Christina Scanlon | University of Pittsburgh (original) (raw)

Papers by Christina Scanlon

Developmental Psychology, Oct 4, 2023

Journal of school psychology, Apr 1, 2024

Learning and instruction, Jun 1, 2024

Development and Psychopathology, Aug 31, 2023

Developmental Psychology, Oct 31, 2023

The sudden, unpredictable, and isolative nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is of concern to develop... more The sudden, unpredictable, and isolative nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is of concern to developmentalists, as it has produced a suboptimal context for adaptive functioning. Social support has been shown to be an effective coping mechanism for buffering the effects of normative stress on adolescent psychological well-being, but what happens when normative stress becomes intertwined with the pervasive economic, health-related, and social stress that accompanies a global pandemic? This study examines the moderating role of minoritized status and social support in the relation between adolescent stress and affect in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 using a sample of Black and White adolescents from low-income backgrounds. Significant differences were found between Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 stress, affect, and social support among Black and White adolescents. Among the full sample, stress predicted positive and negative affect in both Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. While social support shared a p...

Journal of Adolescent Health, Apr 12, 2021

PURPOSE Adolescents are at risk for violating COVID-19 social distancing measures owing to salien... more PURPOSE Adolescents are at risk for violating COVID-19 social distancing measures owing to salient developmental needs for autonomy and relatedness. This intensive longitudinal study investigated the initiation and sustainment of adolescents' daily social distancing behaviors. METHODS Focus group and daily-diary approaches were used to collect 6,216 assessments from a nationwide American adolescent sample (n = 444; Mage = 15.1; 40% male; 42% black/African American, 40% white/European American, 10% Latinx, 6% Asian American, 2% Native American) over the course of 14 days at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS When adolescents were motivated by preventing others from getting sick, they were more likely to engage in social distancing (same day: B = .50, SE = .09, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.32, .68] p < .001; next day: B = .49, SE = .09, 95% CI [.31, .67] p < .001). Daily social support from friends (same day: B = .04, SE = .02, 95% CI [.01, .08] p < .05; next day: B = .08, SE = .02, 95% CI [.05, .12] p < .001), connectedness with friends via technology (same day: B = .23, SE = .04, 95% CI [.14, .32] p < .001; next day: B = .12, SE = .05, 95% CI [.03, .21] p < .001), and practical knowledge about ways to prevent contracting and transmitting COVID-19 (same day: B = .12, SE = .02, 95% CI [.08, .17] p < .001; next day: B = .05, SE = .02, 95% CI [.01, .10] p < .05) positively predicted adolescents' same- and next-day engagement in social distancing. CONCLUSIONS Adolescents who were motivated by the desire to protect others were more likely to engage in social distancing. In addition, adolescents who learned about preventative health behaviors for mitigating COVID-19, received peer support, and remained virtually connected with friends were more likely to engage in daily social distancing at the onset of the pandemic.

Development and Psychopathology

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to m... more COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent–adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020–4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020–6/1/2020; N = 635 parent–adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents’ and children’s daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent–adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents’ and adolescents’ daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent–adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less l...

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2022

OBJECTIVE COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially ... more OBJECTIVE COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This longitudinal study aimed to identify which social (i.e., family conflict, parental social support, peer social support), emotional (i.e., COVID-19 health-related stress), and physical (i.e., sleep quality, food security) factors influence adolescents' same- and next-day affect and misconduct and whether these factors functioned differently by adolescents' economic status. METHOD Daily-diary approaches were used to collect 12,033 assessments over 29 days from a nationwide sample of American adolescents (n =546; Mage = 15.0; 40% male; 43% Black, 37% White, 10% Latinx, 8% Asian American, and 3% Native American; 61% low-income) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS Peer support, parent support, and sleep quality operated as promotive factors, whereas parent-child conflict and COVID-19 health-related stress operated as risk factors. Although these links were consistent for adolescents irrespective of economic status, low-income adolescents experienced more conflict with parents, more COVID-19 health-related stress, less peer support, and lower sleep quality than higher-income adolescents. Food insecurity was connected to decreased same- and next-day negative affect for low-income adolescents only. Low-income adolescents also displayed greater negative affect in response to increased daily health-related stress relative to higher-income adolescents. CONCLUSION These results highlight the role of proximal processes in shaping adolescent adjustment and delineate key factors influencing youth psychosocial well-being in the context of COVID-19. By understanding adolescents' responses to stressors at the onset of the pandemic, practitioners and healthcare providers can make evidence-based decisions regarding clinical treatment and intervention planning for youth most at risk for developmental maladjustment.

Peabody Journal of Education, 2022

To reduce the number of chronically absent students in schools annually, cities and municipalitie... more To reduce the number of chronically absent students in schools annually, cities and municipalities across the United States have implemented programs, initiatives, and invested resources into educational reforms that would lead to improvement in school attendance. Drawing on ecological systems theory and interview data, we examined how organizations within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania directly worked with students, collaborated with each other, and facilitated opportunities to reduce the impact of chronic absenteeism in the local school district. Interview data revealed how organizations leveraged resources to train key personnel, communicate the importance of daily school attendance, and work directly with students on improving school attendance. Our findings highlight how community approaches to absenteeism require various levels of support from organizations.

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

Background/Context Empirical research indicates that teachers across ages and academic contexts r... more Background/Context Empirical research indicates that teachers across ages and academic contexts regularly engage in emotional labor, and this emotional labor contributes to their job satisfaction, teaching effectiveness, burnout, and emotional well-being both within and outside the classroom. However, because the initial research on emotional labor was situated in the service industries (e.g., restaurants, call centers, airlines), researchers have suggested that the emotional labor framework as it applies to teaching only provides a partial picture of teachers’ deeper and more complex emotional practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study aims to determine whether and how teachers’ descriptions of their own emotional practice map onto existing emotional labor constructs (emotional display rules, and deep and surface acting) and how the framework may be adapted to better support teachers’ implementation of emotional labor. Setting Participants worked in fiv...

Journal of Adolescent Health

Journal of Affective Disorders

Background COVID-19 has introduced novel stressors into American adolescents’ lives. Studies have... more Background COVID-19 has introduced novel stressors into American adolescents’ lives. Studies have shown that adolescents adopt an array of coping mechanisms and social supports when contending with stress. It is unclear, though, which strategies are most effective in mitigating daily pandemic-related stress, as few micro-longitudinal studies have explored adolescents’ daily affect during COVID-19. Parental support may also be a critical component of adolescents’ pandemic-related coping, as adolescents’ peer networks have been limited by public health measures. Methods This longitudinal study examined links between stress, coping, parental support, and affect across 14 consecutive days and 6216 assessments from a national sample of adolescents (N=444; Mage =15.0; 60% female; 44% Black/African American, 39% White/Europen American, 9% Latinx, 6% Asian American, 2% Native American) during school closures and state-mandated stay-at-home orders between April 8 and April 21, 2021. Results Adolescents’ health and financial stress predicted increases in same-day (health stress’ effect size = .16; financial stress’ effect size = .11) and next-day negative affect (health stress’ effect size = .05; financial stress’ effect size = .08). Adolescents’ secondary control engagement coping predicted increases in same-day (effect size = .10) and next-day (effect size = .04) positive affect and moderated the link between health stress and negative affect. Parental social support predicted increases in same-day (effect size = .26) and next-day (effect size = .06) positive affect and decreases in same-day (effect size = .17) negative affect and moderated the link between financial stress and negative affect. Limitations Results are indicative of conditions at the immediate onset of COVID-19 and should be interpreted as such. Conclusions Findings provide information as to how health providers and parents can help adolescents mitigate the impact of COVID-19-related health and economic stressors on their psychological well-being. It remains critical to monitor the psychosocial impact of the pandemic on adolescents’ affect while continuing to identify personal and environmental protective factors for reducing harm and maximizing resilience.

Journal of Adolescent Health

Developmental Psychology, Oct 4, 2023

Journal of school psychology, Apr 1, 2024

Learning and instruction, Jun 1, 2024

Development and Psychopathology, Aug 31, 2023

Developmental Psychology, Oct 31, 2023

The sudden, unpredictable, and isolative nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is of concern to develop... more The sudden, unpredictable, and isolative nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is of concern to developmentalists, as it has produced a suboptimal context for adaptive functioning. Social support has been shown to be an effective coping mechanism for buffering the effects of normative stress on adolescent psychological well-being, but what happens when normative stress becomes intertwined with the pervasive economic, health-related, and social stress that accompanies a global pandemic? This study examines the moderating role of minoritized status and social support in the relation between adolescent stress and affect in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 using a sample of Black and White adolescents from low-income backgrounds. Significant differences were found between Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 stress, affect, and social support among Black and White adolescents. Among the full sample, stress predicted positive and negative affect in both Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. While social support shared a p...

Journal of Adolescent Health, Apr 12, 2021

PURPOSE Adolescents are at risk for violating COVID-19 social distancing measures owing to salien... more PURPOSE Adolescents are at risk for violating COVID-19 social distancing measures owing to salient developmental needs for autonomy and relatedness. This intensive longitudinal study investigated the initiation and sustainment of adolescents' daily social distancing behaviors. METHODS Focus group and daily-diary approaches were used to collect 6,216 assessments from a nationwide American adolescent sample (n = 444; Mage = 15.1; 40% male; 42% black/African American, 40% white/European American, 10% Latinx, 6% Asian American, 2% Native American) over the course of 14 days at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS When adolescents were motivated by preventing others from getting sick, they were more likely to engage in social distancing (same day: B = .50, SE = .09, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.32, .68] p < .001; next day: B = .49, SE = .09, 95% CI [.31, .67] p < .001). Daily social support from friends (same day: B = .04, SE = .02, 95% CI [.01, .08] p < .05; next day: B = .08, SE = .02, 95% CI [.05, .12] p < .001), connectedness with friends via technology (same day: B = .23, SE = .04, 95% CI [.14, .32] p < .001; next day: B = .12, SE = .05, 95% CI [.03, .21] p < .001), and practical knowledge about ways to prevent contracting and transmitting COVID-19 (same day: B = .12, SE = .02, 95% CI [.08, .17] p < .001; next day: B = .05, SE = .02, 95% CI [.01, .10] p < .05) positively predicted adolescents' same- and next-day engagement in social distancing. CONCLUSIONS Adolescents who were motivated by the desire to protect others were more likely to engage in social distancing. In addition, adolescents who learned about preventative health behaviors for mitigating COVID-19, received peer support, and remained virtually connected with friends were more likely to engage in daily social distancing at the onset of the pandemic.

Development and Psychopathology

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to m... more COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent–adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020–4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020–6/1/2020; N = 635 parent–adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents’ and children’s daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent–adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents’ and adolescents’ daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent–adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less l...

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2022

OBJECTIVE COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially ... more OBJECTIVE COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This longitudinal study aimed to identify which social (i.e., family conflict, parental social support, peer social support), emotional (i.e., COVID-19 health-related stress), and physical (i.e., sleep quality, food security) factors influence adolescents' same- and next-day affect and misconduct and whether these factors functioned differently by adolescents' economic status. METHOD Daily-diary approaches were used to collect 12,033 assessments over 29 days from a nationwide sample of American adolescents (n =546; Mage = 15.0; 40% male; 43% Black, 37% White, 10% Latinx, 8% Asian American, and 3% Native American; 61% low-income) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS Peer support, parent support, and sleep quality operated as promotive factors, whereas parent-child conflict and COVID-19 health-related stress operated as risk factors. Although these links were consistent for adolescents irrespective of economic status, low-income adolescents experienced more conflict with parents, more COVID-19 health-related stress, less peer support, and lower sleep quality than higher-income adolescents. Food insecurity was connected to decreased same- and next-day negative affect for low-income adolescents only. Low-income adolescents also displayed greater negative affect in response to increased daily health-related stress relative to higher-income adolescents. CONCLUSION These results highlight the role of proximal processes in shaping adolescent adjustment and delineate key factors influencing youth psychosocial well-being in the context of COVID-19. By understanding adolescents' responses to stressors at the onset of the pandemic, practitioners and healthcare providers can make evidence-based decisions regarding clinical treatment and intervention planning for youth most at risk for developmental maladjustment.

Peabody Journal of Education, 2022

To reduce the number of chronically absent students in schools annually, cities and municipalitie... more To reduce the number of chronically absent students in schools annually, cities and municipalities across the United States have implemented programs, initiatives, and invested resources into educational reforms that would lead to improvement in school attendance. Drawing on ecological systems theory and interview data, we examined how organizations within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania directly worked with students, collaborated with each other, and facilitated opportunities to reduce the impact of chronic absenteeism in the local school district. Interview data revealed how organizations leveraged resources to train key personnel, communicate the importance of daily school attendance, and work directly with students on improving school attendance. Our findings highlight how community approaches to absenteeism require various levels of support from organizations.

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

Background/Context Empirical research indicates that teachers across ages and academic contexts r... more Background/Context Empirical research indicates that teachers across ages and academic contexts regularly engage in emotional labor, and this emotional labor contributes to their job satisfaction, teaching effectiveness, burnout, and emotional well-being both within and outside the classroom. However, because the initial research on emotional labor was situated in the service industries (e.g., restaurants, call centers, airlines), researchers have suggested that the emotional labor framework as it applies to teaching only provides a partial picture of teachers’ deeper and more complex emotional practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study aims to determine whether and how teachers’ descriptions of their own emotional practice map onto existing emotional labor constructs (emotional display rules, and deep and surface acting) and how the framework may be adapted to better support teachers’ implementation of emotional labor. Setting Participants worked in fiv...

Journal of Adolescent Health

Journal of Affective Disorders

Background COVID-19 has introduced novel stressors into American adolescents’ lives. Studies have... more Background COVID-19 has introduced novel stressors into American adolescents’ lives. Studies have shown that adolescents adopt an array of coping mechanisms and social supports when contending with stress. It is unclear, though, which strategies are most effective in mitigating daily pandemic-related stress, as few micro-longitudinal studies have explored adolescents’ daily affect during COVID-19. Parental support may also be a critical component of adolescents’ pandemic-related coping, as adolescents’ peer networks have been limited by public health measures. Methods This longitudinal study examined links between stress, coping, parental support, and affect across 14 consecutive days and 6216 assessments from a national sample of adolescents (N=444; Mage =15.0; 60% female; 44% Black/African American, 39% White/Europen American, 9% Latinx, 6% Asian American, 2% Native American) during school closures and state-mandated stay-at-home orders between April 8 and April 21, 2021. Results Adolescents’ health and financial stress predicted increases in same-day (health stress’ effect size = .16; financial stress’ effect size = .11) and next-day negative affect (health stress’ effect size = .05; financial stress’ effect size = .08). Adolescents’ secondary control engagement coping predicted increases in same-day (effect size = .10) and next-day (effect size = .04) positive affect and moderated the link between health stress and negative affect. Parental social support predicted increases in same-day (effect size = .26) and next-day (effect size = .06) positive affect and decreases in same-day (effect size = .17) negative affect and moderated the link between financial stress and negative affect. Limitations Results are indicative of conditions at the immediate onset of COVID-19 and should be interpreted as such. Conclusions Findings provide information as to how health providers and parents can help adolescents mitigate the impact of COVID-19-related health and economic stressors on their psychological well-being. It remains critical to monitor the psychosocial impact of the pandemic on adolescents’ affect while continuing to identify personal and environmental protective factors for reducing harm and maximizing resilience.

Journal of Adolescent Health