Journal of Adolescent Research, Ahead of Print.
While intellectual curiosity has been widely studied in the field of child development, interpersonal curiosity and its association with social and emotional skills and well-being has rarely been investigated. This mixed-methods study explored the dimensions of interpersonal curiosity, examined how each dimension was associated with social and emotional skills and well-being, and investigated the moderating role of gender among middle school students. 389 seventh-grade students in seven public middle schools in New York City (Mage = 12.52; 48% female) completed an online survey that included an interpersonal question-generation measure. The sample was racially/ethnically diverse: Asian (36%), White (29%), Latino/a (16%), African American (13%), and Other (6%). Content analysis guided by grounded theory approach revealed four dimensions of interpersonal curiosity: Curiosity about Me (15%), Curiosity about You (33%), Curiosity about Our Relationship (3%), and Curiosity about Your Relationships (6%). Results indicated that the dimensions of interpersonal curiosity were positively associated with social and emotional skills and well-being, and that gender moderated such associations. Our findings suggest the need to investigate this multidimensional construct and consider it a core component of healthy adolescent development.