Research Interests for Steven R Asher

His research interests center on social development in childhood,early adolescence, and the college years with a focus on the conceptualization and assessment of relational competence and relational outcomes among youth and young adults. This focus includes:(1) studies of social cognition, especially the goals children and college students pursue in response to interpersonal conflict and other challenging social task; (2) studies of how social relationships influence feelings of loneliness and belonging in elementary school, middle school, and college; (3) emerging research on how maladaptive beliefs about friendship play a role in college students' relationship adjustment. As part of his program of research, Dr. Asher, his graduate students, and on-campus collaborators in Duke University's Division of Student Affairs have recently completed a four-year longitudinal study of the connections between social relationships, alcohol use, academic engagement, and feelings of well-being in college.

Representative Publications   (search)

1. Asher, S. R., Parker, J. G., & Walker, D. L., Distinguishing friendship from acceptance: Implications for intervention and assessment, in The company they keep: Friendship during childhood and adolescence, edited by W. M. Bukowski, A. F. Newcomb, & W. W. Hartup (1996), pp. 366-405, New York: Cambridge University Press.
2. Erdley, C.A. & Asher, S.R., Children's social goals and self-efficacy perceptions as influences on their responses to ambiguous provocation, Child Development, vol. 67 (1996), pp. 1329-1344.
3. Asher, S.R. & Rose, A.J., Promoting children's social-emotional development with peers, in Emotional development and emotional literacy, edited by P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (1997), pp. 196-224, New York: Basic Books.
4. Asher, S. R., & Hopmeyer, A., Loneliness in childhood, in Children's needs II: Development, problems and alternatives, edited by G. G. Bear, K. M. Minke, & A. Thomas (1997), pp. 279-292, Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
5. Rose, A.J. & Asher, S.R., Children's goals and strategies in response to conflicts within a friendship, Developmental Psychology, vol. 35 (1999), pp. 69-79.
6. Rudolph, K.D., & Asher, S. R., Adaptation and maladaptation in the peer system, in Handbook of developmental psychopathology,, 2nd Ed., edited by . J. Sameroff, M. Lewis, & S. M. Miller (2000), pp. 157-175, New York: Plenum Press.
7. Asher, S.R., Rose, A.J. & Gabriel, S.W., Peer rejection in everyday life, in Interpersonal rejection, edited by M. Leary (2001), pp. 105-142, New York: Oxford University Press.
8. Guerra, V.S. Asher, S.R. & DeRosier, M.E., Effect of children’s perceived rejection on physical aggression, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 32 (2004), pp. 551-563.
9. Rose, A. J., & Asher, S.R., Children's strategies and goals in response to help-giving and help-seeking tasks within a friendship, Child Development, vol. 75 (2004), pp. 749-763.
10. Troop-Gordon, W., & Asher, S. R., Modifications in children's goals when encountering obstacles to conflict resolution, Child Development, vol. 76 (2005), pp. 568-582.
11. Asher, S.R., & McDonald, K.L., The behavioral basis of acceptance, rejection, and perceeived popularity, in The handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups, edited by K.H. Rubin, W. Bukowski, & B. Laursen (2009), pp. 232-248, New York: Guilford.
12. Asher, S.R., MacEvoy, J.P., & McDonald, K.L., Children's peer relations, social competence, and school adjustment: A social tasks and social goals perspectives., in Advances in Achievement and Motivation, Vol. 15: Social psychological perspectives, edited by M.L. Maehr, S. Karabenick, & T. Urdan (2008), pp. 357-390, Bingley, UK: Emerald.
13. MacEvoy, J. P., & Asher, S. R., When friends disappoint: Boys’ and girls’ responses to transgressions of friendship expectations, Child Development. (In Press).
14. Asher, S.R., Brechwald, W., & McDonald, K.L (in press), Children as friends, in Handbook of child research, edited by A. Ben-Arieh, J. Cashmore, G.S. Goodman, J.Kampmann, & G.B. Melton. (2010), Newbury Park, CA: Sage.