Letter from the Editors
Staff Articles
- Gender in Fandom
- Internalizing Beauty Ideals: The Health Risks of Adult Women’s Self-Objectification
- Parental Monitoring and Disapproval of Peers: The Role of Parents in the Development of Adolescent Externalizing Behavior
- A Psychological Explanation of Undocumented Immigrants’ Participation in the U.S Economy
- Predicting Risky Sexual Behavior: Masculinity Ideology, Ethnicity, and Alcohol Use
- Youth in Foster Care: An Examination of Social, Mental, and Physical Risks
- Preschooler Gender-Typed Play Behaviors as a Function of Gender of Parents, Siblings, and Playmates
- The Relation Between Perceived Decision Freedom and Resilience: An Analysis of Eight Urban Adults Living in Morocco
New York University’s Applied Psychology Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, also known as OPUS, has been a part of the NYU community for five years. During those years, it has provided undergraduate students with a forum through which to they can share their independent work. OPUS is entirely written, edited, and designed by Applied Psychology undergraduates, and, therefore, is representative of the interests of the student body.
Historically, psychological research has focused on the experiences and conditions of dominant groups, thereby neglecting groups that have little cultural capital. In recent years, researchers have attempted to strengthen the field of psychology by studying more diverse populations. The Fall 2014 edition of OPUS attempts to capture select voices and conditions of those who have been traditionally under-represented in research. Additionally, our writers have used their work to examine the larger cultural and political contexts that influence the lived experiences of marginalized groups.
Some of our writers have focused on the ways in which societal expectations of gender influence behavior, relationships, and health. Gender norms can be impactful even as early as the preschool years, as Eunice Lau reveals in her paper about gender-typed play behaviors. Adam Cortez explores masculinity ideology as an important factor in young adult men’s sexual risk-taking, while Vera Stiefler Johnson examines the role of self-objectification in adult women’s physical and mental health risks. While these two papers focus on the influence of gender norms on either men or women, Kaya Mendelsohn contrasts how both men and women interact in the context of group membership and how those differences affect self-perception and their feelings of belonging.
Other writers have chosen to investigate the impacts of living contexts at the family, community and national level. Hope White explores the impact of parental monitoring on adolescent antisocial behavior and peer group choices, while Erin Hazen inquires into the social, mental, and physical health of youth in foster care, a population that technically “belongs” to the state. By contrast, Ahmed Alif and Bryan Nelson examines the working and living experiences of undocumented immigrants in the United States, a population that is often rejected by the state. These topics have implications for the importance of having a sense of belonging within a group. In keeping with this idea, Jazmine Russell’s qualitative interviews with urban Moroccans demonstrates the role of belonging with regard to various outcomes.
We are proud to be representing writers with diverse and culturally-aware research interests. We would like to thank our faculty mentor, Dr. Adina Schick, for her unwavering support, as well as our hard-working and dedicated staff.
Sincerely,
Vera Stiefler Johnson
Samantha Pratt