Current HD Research Projects
Human Development faculty members are involved in a wide range of research topics on children, adolescents, their families, and their communities. These interdisciplinary projects provide undergraduate and graduate students with numerous opportunities to actively participate in cutting-edge research on important topics. Students can participate as volunteers, for course credit, and in some cases, for part-time employment. If you are interested in working on any of the projects listed below, please click on the relevant faculty link.
Projects By Campus
Pullman | Spokane | Vancouver
Pullman Campus Projects
Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Jenifer McGuire is studying influences on adolescent sexual behavior, sexual attitudes and reports of pregnancy. One project includes assessments of parenting style and its link to onset of sexual intercourse. Another project examines the role of acculturation in predicting adolescent sexual behavior and pregnancy. And a final study evaluates the effectiveness of sex education programs in reducing teens’ risks for pregnancy.
Children's Play
Brenda Boyd, Ruth Newberry, and Tom Power are conducting research at the Department of Human Development's Child Development Laboratory on children's locomotor play that examines the degree to which play provides training for coping with the unexpected.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth Well-being
Jenifer McGuire is working on projects to examine several aspects of well-being among LGBT youth. One study, utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health examines mental health symptoms and access to mental health services among LGBT youth. Another study evaluates the functions of community centers in supporting transgender adolescents. A third project examines school climates for LGBT youth and steps that schools can take to create a safer environment for all youth.
Mentoring Adolescent Mothers Project
With colleagues at WSU and the University of Arizona, Dr. Rodgers is exploring the role of faith-based mentoring and religiosity in the lives of adolescent mothers. The research uses an attachment framework to examine the relation of attachments to parents, mentors, and significant others to adolescent mothers' psychological well-being, risk-taking behaviors, engagement in healthy romantic relationships, and reduced risk for child maltreatment. In addition, we examine the role of religious beliefs and practices in the lives of adolescent mothers to begin to understand the religiosity as a context that may influence the intermediate and long-term outcome variables of interest within a faith-based mentoring program.
Obesity Prevention
In collaboration with Ruth Bindler and Kenn Daratha at WSU Spokane, and Michael Steele, Department of Psychology, Tom Power is involved in a USDA-funded obesity prevention program in the Spokane schools. The purpose of the project, TEAMS (Teen Eating and Activity Mentoring in the Schools), is to compare the effectiveness of environmental modifications and adult mentoring on the prevention of obesity in middle school children.
Preschool Children's Physiological Reactivity
Jared Lisonbee is involved in research examining preschool children's physiological reactivity in early childcare and education settings. Many preschoolers show stress hormone increases across the day while in out-of-home care. Dr. Lisonbee is examining how the classroom context and social relationships with teachers and peers contribute to children's physiological activity while in care. This information can be used to identify potential stressors in early classroom settings and identify processes involved in how children's early education experience may shape later learning and development.
Relational Aggression
Nicole Werner is engaged in several research studies that focus on the development of relational aggression, a form of aggression characterized by attempts to harm others through purposeful damage to peer relationships and feelings of social inclusion. In one study, Dr. Werner and her graduate students are exploring parents’ beliefs about and discipline responses to preschoolers’ displays of relational aggression using observational and survey methodologies. As a part of the School Climate Project (below), Dr. Werner is studying parent and child social cognition as it relates to the use of relational aggression among school-aged children. Finally, she is collecting a logitudinal study of adolescents' experiences with "cyberbullying" - the use of the internet and other modern technologies to harm peers.
School Climate Project
Matt Bumpus, Laura Hill, Nicole Werner, and Tom Power are collaborating on the School Climate Project-an ongoing study of elementary school children and their parents, examining the connections between children's motivation, peer interactions, and family relationships. Topics being investigated in the project include parental monitoring (Bumpus), school attachment (Hill), relational aggression (Werner), and parental influences on children's coping with stress (Power).
Strengthening Families Program
Laura Hill is conducting a longitudinal study of the implementation, dissemination, and outcomes of an evidence-based model program (the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14) in Washington State. In partnership with WSU Extension field faculty and with the Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Dr. Hill is examining the behavior of a model substance abuse prevention program as it moves from a controlled research context to a real-world implementation. Students working on this project gain experience in data entry and analysis, production of outcome reports for program providers, mail surveys and phone interviews. Marcelo Diversi has joined the SFP project to assist in the development of culturally relevant implementation and evaluation among Latino participants.
The Role of Family Interactions in Child and Young Adult Health Behaviors
Laura Hill is collaborating with colleague Joan Orrell-Valente at UCSF in a study of how parent-child interactions affect the health behaviors (including overeating, sexual behavior, and eating disorders) of children and young adults.
Spokane Campus Projects
Child and Family Research Unit
Chris Blodgett (WSU Spokane) directs the Child and Family Research Unit - a research unit with ongoing research programs at the national and state level addressing child care needs assessment, domestic violence prevention, and child neglect and abuse.
Vancouver Campus Projects
Disenfranchised Youth: Growing up at the Margins
Marcelo Diversi has been conducting ethnographic research with youth growing up in oppressive developmental contexts. He has worked with Brazilian street youth and Latino undocumented immigrant youth and families in northern Utah, and is currently working with runaway and homeless youth in Southwest Washington. Prof. Diversi’s research focuses on narratives of identity, educational views and practices, and the politics of representation and knowledge production in Human Development.
Rural Families Speak Project
As a part of multi-state longitudinal research, Yoshie Sano is examining family well-being and functioning of rural low-income families. This 10-year-project takes multidisciplinary approach and has been collaborated by researchers in 17 states. The project covers wide variety of topics including childcare, community, economic well-being, ethnicity, family structure, food security, housing, parenting, physical and mental health, public policy, social support, and transportation. More information about the project can be found at http://fsos.cehd.umn.edu/projects/rfs.html.
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