Research Interests

My research interests are centered on social and personality development from middle childhood to early adolescence. Focusing on this age group I have conducted studies on three aspects of children’s development: their self-perceived gender identity, their self-concept, and their close relationship styles.

Gender identity

I am interested in the implications of gender identity for children’s psychosocial well-being. According to a recent model of gender identity (Egan & Perry, 2001), feeling that one’s personality, interests, and activities are typical of one’s same-sex peer group, and feeling free to engage in other-sex activities, are sources of well-being for children. In my research I have found that these effects of gender identity on adjustment are sometimes exacerbated and sometimes derailed for children who are unable to derive support from the child-mother relationship.

Currently, my collaborators and I are developing a model of gender self-socialization. We propose that through a process of self-socialization, children incorporate gender stereotypes (idiosyncratic or shared beliefs about sex differences) into their self-concepts only to the extent they identify with a gender collective. Furthermore, we posit that gender stereotypes develop as a consequence of the interactive influences of gender identity and sex typing, and that gender identity develops as a result of the interactive influences of gender stereotypes and sex typing. Preliminary results support our hypothesis that gender identity motivates children to emulate behaviours that they perceive as descriptive of their own sex.

Self-concept

In a second line of inquiry, I investigate the implications of self-esteem for children’s adjustment and their relationships. High self-esteem is often thought of as a buffer against many social evils; however, there is little evidence to suggest that it serves such a protective function. Evidence from two longitudinal studies that I conducted while I was a graduate student indicated that aggressive children with high self-esteem increasingly valued the rewards that aggression offers and belittled their victims, and that avoidant children with high self-esteem increasingly viewed their mother as harassing and uninvolved. This suggests that for antisocial children, high self-esteem carries costs, for both themselves and their interaction partners. Currently, my research on children’s self-concept is focused on examining the influence of narcissistic self-views and self-esteem on children’s relationships.

Close relationship styles

One developmental challenge that children face during the preadolescence and early adolescence years, is to strike the right balance between their needs for autonomy and relatedness in their closest relationships (e.g., with mother, father, and best friend). Most children are able to negotiate this balancing act; however, some children report skewed relationship styles that emphasize either emotional closeness (a “preoccupied” style that risks the development of autonomy) or independence (an “avoidant” style that risks the development of relatedness). In my research, I investigate questions such as: what are the causes and consequences of children’s close relationship styles? Is children’s relationship style with their mother similar to that with their close friend at school? Does a skewed relationship style with a close friend buffer or exacerbate the influence of a skewed style with the mother on children’s adjustment? The results of my studies show that children with skewed relationship styles see their mother in a more negative light over time: whereas children with a preoccupied relationship style her as increasingly overprotective and curtailing of independence, children with an avoidant style see her as increasingly harassing, and less warm and affectionate, over time.

Research Collaborations

British Academy, Small Research Grant, 2009. Parental and Peer Influences on Preadolescents’ Adjustment. (£7419). Dr. Meenakshi Menon (P. I.).

President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant, Nova Southeastern University, 2009-2011. Maternal Influences on Preadolescent Adjustment: A Cross Cultural Exploration. ($9879). Dr. Madhavi Menon (P. I.), Josie Augustin, Dr. Meenakshi Menon, and Aleta Vasumitra.

Pump-Priming Funds, Research and Enterprise Support, University of Surrey, 2009. Gender Identity, Attachment Security, and Adjustment in Preadolescents. (£3932). Dr. Meenakshi Menon (P. I.).

Overseas Conference Grant, Research and Enterprise Support, University of Surrey, 2009. (£1200).

Travel Grant, Research and Enterprise Support, University of Surrey, 2008. Gender Socialisation in Britain and India. (£712). Dr. Meenakshi Menon (P. I.) and Dr. Preeti Pant.

Publications

* indicates a student co-author. Name is in bold in publications co-authored with Madhavi Menon.

Menon, M. (in press). Does felt gender compatibility mediate influences of self-perceived gender nonconformity on early adolescents’ psychosocial well-being? Child Development.

Pauletti, R. E., Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D.D., & Perry, D.G. (in press). Narcissism and adjustment in preadolescence. Child Development.

Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Menon, M., Spatta, B. C., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (2010). The intrapsychics of gender: A model of self-socialization. Psychological Review, 117, 601-622.

Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Corby, B. C., Menon, M., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (2007). The developmental costs of high self-esteem for antisocial children. Child Development, 78, 1627-1639.

Menon, M., & Pant, P. (2007). Body image and adjustment in Indian women. Psychological Studies, 52, 332-338.

Manuscripts under review

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D.D., Spatta, B. C., Hafen, C. A., Peets, K., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D.G. (2010). Do insecure children take comfort in gender roles? Invited resubmission, Developmental Psychology.

Menon, M. (2010). Gender identity and gender typing during early adolescence.

Menon, M., & Lowe, C. A. (2010). Self-mother relational schemas and early adolescents’ well-being.

Menon, M., & *Moyes, H. C. A. (2010). Do negative self-appraisals undermine narcissistic early adolescents’ well-being?

Menon, M., *Schellhorn, K., & Lowe, C. A. (2010). Does gender identity regulate influences of self-perceived gender-atypical relationship styles on early adolescents’ well-being?

Pauletti, R. E., Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D.D., & Perry, D.G. (2010). Narcissism and adjustment in preadolescence: Gender differences (and similarities).

Teaching

Module convenor and lecturer, Social and Personality Development, Undergraduate Level 3

Lecturer, Developmental Psychology, Undergraduate Level 2

Postgraduate lectures on Gender Development, Parent-Child Relationships

Guest lectures for Department of Learning and Teaching Support and Department of Health and Social Care

BSc and MSc dissertation supervision

Currently PhD supervisor for 1 student

Presentations

Student authors are denoted with an asterisk (*). Name is in bold to distinguish from co-author Madhavi Menon.

Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Spatta, B. C. & Perry, D. G. (2010, April). Does gender identity encourage self-perceived gender typing? Poster to be presented at the Gender Development Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Menon, M., Lowe, C. A., & *Schellhorn, K. (2010, April). Does gender compatibility mediate the influences of gender non-normative relationship styles on early adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment? Poster to be presented at the Gender Development Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Menon, M., & *Schellhorn, K. (2010, March). Relationship styles moderate influences of gender discontentedness on early adolescents’ well-being. Poster to be presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Adolescence, Philadelphia, PA.

Menon, M., Spatta, B. C., Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., & Perry, D. G. (2009, August). Categories of insecure attachment in middle childhood. Poster presented at the XIV European Conference on Developmental Psychology, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Evans, R. B., Menon, M., Menon, M., & Perry, D. G. (2009, April). Gender identity and gender stereotypes as interacting influences on children’s adjustment. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.

Menon, M., Evans, R. B., Menon, M., & Perry, D. G. (2009, April). Sexist ideology and narcissism as interacting influences on preadolescents' adjustment. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Evans, R. B., & Perry, D. G. (2009, April). Does attachment style predict preadolescents’ perceptions of parenting? Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.

Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Spatta, B. C., Menon, M., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (2009, April). Does high self-esteem encourage antisocial behavior?  In S. Thomaes (Chair), Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most aggressive of them all: On maladaptive favorable self-regard and youth aggression. Pecha Kucha Group Session conducted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.

Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Corby, B. C., Menon, M., Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (2008, July). The developmental costs of high self-esteem for antisocial children. In B. J. Bushman & S. Thomaes (Chairs), Developmental perspectives on the link between self-views and aggression. Symposium conducted at the world meeting of the International Society for Research on Aggression, Budapest, Hungary.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Collins, R. L., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2008, March). Macho ideology and gender identity as interacting influences on self-efficacy for macho behavior. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Adolescence, Chicago, IL.

Menon, M. (2007, April). Body image dissatisfaction in Indian women. Poster presented at Research Week 2007, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Corby, B. C., & Perry, D. G. (2007, April). Parental rejection and insecure attachment: Untangling the direction of influence. Poster presented at Research Week 2007, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2007, April). High self-esteem promotes the rationalization of antisocial conduct. Poster presented at Research Week 2007, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Menon, M., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2007, April). Attachment and gender identity in middle childhood. Poster presented at Research Week 2007, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2007, March). High self-esteem promotes the rationalization of antisocial conduct. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.

Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2007, March). Self-socialization of gender. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.

Tobin, D. D., Menon, M., Menon, M., Perle, J. G., & Perry, D. G. (2007, March). Attachment and gender identity in middle childhood. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.

Menon, M., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Corby, B. C., & Perry, D. G. (2006, June). Parental rejection and insecure attachment: Untangling the direction of influence. Poster presented at the first International Congress on Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection, Istanbul, Turkey.

Menon, M., & Perry, D. G. (2006, April). The self-socialization of gender. Poster presented at the Graduate Research Symposium, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.

Tobin, D.D., Menon, M., Menon, M., Corby, B. C., & Perry, D. G. (2006, April). Social-cognitive correlates of gender identity. Poster presented at the Gender Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Corby, B. C., Cusimano, A. M., Kabbas, D. R., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Hodges, E. V. E, & Perry, D. G. (2005a, April). Adjustment correlates of gender identity in three ethnic groups. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.

Corby, B. C., Cusimano, A. M., Kabbas, D. R., Menon, M., Tobin, D. D., Hodges, E. V. E, & Perry, D. G. (2005b, April). Links between gender identity and adjustment in three ethnic groups. Poster presented at the Graduate Research Symposium, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.