PARENT CHILD COMMUNICATION ABOUT STEM​
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Parents play an important role in facilitating STEM interest and persistence for their children. This project explores the elements of conversations about STEM careers including whether parents encourage, discourage, pressure, or disengage in these interactions.
ESTRANGEMENT
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This line of research addresses the process, related-processes, and the experience of parent-child estrangement from the perspective of adult children and their immediate family members.
SEEKING SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION​
​Studies focusing on seeking supportive communication emphasize the ways individuals ask for help when they are distressed as well as the types of support they prefer, especially when confronted with health-related issues (e.g., post-partum depression, unintended pregnancy, etc.).
ADOPTIVE FAMILIES
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This research focuses on the experiences of domestic adoption, foster adoption, open adoption, and adoption reunion from the perspectives of the adoption triad (birth mothers, adoptive parents, and adoptees) as well as agency practitioners.
MARGINALIZATION
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This set of research projects uses interviews and surveys to uncover the process and dimensions of family marginalization, a chronically stressful position. Marginalized members are often called "black sheep" because they stand out from the rest of the group.
COMMUNICATING VIA TECH AND FACE TO FACE​
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People in close relationships switch between face to face and mediated forms of communication throughout the day. Theorizing about interdependence reveals that those who are better at integrating technology with their face to face communication have better outcomes.
WOMEN IN TRADITIONALLY MALE CAREERS
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Women in traditionally male careers face marginalization in the workplace and at home (from partners, family members, and other social network members). They also enact resilience in the face of these challenges. This research explores the marginalization experienced and the resilience enacted by women in traditionally male careers.
CURRENT PROJECTS
STUDENT PARENTS
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This project aims to understand how student parents (students who are also parents) cope with stress and receive support from others for balancing school and parenthood with the ultimate goal of informing programs that help student parents succeed at college and parenting.
