Benjamin Oosterhoff
Biographic Data
| ID | 285877 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Benjamin Oosterhoff |
| GIVEN NAMES | Benjamin |
| FAMILY NAME | Oosterhoff |
| SIGNATURE | OOSTERHOFF B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Montana State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0011-9987 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 38 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 56 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 38 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A meta-analytic review of cultural variation in affect valuation
What affective states do people ideally want to feel and why? In Affect Valuation Theory, Tsai et al. (2006) proposed and observed that (a) how people would ideally like to feel (their "ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel (their "actual affect"), and (b) cultural factors shape people's ideal affect even more than their actual affect. In this individual participant data meta-analysis, we reexamined these two premises in a combined d…
A Pilot Open Trial of an Individualized Adaptation of Trauma and Grief Component Therapy (TGCT) in Children and Adolescents
Emotion regulation profiles and mental health outcomes in American Indian adults
Sleep loss and emotion: A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 50 years of experimental research
Protective Factors in the Context of Childhood Bereavement: Youth Gratitude, Future Orientation, and Purpose in Life
The objective of the study was to examine potential associations between positive youth development constructs (gratitude, future orientation, purpose in life) and psychological functioning (posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, maladaptive grief reactions) among bereaved youth and test whether these associations vary by age. A diverse sample of 197 clinic-referred bereaved youth (56.2% female; M = 12.36, SD = 3.18; 36.1% Hispanic, …
Measurement invariance of the Grief Facilitation Inventory with respect to youth gender, race, ethnicity, and age
The Grief Facilitation Inventory (GFI) assesses caregiver grief facilitation behaviors among bereaved youth. Initial analyses supported the GFI's reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate measurement invariance of the GFI across gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Participants were 558 clinic-referred youth aged 7-18 (58.8% female; 43.6% Latino(a), 24.9% White, 14.9% Black, 16.6% Multiracial). Multigroup confirmatory factor…
Caregiver behaviors associated with positive youth development among bereaved children
Grounded in Multidimensional Grief Theory, this study examined the cross-sectional associations between child-reported caregiver grief facilitation behaviors (ongoing connection, grief expression, existential continuity and support, grief inhibition/avoidance) and positive youth development outcomes (future orientation, gratitude, social responsibility) in treatment-seeking bereaved children ages 7 to 18 ( N = 170; 54.1% girls; 35.9% Hispanic/Lat…
Associations between adolescents’ prosocial experiences and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic
Historical loss: Implications for physical activity levels in American Indian adults
PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between daily thoughts about historical loss and daily levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in American Indian (AI) adults residing on the Blackfeet reservation in Browning, Montana. METHODS: The study was designed and conducted using a community-based participatory research framework and ecological momentary assessment. Over a period of 1 week, 100 AI adults (mean age = 42.18, SD = 14.9…
Validation of the four-item very brief University of California at Los Angeles Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index screening tool for children and adolescents
These findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the RI-5-VBF. Findings highlight the utility of the RI-5-VBF as a brief screening measure for PTSD in children and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity: Extension agents teaching youth aware of mental health
Reconsidering the Minimum Voting Age in the United States
Several U.S. states have proposed bills to lower the minimum local and national voting age to 16 years. Legislators and the public often reference political philosophy, attitudes about the capabilities of teenagers, or past precedent as evidence to support or oppose changing the voting age. Dissenters to changing the voting age are primarily concerned with whether 16- and 17-year-olds have sufficient political maturity to vote, including adequate…
Community Attachments are Associated with Covid-19 Public Health Behaviors Among Adolescents in Pakistan
Longitudinal associations between civic engagement and interpersonal needs during the 2018 US midterm elections
Civic engagement is thought to enhance personal well-being, yet little research has examined links between civic engagement, burdensomeness, and belongingness during periods of heightened civic action. Late adolescent college students (N = 235, Mage=19.43) completed daily assessments of civic engagement (community service, environmentalism, standard political behavior, social movement behavior), belongingness, and burdensomeness for one week duri…
A Mixed‐Methods Approach to Refining and Measuring the Construct of Positive Risk‐Taking in Adolescence
Adolescence is a peak period for risk-taking, but research has largely overlooked positive manifestations of adolescent risk-taking due to ambiguity regarding operationalization and measurement of positive risk-taking. We address this limitation using a mixed-methods approach. We elicited free responses from contemporary college students (N = 74, M age = 20.1 years) describing a time they took a risk. Qualitative analysis informed the constructio…
Adolescents provide more complex reasons for lowering the voting age than do adults: Evidence from national convenience samples
Debates about lowering the voting age often center on whether 16- and 17-year-old adolescents possess sufficient cognitive capacity and political knowledge to participate in politics. Little empirical research has examined age differences in adolescents' and adults' complexity of reasoning about political issues. We surveyed adults ( n = 778; M age = 38.5, SD = 12.5; 50% female; 72% non-Hispanic White) and 16- and 17-year-old adolescents (n = 397…
Effects of arousal reappraisal on the anxiety responses to stress: Breaking the cycle of negative arousal intensity and arousal interpretation
Arousal reappraisal has been shown to be an effective strategy during stress to improve anxiety. However, the exact psychological mechanism through which arousal reappraisal improves anxiety is unknown. In a large, cross‐sectional study (Study 1, N = 455) participants engaged in an acute psychological stress task and rated their levels of physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and somatic anxiety, and whether they perceived this physiological …
Sleepy and Secluded: Sleep Disturbances are Associated With Connectedness in Early Adolescent Social Networks
Studies in adults suggest that sleep disturbances predict poorer socioemotional skills and impaired social interactions. However, little is known regarding how sleep disturbances are associated with social processes during adolescence, a period when both sleep neurobiology and social relationships are undergoing dramatic developmental changes. The current study examined associations among sleep disturbances and peer connectedness in a sample of m…
Civic Development within the Peer Context: Associations between Early Adolescent Social Connectedness and Civic Engagement
Job Insecurity and Financial Concern During the Covid-19 Pandemic Are Associated With Worse Mental Health
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether job insecurity due to COVID-19 and financial concern were associated with worse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Participants (N = 474 employed U.S. individuals) completed an online survey from April 6 to 12, 2020. Linear regressions were used to examine factors associated with mental health. RESULTS: After accounting for demographic characteristics, health status, other COVID-19 experiences, and…
Adolescents' Motivations to Engage in Social Distancing During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Associations With Mental and Social Health
Risky Politics? Associations Between Adolescent Risk Preference and Political Engagement
This study examined associations among adolescent risk preference and political engagement using nationally representative Monitoring the Future data from high school seniors (N = 109,574; modal age = 18 years) spanning 1976–2014. Greater risk preference was associated with greater past voting, donating to a campaign, writing government officials, boycotting, and protesting. Greater risk preference was also associated with higher future intention…
Caregiver behaviors and childhood maladaptive grief: Initial validation of the Grief Facilitation Inventory
The Grief Facilitation Inventory (GFI) is a newly-developed measure of caregiver behaviors theorized to facilitate or hinder children's adaptive grief reactions. We examine its factor structure, reliability, and validity. An exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: Ongoing Connection , Existential Continuity/Support , Caregiver Grief Expression , and Grief Inhibition/Avoidance . Both child- and caregiver-report versions had adequate-t…
Testing the effects of pathogen threat and sexual strategies on political ideology
Disgust has been consistently associated with greater political conservatism. Two explanations have been proposed for this link. According to a pathogen threat model, disgust serves a pathogen-avoidance function, encouraging more conservative ideology, whereas a sexual strategies model suggests that this link is explained by variability in short-term versus long-term mating goals. In two preregistered studies using a college student and community…
Similarities and Differences in Adolescents’ Organized and Civic Activity Networks across Rural and Non-Rural Communities
The Intersection of Emotional and Sociocognitive Competencies with Civic Engagement in Middle Childhood and Adolescence
How Children Understand Civic Actions: A Mixed Methods Perspective
The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents’ conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths’ understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents ( n = 87; M age = 13, 9-19, 52% fem…
What Do Citizens Have to Do? Parents’ and Adolescents’ Messages About Civic Duty
The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semi-structured interactions between 160 adolescents ( M age = 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers, 52 fathers). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the eight themes that emerged within parent-adolescent civic discussion. Three themes concerned community and political involvement— communit…
Adolescents' Civic Engagement: Concordant and Longitudinal Associations Among Civic Beliefs and Civic Involvement
Associations between adolescent civic and organized activities (volunteering, standard political, social movement, school/community, religious) and civic beliefs (comprised of should, obligation, and respect judgments) were examined. Cross-sectional models (N = 703, M age = 15.87) indicated domain specificity between adolescent civic beliefs and behaviors. Longitudinal models (n = 219, M age = 15.39) indicated that adolescents' standard political…
Longitudinal associations among adolescents’ organized activity involvement and sociopolitical values
Organized activities represent a potentially important context for the development of adolescent sociopolitical values, but few studies have examined longitudinal associations between youths’ sociopolitical values and activity involvement. Adolescents ( N = 299, Time 1 M age = 15.49, SD = .93, 62% female) reported on their organized activity involvement (volunteering, church, sports, arts/music, school and community clubs) and sociopolitical valu…
A Mixed‐Methods Approach to Refining and Measuring the Construct of Positive Risk‐Taking in Adolescence
Adolescence is a peak period for risk-taking, but research has largely overlooked positive manifestations of adolescent risk-taking due to ambiguity regarding operationalization and measurement of positive risk-taking. We address this limitation using a mixed-methods approach. We elicited free responses from contemporary college students (N = 74, M age = 20.1 years) describing a time they took a risk. Qualitative analysis informed the constructio…
Civic Development within the Peer Context: Associations between Early Adolescent Social Connectedness and Civic Engagement
Historical Trends in Concerns About Social Issues Across Four Decades Among U.S. Adolescents
This study examined adolescents' concerns about social issues and how these concerns have changed over historical time. Separate cohorts of U.S. high school seniors (N = 110,953; 51.1% female) reported their worries about four social issues (crime/violence, economic problems, hunger/poverty, race relations) every year from 1976 to 2015. Youth were most concerned with crime/violence, followed by economic problems, hunger/poverty, and race relation…
Adolescents' Sociopolitical Values in the Context of Organized Activity Involvement
Sociopolitical values are hypothesized to form during adolescence, but the developmental and contextual origins of these values have been largely unexplored. A sample of 846 adolescents ( Mage = 15.96, SD = 1.22, range = 13-20 years) reported on their organized activity involvement (volunteering, sports, church, community clubs, arts/music, school clubs) and their sociopolitical values (patriotism, authoritarianism, spirituality, social dominance…
Dimensions of Citizenship: Associations among Adolescents’ Sociopolitical Values and Civic Judgments
This study used a sample of 467 middle and high school students (Mage = 15.26) from a mid-Atlantic state. Structural equation models controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, and parents’ education) examined associations between three developing sociopolitical values (spiritualty, patriotism, and authoritarianism) and adolescents’ social and moral judgments (obligation and social praise) concerning four civic activities (community servi…
Similarities and Differences in Adolescents’ Organized and Civic Activity Networks across Rural and Non-Rural Communities
Adolescents provide more complex reasons for lowering the voting age than do adults: Evidence from national convenience samples
Debates about lowering the voting age often center on whether 16- and 17-year-old adolescents possess sufficient cognitive capacity and political knowledge to participate in politics. Little empirical research has examined age differences in adolescents' and adults' complexity of reasoning about political issues. We surveyed adults ( n = 778; M age = 38.5, SD = 12.5; 50% female; 72% non-Hispanic White) and 16- and 17-year-old adolescents (n = 397…
Associations between dimensions of religiousness and psychosocial functioning among bereaved youth
Using a sample of recently bereaved youth (N = 2,425; Mage = 15.31, SD = 1.50), this study examined associations between dimensions of religiousness and current functioning. Youth reported on their religious service attendance, religious coping, and the importance of religious beliefs and substance use, academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Greater religious service attendance was associated with lower substance use and the …
What Do Citizens Have to Do? Parents’ and Adolescents’ Messages About Civic Duty
The current study examined demographic and civic behavior correlates of observed messages concerning civic duty coded from dyadic, semi-structured interactions between 160 adolescents ( M age = 14.42, range = 12-18) and their parents (144 mothers, 52 fathers). Anecdotal statements are provided to illustrate the eight themes that emerged within parent-adolescent civic discussion. Three themes concerned community and political involvement— communit…
Dimensions of Citizenship: Associations among Adolescents’ Sociopolitical Values and Civic Judgments
This study used a sample of 467 middle and high school students (Mage = 15.26) from a mid-Atlantic state. Structural equation models controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, and parents’ education) examined associations between three developing sociopolitical values (spiritualty, patriotism, and authoritarianism) and adolescents’ social and moral judgments (obligation and social praise) concerning four civic activities (community servi…
In defense of pathogen disgust and disease avoidance: A response to Tybur et al. (2015)
How Children Understand Civic Actions: A Mixed Methods Perspective
The development of civically engaged citizens is vital for democratic societies. Although several studies have explored children and adolescents’ conceptualizations of civic engagement, less is known about youths’ understanding of the individual skills and attributes best suited for civic action. The current study utilized a Q-sort methodology to explore the types of character strengths children and adolescents ( n = 87; M age = 13, 9-19, 52% fem…
Domain Specificity in Adolescents’ Concepts of Laws: Associations Among Beliefs and Behavior
Using detailed vignettes and scale measures, concepts of laws regulating domain-specific issues and engagement in delinquency were assessed among 340 9th through 12th graders (M age = 16.64, SD = 1.37). Adolescents distinguished between laws that regulate moral, drug-related prudential, conventional, personal, and multifaceted issues in their criterion judgments and justifications. Youths' ratings of the importance of laws, obligation to obey law…
Longitudinal associations among adolescents’ organized activity involvement and sociopolitical values
Organized activities represent a potentially important context for the development of adolescent sociopolitical values, but few studies have examined longitudinal associations between youths’ sociopolitical values and activity involvement. Adolescents ( N = 299, Time 1 M age = 15.49, SD = .93, 62% female) reported on their organized activity involvement (volunteering, church, sports, arts/music, school and community clubs) and sociopolitical valu…
Adolescents' Sociopolitical Values in the Context of Organized Activity Involvement
Sociopolitical values are hypothesized to form during adolescence, but the developmental and contextual origins of these values have been largely unexplored. A sample of 846 adolescents ( Mage = 15.96, SD = 1.22, range = 13-20 years) reported on their organized activity involvement (volunteering, sports, church, community clubs, arts/music, school clubs) and their sociopolitical values (patriotism, authoritarianism, spirituality, social dominance…
Civilization and its discontented: Links between youth victimization, beliefs about government, and political participation across seven American presidencies
Promoting trust in public officials and active political engagement is vital to sustaining a well-functioning democracy. Developmental psychologists propose that youths' beliefs about government and participation in politics are rooted in personal experiences within their communities. Previous studies have focused on how positive experiences within youths' families, schools, and communities facilitate greater social trust and political participat…
Adolescents' Civic Engagement: Concordant and Longitudinal Associations Among Civic Beliefs and Civic Involvement
Associations between adolescent civic and organized activities (volunteering, standard political, social movement, school/community, religious) and civic beliefs (comprised of should, obligation, and respect judgments) were examined. Cross-sectional models (N = 703, M age = 15.87) indicated domain specificity between adolescent civic beliefs and behaviors. Longitudinal models (n = 219, M age = 15.39) indicated that adolescents' standard political…
Disease avoidance and personality: A meta-analysis
The Intersection of Emotional and Sociocognitive Competencies with Civic Engagement in Middle Childhood and Adolescence
Historical Trends in Concerns About Social Issues Across Four Decades Among U.S. Adolescents
This study examined adolescents' concerns about social issues and how these concerns have changed over historical time. Separate cohorts of U.S. high school seniors (N = 110,953; 51.1% female) reported their worries about four social issues (crime/violence, economic problems, hunger/poverty, race relations) every year from 1976 to 2015. Youth were most concerned with crime/violence, followed by economic problems, hunger/poverty, and race relation…
Associations between dimensions of religiousness and psychosocial functioning among bereaved youth
Using a sample of recently bereaved youth (N = 2,425; Mage = 15.31, SD = 1.50), this study examined associations between dimensions of religiousness and current functioning. Youth reported on their religious service attendance, religious coping, and the importance of religious beliefs and substance use, academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Greater religious service attendance was associated with lower substance use and the …
Job Insecurity and Financial Concern During the Covid-19 Pandemic Are Associated With Worse Mental Health
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether job insecurity due to COVID-19 and financial concern were associated with worse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Participants (N = 474 employed U.S. individuals) completed an online survey from April 6 to 12, 2020. Linear regressions were used to examine factors associated with mental health. RESULTS: After accounting for demographic characteristics, health status, other COVID-19 experiences, and…
Adolescents' Motivations to Engage in Social Distancing During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Associations With Mental and Social Health
Risky Politics? Associations Between Adolescent Risk Preference and Political Engagement
This study examined associations among adolescent risk preference and political engagement using nationally representative Monitoring the Future data from high school seniors (N = 109,574; modal age = 18 years) spanning 1976–2014. Greater risk preference was associated with greater past voting, donating to a campaign, writing government officials, boycotting, and protesting. Greater risk preference was also associated with higher future intention…
Caregiver behaviors and childhood maladaptive grief: Initial validation of the Grief Facilitation Inventory
The Grief Facilitation Inventory (GFI) is a newly-developed measure of caregiver behaviors theorized to facilitate or hinder children's adaptive grief reactions. We examine its factor structure, reliability, and validity. An exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: Ongoing Connection , Existential Continuity/Support , Caregiver Grief Expression , and Grief Inhibition/Avoidance . Both child- and caregiver-report versions had adequate-t…
Testing the effects of pathogen threat and sexual strategies on political ideology
Disgust has been consistently associated with greater political conservatism. Two explanations have been proposed for this link. According to a pathogen threat model, disgust serves a pathogen-avoidance function, encouraging more conservative ideology, whereas a sexual strategies model suggests that this link is explained by variability in short-term versus long-term mating goals. In two preregistered studies using a college student and community…
Similarities and Differences in Adolescents’ Organized and Civic Activity Networks across Rural and Non-Rural Communities
Sleepy and Secluded: Sleep Disturbances are Associated With Connectedness in Early Adolescent Social Networks
Studies in adults suggest that sleep disturbances predict poorer socioemotional skills and impaired social interactions. However, little is known regarding how sleep disturbances are associated with social processes during adolescence, a period when both sleep neurobiology and social relationships are undergoing dramatic developmental changes. The current study examined associations among sleep disturbances and peer connectedness in a sample of m…
Civic Development within the Peer Context: Associations between Early Adolescent Social Connectedness and Civic Engagement
Feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity: Extension agents teaching youth aware of mental health
Reconsidering the Minimum Voting Age in the United States
Several U.S. states have proposed bills to lower the minimum local and national voting age to 16 years. Legislators and the public often reference political philosophy, attitudes about the capabilities of teenagers, or past precedent as evidence to support or oppose changing the voting age. Dissenters to changing the voting age are primarily concerned with whether 16- and 17-year-olds have sufficient political maturity to vote, including adequate…
Community Attachments are Associated with Covid-19 Public Health Behaviors Among Adolescents in Pakistan
Longitudinal associations between civic engagement and interpersonal needs during the 2018 US midterm elections
Civic engagement is thought to enhance personal well-being, yet little research has examined links between civic engagement, burdensomeness, and belongingness during periods of heightened civic action. Late adolescent college students (N = 235, Mage=19.43) completed daily assessments of civic engagement (community service, environmentalism, standard political behavior, social movement behavior), belongingness, and burdensomeness for one week duri…
Psychology (36 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Developmental psychology (21 works) · Political science (18 works) · Politics (16 works) · Youth Development and Social Support (16 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Clinical Psychology (14 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Psychiatry (9 works)