College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

Spring 6-13-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Yan Li, PhD

Second Advisor

Kathryn Grant, PhD

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical development stage where social pressures can significantly impact interactions and behavior. One such pressure, popularity pressure, refers to adolescents’ perceived obligation to meet social expectations related to having a popular status. Prior research by Wright (2020) highlights that perceived popularity pressure, often driven by parental and peer influence, is linked to maladaptive behaviors such as relational aggression. Despite these findings, limited research has yet to explore the effect of popularity pressure on adolescents’ internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression, in addition to the underlying mechanisms through which popularity pressure impacts adolescents’ mental health and behavior.

A key construct that may mediate these relationships is popularity status insecurity (PSI), a specific dimension of social status insecurity that reflects adolescents’ anxieties about maintaining or achieving popularity (Long et al., 2020). While PSI has been shown to have mediating effects on anxiety and depression (Long et al., 2020; Li et al., 2024), the specific relationships among popularity pressure, PSI, and various outcomes remain an unexamined point in research. Furthermore, this study examined how individual differences in adolescents’ popularity goals and popularity status moderated these relationships. Specifically, these moderators influenced both the direct paths between popularity pressure and outcomes, and the indirect pathways mediated by PSI.

Using a longitudinal dataset, this study revealed that popularity pressure significantly predicted higher levels of relational aggression, depression, and anxiety. PSI mediated the relationships between popularity pressure and both relational aggression and depression, but not anxiety. Additionally, moderated mediation analyses showed that the indirect effects for relational aggression and depression were strongest for adolescents with high popularity goals and high peer-nominated popularity status. For anxiety, however, although PSI did not mediate the overall relationship, the association between PSI and anxiety was significant and strongest for adolescents with high popularity goals and low popularity status. These findings highlight PSI as a meaningful mechanism through which popularity pressures contribute to negative adolescent outcomes, and demonstrate the conditional nature of these associations based on individual popularity motivations and status.

SLP Collection

no

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS