The Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC), hosted by the Department of Psychology and Psi Chi, provides the opportunity for Psychology students to present research, meet other students and faculty, and attend the keynote speaker’s address. Many of the topics presented at the conference focus on diversity related themes. Here is a listing of diversity related presentations from last year’s conference:

Poster Abstracts:

4

ANDERSON, Carrie, Bastein, Jessica, and Vanderkooy, Leahmarie

Georgia State University

Same Sex Marriages

Same sex marriage is a complex topic and involves many facets worth investigation and understanding. In this study, 125 men and women were administered a 23 question Likert Scale survey. Namely, this study seeks the levels of legal and normality/comfort attitudes regarding same sex marriage. Two hypotheses were derived. First, Republicans would be less likely to hold negative attitudes towards same sex marriage. In addition, men would be more likely to hold negative normality/comfort attitudes regarding same sex marriage. The literature supports these postulates. Conclusively, the study extrapolated statistics to prove the hypotheses with positive results. Republicans held more negative attitudes towards same sex marriage and men have more negative normality/comfort levels regarding the topic. We surmise that future research is a necessary component of understanding the diverse topic of same sex marriage.

37

LABOY, Adrian

Georgia State University

Ethnic Identity is a salient issue during adolescents, especially for adolescents that reside in an ethnically diverse environment. Cross Keys High School is one of Georgia’s most ethnically diverse high schools with students whose families come from over 50 different countries. This poster presentation will be a qualitative examination of various different ways that Latino/a ethnic identity can be reported.129 Latino/a (64% girls n=82) students at Cross Keys High School were given surveys which include open ended questions that asked the students to “Describe your American self” and “Describe your Latino/a self.” Responses were coded and applied to an identity scale giving value to the amount of commitment and exploration is needed for the traits described by the students.

46

MOENK, Eva

Georgia State University

Recent research on dating suggests that individuals who date outside their own racial group have lower self-esteem and identify less with members of their own race (Shibazaki, 1998, p. 253). The current study examines whether college students from different racial groups vary in their willingness to date outside of their race. More specifically, we explore whether Asian and Hispanic students are more likely than African Americans or Caucasians to choose mates outside of their racial group. Members of an undergraduate research methods class are currently collecting data about mate choice and relationship satisfaction among college students using a brief questionnaire. Approximately 260 students, roughly half of who are female and half of who are male, are being surveyed. Six of the 21 items on the survey related directly to influence of race on mate selection and relationship satisfaction.  These items include, “How acceptable do you think it is for someone to date outside of his/her racial/ethnic group?’ and “Have you ever dated someone outside of your racial/ethnic group?” Because of strong cultural biases against interracial dating in the African American and Caucasian communities, we expect that members of these communities will report lower levels of experience with interracial dating than Asians or Hispanics. Moreover, African Americans and Caucasians will report that they find interracial dating less acceptable and interracial relationships less satisfying than will Asians or Hispanics. Those who do date interracially or find interracial dating acceptable will report lower levels of self-attractiveness relative to those who do not.

56

RYAN, Stacy Renee and Brennan, Patricia

Emory University

In his “Code of the Streets” theory, Elijah Anderson attempts to clarify the relationship between inner-city minority youth’s inclination for violence and family structure.  He argues that based on very specific characteristics, inner-city families separate themselves into taxonomies that he labels “decent” and “street” families. The social typology of a decent family includes parental emphasis on the value of education and work, adherence to middle-class American values, consistent punishment, and religious faith and practice. Street families, on the other hand, are characterized by low self-esteem, poor cohesion, disorganization, a lack of monitoring, negative attitudes toward the police and high levels of destructive behaviors. Anderson theorizes that both street and decent families adhere to a code of the streets that emphasizes self-respect, however, children from street families are more likely than children from decent families to become violent when this code is broken. The current study attempts to expand on and empirically test Elijah Anderson’s Code of the Streets theory. It begins by relating the Code of the Streets to the alienation hypothesis and discussing it in the context of the original Strain Theory. Next the paper provides an empirical test of Anderson’s theory using interview data previously collected in the context of a study funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (in which P. Brennan was a P.I.). The current study will focus specifically on 99 African-American boys aged 12-17 years, all who live in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of community violence. Using self-report interview data on family characteristics and delinquency, I will test the hypothesis that the theoretical concepts of “street family” and “decent family” exist in the manner that Anderson delineates. Specifically I will create a scale of decent vs. street family characteristics, and test for a bimodal distribution on this scale such that most families in high-risk neighborhoods fall into one of these two categories. I will also test the hypothesis that membership in a street family (versus a decent family) is related to increased rates of delinquency and violence in youth. I will also explore the question of resiliency by attempting to determine what protective factors are associated with non-delinquent outcomes for children who are being raised in street families. It is hoped that this paper will offer valuable information for the development of culturally sensitive intervention and prevention programs for African American youth.

61

THOMAS, Cherrell

Georgia State University

This poster presentation will present the MAP (Minority Access to Psychology) program.  MAP is an APA funded network of graduate and undergraduate minority students.  The graduate students serve as mentors to the undergraduates, the second year undergraduates mentor the newly admitted undergraduates, assisting them in preparation for graduate school. In addition, graduate and undergraduate students from the MAP program have given presentations at two professional conferences and will be part of a panel at a conference in June of this year. This poster will display preliminary data presented October, 2002 at the Southeastern Eco-Community Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.  MAP will also be part of a mentoring panel from the psychology department presenting at the 9^th Biennial Conference, “Incorporating Diversity: Moving from Values to Action.” This conference is being sponsored by the Society for Community Research and Action in New Mexico, June 2003. This poster will present the preliminary outline of the future direction of the program, including the presentation in New Mexico, looking at mentoring programs specifically for women of color.