uma classe Normativa (80%), com níveis reduzidos e estáveis; uma classe Crescente (9%), com níveis iniciais baixos ou moderados, mas com tendência para o agravamento; e uma classe Decrescente, com níveis iniciais elevados, mas que se aproximam gradualmente da classe Normativa. As covariáveis incluídas no modelo, como a adversidade com os pares e o comportamento pró-social, ou características das amizades, como a reciprocidade, estabilidade e qualidade, apresentam padrões de associação específicos com cada uma das trajectórias identificadas. Por fim, constatou-se também que as classes Decrescente e Crescente se distinguem da Normativa no risco de desajustamento psicossocial, estando associadas a dificuldades distintas.
ABSTRACT: Research has revealed significant heterogeneity in the experience of social withdrawal throughout development, particularly in the dyadic and group-level peer outcomes, as well as in longitudinal individual trajectories. However, little is known about possible sources of this heterogeneity during adolescence. Using a normative sample from an ongoing longitudinal research project, our main goals were: 1) to test the factor structure, by means of a confirmatory factor analysis, of the Friendship Quality Questionnaire’s Portuguese version, an instrument that assesses adolescents’ perceptions of different qualitative features of their best friendships; 2) to explore, using multiple hierarchical regression analyses, whether the concurrent associations between peer-nominated socially-withdrawn behaviors and four group-level peer outcomes (exclusion, victimization, popularity, peer acceptance) varied as a function of prosocial behavior (usually, a peer-valued characteristic), friendship quality dimensions and gender, after accounting for the effects of involvement in mutual friendships; 3) to examine longitudinally the heterogeneity and individual differences in the developmental course of social withdrawal during three consecutive years, using General Growth Mixture Modeling to identify distinct pathways of social withdrawal, differentiate valid subgroup trajectories, analyze factors that predicted change and growth in trajectories within subgroups, and also what the developmental outcomes are for the different trajectory classes. Our results supported the goodness-of-fit of the proposed model, as well as its reliability and validity. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that social withdrawal predicted peer difficulties and that prosocial behavior is positively related to the success in peer interactions. The moderation effects, however, showed mixed results: prosocial behavior, low friendship conflict and highly validating and caring friends may protect from exclusion adolescents who are high on social withdrawal; on the contrary, peer exclusion and friendship intimate disclosure may increase the risk of lower peer acceptance for these adolescents. On the longitudinal analyses, three distinct pathways of social withdrawal were identified: a Normative class (80%), an Increasing class (9%), with initial low or moderate levels of social withdrawal that are gradually rising; a Decreasing class (11%), with high initial levels of social withdrawal that gradually narrowed to the normative group’s values. The covariates included in the model — peer adversity, prosocial behavior and friendship characteristics, such as reciprocity, stability and quality — showed patterns of association specific to each of the identified trajectories. Finally, decreasing and Increasing classes were also differentiated from the Normative class on a number of outcomes, suggesting that they are associated with a higher risk of maladaptation.
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Building on international assignments literature, expatriate assignees represent an asset in the international business network. This thesis explores the contemporary context and the reasons for the international assignment in order to frame the emergence of these international missions, among other things, the knowledge transfer, recruitment of qualified personnel, skills and structural specificities in international missions and global careers. Exploring and documenting these expatriate experiences is important, both organizational and individually. This article aims to broaden the understanding about the importance of intercultural interaction, both in the work and non-work field through social interactions and social support what leads to the adjustment or the reverse the failure of the expatriate's mission. The research reported here also explores the effects of the country images on expatriates adjustment and withdrawal cognitions. Data from 511 expatriates working abroad revealed the magnitude of qualitative differences in the experiences of intercultural interaction among expatriates. Resuts show’s that while positive interactions have a reverse effect on withdrawal cognitions and seek to contribute to the positive psychological adjustment of the expatriate, negative interactions combined with other predictors such as perceived cultural distance and lack of linguistic proficiency are the cause of withdrawal cognitions and consequently international mission failure. The success of the expatriate mission may, however, be achieved through cross-cultural motivation when positive intercultural interaction is initiated with other expatriates, co-workers or even HCN´s. In addition, we found that intergroup friendships and social support consistently showed deep or shallow supoort between the three dimensions of adjustment. Also, three significant image patterns in the country seemed to play a special role in the adjustment of expatriates.
Com base na literatura de atribuições internacionais, os expatriados representam um ativo na rede internacional de negócios. Esta tese explora brevemente o contexto contemporâneo e as razões para a atribuição internacional no sentido de enquadrar a emergência destas missões internacionais, entre outras coisas, a transferência de conhecimento, recrutamento de pessoal, competências e especificidades estruturais em missões internacionais e carreiras globais. Explorar e documentar essas experiências dos expatriados é importante, tanto do ponto de vista organizacional quanto individual. Este artigo tem o intuito de ampliar a compreensão da importância da interação intercultural, tanto do domínio do trabalho quanto do não-trabalho e sobretudo entender o que leva ao ajustamento ou o inverso o fracasso da missão do expatriado. A pesquisa aqui relatada também explora os efeitos da imagem dos Países nas cognições de adaptação e retirada. Dados de 511 expatriados trabalhando no exterior revelaram a magnitude das diferenças qualitativas nas experiências de interação intercultural dos expatriados. Enquanto as interações positivas têm um efeito reverso na retirada e procuram contribuir para o positivo ajuste psicológico do expatriado, as interações negativas combinadas com outros preditores como distância cultural percebida e a falta de proficiência linguística são a causa de cognições de retirada e fracasso da missão internacional. O sucesso da missão dos expatriados pode no entanto ser alcançado à medida que a motivação transcultural surge quando uma positiva interação intercultural é iniciada seja com outros expatriados, colegas de trabalho ou mesmo locais nacionais. Além disso, descobrimos que as amizades entre grupos e o apoio social mostraram de forma consistente uma ajuda profunda ou superficial entre as três dimensões de ajustamento. Também três padrões de imagem do País pareciam desempenhar um papel especial no ajustmento de expatriados.