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Jessica Major
James Madison University

Subject Listing - Psychology
Advisor: Dr. Monica Reis-Bergan

Friday, Poster Session 4, Presentation Kiosk 4 A, Health & Fitness Center

PERCEIVED INTERACTION BETWEEN PEERS AND FAMILY AND IT`S RELATIONSHIPS TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS IN COLLEGE

College students today are from a new generation that involves working mothers and fathers as well as blended and single parent families. This new generation has been subject to different social development than the generations prior. Research suggests that children model their parents' behavior in tangible ways; one example is smoking and drinking alcohol. However, the present research aims to study the relationships between social skills of adolescents, and their perception of their parents' social skills. It will also compare the social networks to the adolescents perceived social skills to see if their development has been affected by their parents' social skills. Through surveying many first year students at a major university the study will examine the relationship between their social skills, their parents' social skills, their perceived social self efficacy, and their academic achievement. It is expected that there will be a significant interaction between the social self efficacy and the parents' and adolescents' social skills, as well as a significant interaction between the adolescents' perceived social skills and actual academic achievement.

Advisor: Dr. Monica Reis-Bergan, Associate Professor, Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA