Title of Research Project
Children’s belief in a just world: Construct structure and associations with social adjustment
Major
Pyschology
Research Abstract
Whether individuals believe themselves or others are treated justly in the world has been associated with important outcomes such as self-esteem (Fox et al., 2010) and mental health outcomes (Dalbert, 1999). Originally developed for adults, the measure of beliefs in a just world was examined in a sample of adolescents by Fox et al. (2010). They found with 11-16 year-olds, beliefs in a just world (BJW) about one’s own treatment in the world (BJW-self) were distinct from beliefs in a just world about other’s treatment (BJW-other). In addition, BJW-self predicted adolescents’ self-esteem while the BJW regarding others predicted social attitudes. No research that we know of has examined beliefs in a just year in younger children ages 7 to 12. The current study tested the factor structure of children's beliefs in a just world as well as how BJW-self and BJW-other correlated with measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional outcomes.
The present study sampled children ages 7-12 years old (n = 29, Mage = 8.86, SD = 1.52). 44% of participants identified as Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC). Participants were presented with a total of 14 items; seven questions asking about beliefs in a just world with respect to others (BJW-other) (ex.‘I feel that people get what they should in life’), and seven questions regarding beliefs in a just world with respect to themselves (BJW-self) (ex. ‘I feel that I get what I should in life’). Participants also responded to the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (Fischer & Corcoran, 1994) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman et al., 1998) as measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional development. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to explore the factor structure of the 14 items. This was followed by a correlational analysis to examine the association of BJW with measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional development.
Results were both consistent and inconsistent with what was found in the Fox et al. study. For example, just as in the Fox et al. (2010) study, exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure explaining 44.8% of the variance. Items for BJW-other loaded on one factor and items for BJW-self loaded on another. The confirmatory factor analysis however, showed poor fit X2 (N=29)=97.1, p
Faculty Mentor/Advisor
Aline Hitti
audio
Children’s belief in a just world: Construct structure and associations with social adjustment
Whether individuals believe themselves or others are treated justly in the world has been associated with important outcomes such as self-esteem (Fox et al., 2010) and mental health outcomes (Dalbert, 1999). Originally developed for adults, the measure of beliefs in a just world was examined in a sample of adolescents by Fox et al. (2010). They found with 11-16 year-olds, beliefs in a just world (BJW) about one’s own treatment in the world (BJW-self) were distinct from beliefs in a just world about other’s treatment (BJW-other). In addition, BJW-self predicted adolescents’ self-esteem while the BJW regarding others predicted social attitudes. No research that we know of has examined beliefs in a just year in younger children ages 7 to 12. The current study tested the factor structure of children's beliefs in a just world as well as how BJW-self and BJW-other correlated with measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional outcomes.
The present study sampled children ages 7-12 years old (n = 29, Mage = 8.86, SD = 1.52). 44% of participants identified as Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC). Participants were presented with a total of 14 items; seven questions asking about beliefs in a just world with respect to others (BJW-other) (ex.‘I feel that people get what they should in life’), and seven questions regarding beliefs in a just world with respect to themselves (BJW-self) (ex. ‘I feel that I get what I should in life’). Participants also responded to the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (Fischer & Corcoran, 1994) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman et al., 1998) as measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional development. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to explore the factor structure of the 14 items. This was followed by a correlational analysis to examine the association of BJW with measures of psychological well-being and socio-emotional development.
Results were both consistent and inconsistent with what was found in the Fox et al. study. For example, just as in the Fox et al. (2010) study, exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure explaining 44.8% of the variance. Items for BJW-other loaded on one factor and items for BJW-self loaded on another. The confirmatory factor analysis however, showed poor fit X2 (N=29)=97.1, p
