UROP Project

Does differentiation-of-self mediate the relationship between exposure to parental alienating behaviors and self-esteem in college students?

Interparental Conflicts, Self-esteem, college students
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Research Mentor: Ms. Xinyun Zhang, She/Her/Hers
Department, College, Affiliation: Human Development and Family Science, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: xz23a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: HDFS, Psychology, and Social Work
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

The current project aims to explore how differentiation of self (one's ability to maintain balance between their own identity and forming connections with others) may mediate the relationship between exposure to parental alienating behaviors (behaviors that one or both caregivers do that aim to damage the other caregiver's image within the child) and self-esteem in college students. This project aims to recruit individuals currently enrolled in college who believe they were exposed to parental alienating behaviors.

Research Tasks: Participant recruitment by distributing flyers in the community and school campus, as well as participant management using Qualtrics and Microsoft Office software.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Familiarity with Qualtrics (Recommended)
Microsoft Office or Google Docs/Sheets/Slides/etc. (Recommended)
Social media posting (Required)
Comfortable with social interactions while recruiting participants (Recommended)

Mentoring Philosophy

I aim to create a relationship with my mentee that is as equal and accepting as possible, in line with my philosophy of teaching, while fully aware of the power imbalance we already have. As a mentee myself in my research, I believe that putting my mentee at ease so they feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes is very important, because that's the best way to learn. I also believe that my mentee brings new perspectives and ideas to the table, and I would love to brainstorm with them to see how we can incorporate their ideas into the project. I would like to support my mentee by fostering their curiosity into their own research interests and introducing them to tools that can be helpful to them.

Additional Information


Link to Publications