Appearance-related self-esteem is a facet of body image that encompasses the evaluative components of an individual's self-concept that pertains to their own physical appearance. Knowledge regarding how appearance-related self-esteem functions in adolescent social groups is scant in the literature and there is limited research using linear methods suggesting that adolescents can influence the appearance-related self-esteem of their peers. Given the negative consequences of negative feelings about one's appearance later in life, I examined how appearance-related self-esteem develops and relates to adolescent social processes during the transition to middle school. This dissertation investigated how appearance-related self-esteem related to the social processes of selection, similarity, and influence. I further explored the effect of gender on social processes and appearance-related self-esteem. Appearance-related self-esteem was not related to social processes of selection, similarity, or influence. Gender similarity was present in the network, such that adolescents were more likely to select same-gender peers than other-gender peers. Additionally, an effect of gender on appearance-related self-esteem was present, such that boys' appearance-related self-esteem increased over time more than girls'. Findings from the current dissertation provide foundational first steps in identifying the ways that peers impact appearance-related self-esteem during adolescence and provide insights toward understanding how different gender pathways around appearance-related self-esteem may develop over time.

On November 8th, 2016, pollsters, news correspondents, and millions of American voters watched in disbelief as the news came in; Donald J. Trump had been elected as the 45th President of the United States. Donald Trump, How Did This Happen?: An Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies Utilized in the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald Trump is a rhetorical analysis of the strategies implemented in Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign. It challenges the idea that the Donald Trump win was "unprecedented" and rather that when looking at the white, working-class in the the United States, their attraction to Trump should have been expected. White, blue-collar Americans trust the government at historically low rates. That, coupled with economic insecurity and a culture of fear that is heavily steeped in racial undertones, allowed the Trump campaign to successfully use fear as a mechanism to encourage Trump supporters to vote.