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The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively changed the state of psychological science from what research questions psychologists can ask to which methodologies psychologists can use to investigate them. In this article, we offer a perspective on how to optimize new research in the pandemic's wake. Because this pandemic is inherently a social phenomenon-an event that hinges on human-to-human contact-we focus on socially relevant subfields of psychology. We highlight specific psychological phenomena that have likely shifted as a result of the pandemic and discuss theoretical, methodological, and practical considerations of conducting research on these phenomena. After this discussion, we evaluate metascientific issues that have been amplified by the pandemic. We aim to demonstrate how theoretically grounded views on the COVID-19 pandemic can help make psychological science stronger-not weaker-in its wake.

Most youth development programs strive to promote thriving, but scientific inquiry into "how" they achieve this aim is rare and often complicated by nuanced program structures and delivery. Across two studies, we explored how one thriving indicator, having a sense of purpose in life, may be cultivated by a statewide 4-H program. In Study 1, an inductive text mining approach called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was used to content analyze 63 4-H practitioners' definitions of purpose and focus group conversations about how the program fosters this sense in youth. In Study 2, 113 4-H participants (aged 12-18 years, M[subscript age] = 14.77; 66% female) reported their purpose exploration and commitment and the extent to which they have engaged with particular program experiences. The LDA suggested educators believe 4-H fosters purpose by offering diverse and transformative activities that equip youth with key resources. Youth reports largely corroborated these beliefs: Correlational analyses revealed youth who felt they acquired life skills in 4-H reported greater purpose commitment, whereas youth who felt they had access to older youth with long-term aspirations reported greater purpose exploration. Implications for how 4-H and other programs might scaffold activities to promote youth purpose are discussed.

While opportunities for adolescents to drive their own learning are increasing, differences in motivations for and engagement in these opportunities are rarely investigated. The current study employed a sample of adolescents (N = 580, M.sub.age = 16.53) enrolled in GripTape, a 10-week self-driven learning program in which youth pursue topics of their choosing. Cluster analysis classified adolescents based on their personal (e.g., resilience, competence) and ecological (e.g., adult support, safe environments) assets, resulting in two distinguishable groups. A High Asset group scored more favorably on these indicators than a Lower Asset group. Between-cluster comparisons revealed that compared to the Lower Asset group, the High Asset group reported greater levels of motivation for self-driven learning (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, and competence demonstration), but not engagement (i.e., positive learning experience, commitment to learning topics and activities). Subsequent tests showed that extrinsic motivation and competence demonstration negatively correlates with youth commitment to learning topics and activities. These findings enrich the literature concerning adolescents' motivations for and engagement in self-driven learning, and how to support youth self-driven learning., Author(s): Gaoxia Zhu [sup.1] , Anthony L. Burrow [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.5386.8, 000000041936877X, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, , office G122B Martha Van Rensselaer, 14853, Ithaca, NY, USA Research [...]

A core attribute of the positive youth development movement has been to nullify negative perceptions of youth's capacities. Toward this end, measurement and classification systems benefit from efforts to view youth's capacities as assets contextualized by developmental potentials and opportunities. In this article, we consider this point with respect to whether youth are purposeful. The prevailing sentiment of some researchers holds that few adolescents have a purpose in life, perhaps reifying negative beliefs about their capacity. We assert an alternative view that focuses on "sense of purpose," which relies on abundant evidence that adolescents generally perceive themselves to be purposeful, thus offering a more inclusive and positive portrayal of young people. This different perspective also opens the door to new opportunities for studying the development of purpose among marginalized adolescents, as well as how interventions may motivate a sense of purpose among youth.

A minimal amount of information is known about how adolescents and emerging adults construe purpose and meaning in life, leaving many researchers to assume youth think about these constructs consistent with scientific understandings. In this preregistered study, we compared adolescent and emerging adult conceptions of purpose and meaning using directed content analysis. High school and college students were randomly assigned to write about purpose, meaning, or a control topic. Themes mentioned within the written samples did not significantly differ across purpose and meaning conditions, and this pattern did not significantly vary between adolescents and emerging adults. However, many who wrote about meaning mentioned purpose explicitly, suggesting nuanced differentiation. These findings can inform how purpose and meaning are studied and the development of future interventions.

Objective: Despite long‐standing assumptions that a sense of purpose in life and goal pursuit are mutually supportive, empirical evidence of their reciprocity remains deficient. In the context of a unique out‐of‐school time program that empowers youth to pursue passions through self‐driven learning, we examined whether purpose and one aspect of goal pursuit—perceptions of goal progress—work together to sustain themselves and each other over time. Method: Adolescents (N = 321) completed daily surveys throughout program enrollment (Menrollment = 69.09 days). Through dynamic structural equation modeling, we derived within‐person patterns of day‐to‐day prediction as well as individual differences in these patterns. Results: We found purpose and perceived goal progress exhibited significant daily inertia (i.e., autoregressive prediction) and reciprocity (i.e., cross‐lagged prediction) at the within‐person level. We also found initial evidence suggesting (a) tighter reciprocity was related to greater perceived goal progress overall and (b) people with greater purpose inertia may rely less on making goal progress to sustain momentum. Conclusions: With evidence of daily purpose‐progress reciprocity, the field can look forward to replicating this work in other contexts, diving deeper into interesting patterns of within‐person dynamics, and developing interventions to support youth striving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recent data suggests significant racial disparities in police killings in the United States: Much research finds that Black men are killed by police officers at higher rates than White men, and many individuals killed by police have been unarmed. Method: Toward addressing psychological mechanisms at play in these complicated decision contexts, the current study tested the effectiveness of two writing tasks at reducing the unjustified shooting of unarmed targets using a virtual shooting-decision platform. Participants wrote either about their sense of purpose, self-affirming values, or a control topic and then played a first-person shooter video game, which randomly presented pictures of Black and White armed and unarmed targets. Participants were instructed not to shoot unarmed targets and to shoot armed targets. Results: Results indicated that relative to controls, writing about either purpose or self-affirming values reduced the probability of shooting unarmed targets, without negatively impacting shooting decision reaction time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Derailment is the sense of being "off‐course" in life. But what could this mean for adolescents, who are often establishing identity and self‐direction for the first time? We examined the structure and correlates of the Derailment Scale and its short form, the Derailment Scale‐6 (DS‐6), among middle‐to‐late adolescents (N = 452). Both scales exhibited unidimensionality, but the DS‐6 demonstrated superior fit and correlated with cross‐sectional distress markers (e.g., greater depression, lower life satisfaction, strained sense of purpose). Breaking from adult‐based research, we failed to find evidence that derailment related to adolescent identity exploration and commitment. In extending assessment of derailment to adolescence, this study invites exploration of this experience during a time characterized by substantial transition and the emergence of stable self‐views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeling a sense of purpose in life appears to hold consistent benefits for positive aging and well-being. As such, it is important to consider the potential factors that promote or hinder the development of purposefulness over the lifespan. For instance, it remains unclear whether early life experiences, particularly adverse ones, may hold lasting influences on whether one feels purposeful into adulthood. The current study examined whether early life adversity predicted a diminished sense of purpose in adulthood using data from participants (N = 3835) in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Reports of early life adversity were associated with lower levels of purpose in adulthood, and chronological age failed to moderate this relationship.

Research suggests a sense of purpose begins developing in earnest during adolescence, which may shape youth's interests and resilience. Here, we explored the types of purpose orientations reflected in youth's applications to a self-driven learning program, and how distinct pathways by which youth pursued these purposes moderated their resilience throughout the program. A content analysis of 356 youth's (Mage = 16.53, 57.02% female) descriptions of and rationales for choosing their learning topics found that career, creative, and prosocial purposes were the most prevalent; and about 70% of participants indicated following proactive pathways toward purposes. Moreover, youth's resilience significantly increased throughout the program, a pattern amplified among youth whose applications revealed a proactive purpose pathway (gradually developing and pursuing an interest) relative to reactive or social-learning pathways. Findings underscore important links between purpose pathways and resilience and have implications for designing learning opportunities that facilitate positive youth development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although epidemiological studies and community surveys of Asian Americans have found that lifetime occurrences of racial discrimination are associated with increased risk for psychological morbidity, little is known about how exposure to racial discrimination is patterned in everyday life. Extrapolating from previous qualitative research (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007), this study presents data on the prevalence and psychological correlates of everyday racial microaggressions that reflect the Asian American experience. Measures of positive affect, negative affect, somatic symptoms, and racial microaggressions were completed by 152 Asian Americans each day for up to 14 consecutive days. Approximately 78% of participants reported some form of racial microaggression within the 2-week study period. Multilevel analyses indicated that elevations in daily microaggressions, as well as greater microaggressions on average, predicted increases in somatic symptoms and negative affect. Implications of these findings for racial microaggression research and clinical practice are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 3 footnotes.)

The current study considered the influence of the 2008 presidential election on the racial identity of African American college students (M[subscript age] = 19.3 years; 26.3% male). The design of the study consisted of 2 components: longitudinal and daily. The longitudinal component assessed 3 dimensions of racial identity (centrality, private regard, and public regard) 2 weeks before and 5 months after the election, and the daily diary component assessed racial identity and identity exploration on the days immediately before and after the election. Daily items measuring identity exploration focused on how much individuals thought about issues relating to their race. Analyses considered the immediate effects of the election on identity exploration and the extent to which changes in exploration were shaped by racial identity measured prior to the election. We also considered immediate and longer term changes in racial identity following the election and the extent to which longer term changes were conditioned by identity exploration. Findings suggest that the election served as an "encounter" experience (Cross, 1991, 1995, pp. 60-61), which led to increases in identity exploration. Moreover, analyses confirmed that changes in identity exploration were most pronounced among those with higher levels of racial centrality. Results also suggest that the election had both an immediate and a longer term influence on racial identity, which in some instances was conditioned by identity exploration. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

Having a sense of purpose has been discussed as a developmental asset for youth and as an outgrowth of establishing a sense of identity. Using the identity capital model as a theoretical framework, 3 studies examined purpose as a mediator in the relationship between identity and well-being among adolescents and emerging adults. In Study 1A, (n = 110), purpose commitment was positively associated with positive affect, hope, happiness among adolescents, and fully mediated associations between identity commitment and these indices of well-being. These findings were replicated in Study 1B (n = 398), with a sample of emerging adults and using different measures of well-being. In Study 2, multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses examined the role of identity and purpose in the daily lives of adolescents (n = 135). Results showed that purpose commitment fully mediated the relationship between identity and changes in daily positive and negative affect. Overall, findings suggest that cultivating a sense of purpose in life may be an important mechanism through which a stable identity contributes to well-being. (Contains 6 tables and 1 footnote.)

While having a purpose in life has been theorized as a developmental asset, the extent to which adolescents cultivate a meaningful sense of direction is not well understood. In the present study, cluster analysis was used to classify adolescents by levels of purpose exploration and commitment. The sample (N = 318; 55% female) consisted of youth aged 14-18 and was predominantly White/non-Hispanic (76.3%). Results supported four meaningful yet distinguishable profiles of youth purpose that are largely consistent with theories on identity formation: Achieved, Foreclosed, Uncommitted, and Diffused. Hypothesized linkages with affect and hope were established across the profiles such that positive emotions and goal-directed thinking were most apparent among Achieved and Foreclosed youth and least apparent among Diffused and Uncommitted youth. Overall, findings demonstrate the inherent complexity in adolescents' engagement with purpose and suggest a correspondence between stronger commitments to purpose and youths' sense of personal agency and well-being.

Two studies evaluated whether different purpose orientations, defined by the content of one's life-goals, would differentially predict personal well-being in the short- and long-term. Four types of purpose orientations (creative, prosocial, financial, and personal recognition) were examined using a sample of 416 (57% male) college undergraduates tested as seniors and again thirteen years after graduation. At senior year, all four purpose orientations were correlated with perceived personal development during college, measured using Higher Education Research Institute surveys. However, at middle adulthood, only the prosocial purpose orientation was predictive of greater generativity, personal growth, and integrity. These studies point to the benefits of having goals focused on helping others rather than helping oneself. (Contains 6 tables.)

This descriptive study employed a within-groups analytic approach to examine patterns of sexual risk behavior and co-occurring general and race/ethnicity-specific risk and protective factors in a community sample of African-American youth (n = 436). Cluster analysis was used to classify young adults by levels of self-reported past year sexual risk behaviors. MANOVA, ANOVA, and chi-square analyses indicated significant associations between cluster membership and (a) lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, (b) peer substance use behaviors, and (c) self-reported past year alcohol and marijuana use. Cluster membership was not associated with several race/ethnicity-specific variables: racial/ethnic orientation, cultural mistrust, and perceived discrimination. The results of the current study can inform the development of HIV/STI prevention strategies for vulnerable African-American youth. (Contains 3 tables.)

High positive affect and low negative affect have been repeatedly tied to better individual and interpersonal well-being. However, research has focused on mean levels whereas the day-to-day unfolding of affect and its impact on romantic relationships remain largely understudied. Here, we examined the links between mean levels and variability in affect and changes in perceptions of partner regard —the extent to which people believe that their partners value and accept them. One hundred twenty-five African American couples (N = 250 individuals) reported how positively they thought their partners viewed them across two sessions (T1 and T2), separated by a 3-week daily diary study in which participants reported on their positive and negative affect each day for 21 consecutive days. Using dyadic analysis, we found that higher actor negative affect variability was associated with lower perceived regard at T2 controlling for perceived regard at T1. This finding held when controlling for mean levels of actor and partner negative affect. By contrast, PA variability was curvilinearly associated with perceived regard, with moderate levels of variability associated with higher subsequent perceived regard. These results highlight the importance of accounting for mean levels and curvilinear effects when examining links between affect dynamics and relational well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated group differences in adolescent adjustment by adoption status and adoption subtype in a national sample, in contrast to group differences based on developmental stage or gender. Secondary analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were performed to describe group differences in a broad range of adjustment measures (a) between adoptees and non-adoptees, (b) between different-race adoptees and same-race adoptees and, (c) across adolescent developmental stage and gender groups. Based upon a developmental deviance hypothesis, the current study hypothesized that early adolescent different-race adoptees would fair better across measures of academic performance, familial relationships, psychological adjustment, and physical health than their middle and late adolescent counterparts. Group comparisons revealed little evidence of increased maladjustment among adopted adolescents compared to non-adopted study participants. In addition, group comparisons revealed few differences across indices of adolescent adjustment by adoption subtype (i.e. by the degree of racial congruence adopted child and adoptive parent). However, significant group differences in adolescent adjustment were found based on participants' developmental stage and gender. The implications of the findings are discussed.