Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) Faculty
- David M. Almeida
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Lifespan Developmental Psychology) 1993, University
of Victoria
- Areas: Adult Development and Aging, Research Methods
- Centers/Labs: The Gerontology Center
- Interests: Daily stress processes; adult development; family factors in mental health; work
and family linkages; fatherhood; statistical techniques for measuring change.
- dalmeida@psu.edu
- Leann L. Birch
- Distinguished Professor
- Ph.D. (Psychology), 1975, University of Michigan
- Areas: Child Development
- Centers/Labs: Director,The Center for Childhood Obesity Research and Children's Eating Lab
- Interests: A contextual approach to the development of problems of eating and energy balance:
The links among parents' own eating and weight status, parenting practices, and
child outcomes from infancy through adolescence, with a current focus on the
emergence of dieting and problems of energy balance in girls during middle childhood
and early adolescence.
- llb15@psu.edu
- Clancy Blair
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1996, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Areas: Child Development
- Centers/Labs: Prevention Research Center
- Interests: Design and evaluation of preventive interventions; developmental relation between
emotion and cognition in early childhood; application of epidemiological methods
to the study of child development.
- cbb11@psu.edu
- Chalandra M. Bryant
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Child Development & Family Relations), 1996, University of Texas at Austin
- Areas: Family Studies
- Interests: Marital and premarital relationships, particularly among African American couples;
the role social networks play in influencing partners' satisfaction with and
commitment to their significant others.
- cmb34@psu.edu
- Robert L. Burgess
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Sociology/Social Psychology), 1968, Washington University (St. Louis)
- Areas: Family Studies
- Interests: The evolution, development, and maintenance of violence in families and its continuity
across generations.
- rlb8@psu.edu
- H. Harrington (Bo) Cleveland
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Family Studies and Human Development), 1998, University of Arizona
- Areas: Adolescent Development
- Interests: Interaction of genetic and environmental influences on adolescent and young adult risk-behaviors, including alcohol and tobacco use, aggression, and delinquency; contribution of traits to the selection and modification of social contexts.
- hhc10@psu.edu
-
- J. Douglas Coatsworth
- Associate Professor, Professor-in-Charge, HDFS Undergraduate Program
- Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology/Child Development), 1991, University of Minnesota
- Areas: Prevention, Adolescent Development
- Centers/Labs: Prevention Research Center
- Interests: Prevention research and theory; design and evaluation of family-based interventions to promote development and to prevent mental health and behavioral problems in children and adolescents; resilience.
- jdc15@psu.edu
- Linda M. Collins
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Quantitative Psychology), 1983, University of Southern California
- Areas: Research Methodology
- Centers/Labs: Director, Methodology Center
- Interests: Measurement and analysis of change in human behavior and ability; research methods;
design, and statistics; mathematical models of adolescent substance abuse.
- lmc8@psu.edu
- Ann C. Crouter
- Professor
and Dean, College of Health and Human Development
- Ph.D. (Human Development and Family Studies), 1982, Cornell University
- Areas: Child and Adolescent Development; Family Relationships and Dynamics
- Interests: Inter-relationships of parents' employment situations, family processes, and children's
and adolescent's social development; gender socialization in middle childhood
and adolescence.
- ac1@psu.edu
- Anthony R. D'Augelli
- Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Outreach, CHHD.
- Ph.D. (Clinical/Community Psychology), 1972, University of Connecticut
- Areas: Adolescent Development
- Interests: Community interventions; issues in the development of sexual orientation.
- ard@psu.edu
- David J. Eggebeen
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Sociology), 1986, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Areas: Family Studies
- Centers/Labs: The Population Research Institute.
- Interests: Social demography of children; intergenerational support over the lifecourse; fatherhood.
- e5x@psu.edu
- Lisa Gatzke-Kopp
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Psychology: Clinical Neuroscience), 2003, University of Southern California
- Areas: Child Development, Prevention/Intervention
- Interests: My research expertise and interests are in the area of developmental neuroscience of psychopathology. My research experience has focused on disinhibition, sensation seeking, and emotion regulation in individuals spanning from age four through adulthood. Across this age range I have worked to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of these psychological traits through psychophysiological assessments including skin conductance, electrocardiography, impedance cardiography, electroencephalography, and functional neuroimaging.
- lmk18@psu.edu
- Denis Gerstorf
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Psychology), 2004, Free University, Berlin, Germany
- Areas: Adult Development and Aging, Research Methods
- Centers/Labs: The Gerontology Center
- Interests: Multivariate approach to study heterogeneity and differential aging; cross-domain interface of cognition, well-being, and health; terminal decline, intraindividual variability; dyadic interdependencies in development; statistical techniques for measuring change.
- gerstorf@psu.edu
- Scott D. Gest
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Child Development), 1995, University of Minnesota
- Areas: Child Development
- Centers/Labs: Prevention Research Center
- Interests: Reading and social competence in elementary school; peer relations; early preventive intervention; risk and adaptation from childhood to adulthood; behavioral inhibition.
- gest@psu.edu
- Mark T. Greenberg
- Edna Peterson Bennett Endowed Chair in Prevention Research
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1978, University of Virginia, Professor
- Areas: Prevention, Child Development
- Centers/Labs: Director, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development
- Interests: Intervening in the developmental processes in risk and non-risk populations with
a specific emphasis on aggression, violence, and externalizing disorders; promoting
healthy social and emotional development; school-based prevention.
- mxg47@psu.edu
- Melissa A. Hardy
- Distinguished Professor
- Ph.D. (Sociology), 1980, Indiana University
- Areas: Aging, Research Methods
- Centers/Labs: Director, Gerontology Center Interests: Work and Retirement; Public Policy; Political Attitudes; Women's Issues and Aging; Cognitive Components of Saving and Investment Behavior; Older Workers.
- mah38@psu.edu
- Daphne Hernandez
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology), 2005, Boston College
- Areas: Family Studies
- Centers/Labs: Population Research Institute
- Interests: Father involvement; Adolescent delinquency and risk-taking behaviors; Effects of antipoverty policies on children and family well-being.
- dch19@psu.edu
- Kathryn E. Hood
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Psychology), 1983, Temple University
- Areas: Individual Development
- Interests: Narrative analysis of girls' social-aggressive development in the Carolina Longitudinal Study; Development of impulsive and inhibited behavior in mice; Selective breeding for high or low aggressive behavior in mice; Sex differences, menstrual cycle effects, and beliefs about human physiology; Developmental theory.
- ig4@psu.edu
- Kathryn Hynes
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Sociology), 2005, Cornell University
- Areas: Family Studies
- Centers/Labs: Population Research Institute
- Interests: Child and family policy topics including welfare reform, child care, after-school programs, and maternity leave; parents' work-family strategies; social and economic contexts influencing the transition to fatherhood.
- kbh13@psu.edu
- Rukmalie Jayakody
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Sociology and Social Work), 1996, University of Michigan
- Areas: Family Studies
- Centers/Labs: The Population Research Institute.
Interests: The impacts of poverty and social policies on families and children: welfare reform and barriers to self-sufficiency; family structure and child outcomes;
living arrangements and family transitions.
- jayakody@pop.psu.edu
- Eva S. Lefkowitz
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1998, University of California, Los Angeles
- Areas: Adolescent and Adult Development, Family Studies
- Interests: Development during adolescence and emerging adulthood, with a focus on sexual attitudes and behaviors, gender role development, romantic relationships, religiosity, ethnic identity, body image, and communication; communication between adults and their parents
- EXL20@psu.edu
- Jennifer L. Maggs
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1993, University of Victoria
- Areas: Adolescent Development
- Centers: Prevention Research Center
- Interests: Adolescent social development and health; transition to adulthood; risk behaviors, particularly alcohol use; prevention science; research methods.
- jmaggs@psu.edu
- Susan McHale
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Psychology), 1979, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Areas: Child Development and Family Studies
- Centers: Director, Social Science Research Institute
- Interests: Family relationships and family roles (particularly gender roles) in childhood and adolescence; differential socialization of siblings.
- x2u@psu.edu
- Peter Molenaar
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Social Sciences), 1981, University of Utrecht
- Areas: Research Methodology
- Interests: Single-subject time series analysis, optimal guidance of developmenal processes, optimal control of disease processes, structural equation modeling, dynamic factor analysis and P-technique.
- pxm21@psu.edu
- Nilam Ram, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor
- (Psychology), 2006 University of Virginia
- Areas: Research Methodology
- Interests: Changes in the psychological processes of emotion, personality, and cognition, how they develop over the course of the lifespan, and how intraindividual change and variability study designs can contribute to our understanding of human behavior.
- nur5@psu.edu
- Michael J. Rovine
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Educational Psychology), 1982, Penn State
- Areas: Research Methodology
- Interests: Environmental psychology; structural modeling with both continuous and discrete
variables; analyzing longitudinal data.
- mr7@psu.edu
- K. Warner Schaie
- Evan Pugh Professor.
- Ph.D. (Developmental and Clinical Psychology), 1956, University of Washington
- Areas: Adult Development and Aging Research Methods
- Centers/Labs: The Gerontology Center, Seattle Longitudinal Study
- Interests: Cognitive and personality development from young adulthood to old age; influences
of health on behavior; studies of multi-generational adult families; research methods in the developmental sciences.
- kws@psu.edu
- Emilie Phillips Smith
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Ecological/Community Psychology), 1990, Michigan State University
- Areas: Child Development, Family Studies, and Prevention
- Centers/Labs: Interim Director, Center for Human Development and Family Research in Diverse Contexts
- Interests: Home, school, and community partnerships in development and prevention; afterschool settings and positive youth development; the role of identity, race, ethnicity, and sociocultural factors in child, adolescent, and family development.
- emilieps@psu.edu
- Cynthia A. Stifter
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Human Development), 1987, University of Maryland
- Areas: Child Development
- Centers/Labs: Infant Temperament Lab
- Interests: Socio-emotional development in infants, toddlers, and preschool children, specifically focused on emotion regulation and the emergence of behavior problems. Other research areas: developmental psychophysiology, infant crying and colic, parental regulation strategies.
- tvr@psu.edu
- Douglas M. Teti
- Professor, Professor-in-Charge of the HDFS Graduate Program.
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1984, University of Vermont
- Areas: Child Development, Family Studies, Research Methods
- Centers/Labs: The Prevention Research Center
- Interests:
Socioemotional development in infancy and early childhood, parenting, and intervention strategies designed to promote early development and parent-child relations.
- dmt16@psu.edu
- Fred W. Vondracek
- Professor and Senior Associate Dean
- Ph.D. (Psychology), 1968, Penn State
- Interests: Career development from childhood to old age: interdisciplinary perspectives on theory development and research.
- fwv@psu.edu
- Sherry L. Willis
- Professor
- Ph.D. (Educational Psychology), 1972, University of Texas, Austin
- Areas: Midlife Development and Aging, Intervention
- Centers/Labs: The Gerontology Center; Seattle Longitudinal Study
- Interests: Cognitive development in midlife and old age. Everyday problem solving and functioning in normal and cognitively impaired adults; cognitive training in adulthood and old age; midlife predictors of cognitive risk in old age.
- slw@psu.edu
- Steven H. Zarit
- Professor and Head
- Ph.D. (Human Development), 1972, University of Chicago
- Areas: Adult Development and Aging
- Centers/Labs: The Gerontology Center
- Interests: Mental health and aging, family caregiving; functioning of the oldest old; innovative models of prevention and treatment.
- z67@psu.edu
Other HDFS Teaching Faculty
- Sherry E. Corneal
- Associate Professor
- Ph.D. (Human Development and Family Studies), 1990, Penn State
- Interests: Family systems theory and family therapy; individual counseling; methodologies to study the individual in depth.
- ccc3@psu.edu
- Jennifer C. Ishler
- Assistant Professor
- D.Ed. (Higher Education Administration), Penn State University
- Interests: First year seminars, assessment in student affairs, gender issues.
- jxc51@psu.edu
- Carolyn Johnson
- Assistant Professor and Director of the HDFS Internship Program
- D.Ed. (Counseling Psychology), 2003, The Pennsylvania State University
- Interests: Adolescent transition to young adulthood; effects of drug and alcohol use on development; role assumptions and effects on drug and alcohol consumption.
- chj101@psu.edu
- Sarah Kollat
- Instructor
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), Pennsylvania State University
- Interests: Interrelations between family climate, children's self-views, and children's peer relationships; behavioral therapy in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
- sxh345@psu.edu
- Frank R. Lawrence
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Statistics and Measurement), 1998, Auburn University
- Interests: The behavior of structural equation models and hierarchical linear models.
- cougar@psu.edu
- Eric Loken
- Assistant Professor
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 2001, Harvard University
- Areas: Research Methods
- Interests: Methodology; latent class analysis; academic interventions for adolescents; cognitive ability in preschool children.
- loken@psu.edu
- Edward A. Smith
- Associate Professor and Director of Evaluation Research, Prevention Research Center
- DPH (Public Health), 1983, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Interests: Adolescent development with a focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions to prevent problem behaviors.
- eas8@psu.edu
HDFS Faculty at Commonwealth Campus Locations
- Gordon K. Nelson
- Associate Professor, Capitol College
- Ph.D. (Educational Psychology), 1973, University of Wisconsin
- Interests: Life span studies--adult development and aging, models and theories that emphasize interlocking developmental system.
- gxn1@psu.edu
- Judith L. Newman
- Associate Professor, Abington College
- Ph.D. (Developmental Psychology), 1978, Temple University
- Interests: Cognitive development across the life span; children's concepts of family; the child's understanding of death and of illness; male caregiving.
- jln1@psu.edu
University of Jena Exchange Program
- Rainer K. Silbereisen
- Adjunct Professor of Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University
- Ph.D. (Psychology). Technical University of Berlin (1975). Professor and Chair of the Department of Developmental Psychology at the University of Jena (Germany)
- Interests: Human Development across the life-span, particularly during adolescence and early adulthood. Dynamic interactionism, biological, psychological, and socio-cultural determinants of human development. The impact of social change on adolescent and young adult development.
- rainer.silbereisen@uni-jena.de
Faculty with Courtesy and Joint and Appointments
- Paul
Amato, Ph.D. (Social Psychology), 1983, James Cook University,
Australia, Professor (primary appointment in Sociology). Marital quality,
divorce, single-parent families, parent-child relationships,
fatherhood, family relations and psychological well being,
families and gender, cross-cultural family research. E-mail: pxa6@psu.edu
- Karen
Bierman, Ph.D. (Child-Clinical Psychology), 1981, University
of Denver, Distinguished Professor (primary appointment in Psychology). Child-clinical
psychology and socio-emotional development; peer relations,
social skills for peer acceptance, and intervention programs
to facilitate social adjustment. E-mail: kb2@psu.edu
- Alan
Booth, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1966, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Distinguished Professor (primary appointment in Sociology with joint appointment
in HDFS). Divorce and remarriage; blended families; marital
quality; hormones and family process; adult child-parent
relations. E-mail: axb24@psu.edu
- Linda Caldwell, Ph.D.
(Recreation), 1986, University of Maryland, Professor (primary appointment in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management), Adolescents, leisure and health; leisure education, prevention research, and the developmental affordances of leisure. E-mail: LindaC@psu.edu
- Pamela
M. Cole, Ph.D. (Psychology), 1980, Pennsylvania State
University, Professor (primary appointment in Psychology).
Emotion regulation in early childhood; relation between
emotion regulation and psychopathology; cultural differences
in socialization of emotion. E-mail: pmc5@psu.edu
- David E. Conroy, Ph.D. (Exercise and Sport Science), 2000, University of Utah, Associate Professor (primary appointment in Kinesiology).
Achievement motivation--development in early and middle childhood, and consequences across the lifespan. E-mail: dec9@psu.edu
- Elia
E. Femia, Ph.D.(Human Development and Family Studies),
1998, The Pennsylvania State University, research associate
(primary appointment in HDFS). Alzheimer's disease caregiving;
evlauation of dementia-care programs; disability processes
in the oldest-old. Elia.Femia@verizon.net
- Mark Feinberg, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology), 1998, George Washington University, Senior Research Associate (primary appointment in the Prevention Research Center).
Family process (coparenting, parenting, sibling relations) and development, prevention, biology and behavior (genetics, affective neuroscience, stress-related hormones). E-mail: mef11@psu.edu
- Richard Fiene, Ph.D. (Psychology), 1978, Newport University, Associate Professor, and Professor in Charge, Psychology Program, Penn State Harrisburg (primary appointment Capital College). Child care quality; public policy research related to children, youth and families; community based research; infant development. Web site: www.hbg.psu.edu/bsed Email: rjf8@psu.edu .
- Constance
A. Flanagan, Ph.D. (Psychology),1987, University of
Michigan, Professor (primary appointment in Agricultural
and Extension Education). Cross-cultural studies of families
and adolescents, political socialization, developmental
precursors of citizenship, interethnic and interracial relations
among youth. E-mail: caf15@psu.edu
- John
W. Graham, Ph.D. (Social Psychology),1983, University
of Southern California, Professor (primary appointment in
Biobehavioral Health). Theoretical and statistical/methodological
issues relating to the development of adolescent and adult
health behavior. E-mail: jwg4@psu.edu
- Douglas
A. Granger, Ph.D. (Psychology and Social Behavior),
1990, University of California, Irvine, Professor
(primary appointment in Biobehavioral Health). Behavioral
consequences of interactions between the central nervous
and immune systems; biobehavioral correlates of children's
adrenocortical reactivity to naturalistic psychosocial challenges;
role of cytokines in the emergence of, and continuity in,
atypical child development. E-mail: dag11@psu.edu
- Linda
Higginson, D.Ed. (Counselor Education), 1981, The Pennsylvania
State University,
Vice President for Undergraduate Education and
DUS Programs Coordinator, College of Agricultural Sciences. Academic advising, support
services and programs for students, mentoring, development
and implementation of quality assessment programs. E-mail: lxh1@psu.edu
- Joyce
Hopson-King, M.S. (Counseling Psychology), 1982, Lesley
College. (Director of Diversity Enhancement Programs, College
of HHD). Academic advising and counseling, young adult education.
E-mail: juh4@psu.edu
- David
R. Johnson, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1972, Vanderbilt University,
Professior (primary appointment in Sociology). Marital quality
over the life course, family and mental health, marital
instabillity, quantitative methods for panel analysis, attrition
in panel studies, rural-urban differences in mental health,
community effects on child neglect. E-mail: drj10@psu.edu
- Valarie
King, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1993, University of Pennsylvania,
Associate Professor (primary appointment in Sociology).
Fathers and children, child well-being, divorce, religion and family behavior, grandparents and grandchildren, cohabitation among older adults. E-mail: vek1@psu.edu
- Jeffrey
A. Kurland, Ph.D. (Anthropology),1976, Harvard University,
Associate Professor (primary appointment in Anthropology
with joint appointment in HDFS). Evolution of social behavior;
behavioral ecology and sociobiology; human reproductive
strategies; parent-offspring interactions. E-mail: jak@psu.edu
- Lynn Liben, Ph.D. (Psychology), 1972, University of Michigan, Distinguished Professor (primary appointment in Psychology). Reseach addresses development of spatial cognition, symbolic understanding, and how these inform education in schools and museums; the development of gender and racial stereotypes; and the intersection of these two domains (e.g., sex differences in spatial skills and occupational choice). E-mail: liben@psu.edu
- Jon
F. Nussbaum,
Ph.D. (Speech Communication), 1981, Purdue University,
Professor
(primary appointment in Communication Arts & Sciences).
Lifespan relationship change across contexts, communicative
behavior of individuals across the lifespan emphasizing
older adult, health organizations, and communication. E-mail: jfn5@psu.edu
- D.
Wayne Osgood, Ph.D. (Social Psychology), 1977, University
of Colorado at Boulder, Professor (primary appointment in
Crime, Law and Justice). Crime and delinquency; adolescent
problem behavior; juvenile justice; time use and deviance;
peer influence.E-mail: wosgood@psu.edu
- David
Post, Ph.D. (Comparative Education),1987, University
of Chicago, Professor (primary appointment in
Educational Policy Studies).
Cross-national variations in family structure effects on
children's well-being and school attainment; impact of public
policy on educational stratification in Latin America and
Hong Kong. E-mail: dmp10@psu.edu
- Stacy
J. (Rogers) Silver, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1993, Ohio State University, Associate Professor
(primary appointment in Sociology). Family structure and interaction, adult and child well-being. E-mail: sjr11@psu.edu
- Meg Small, Ph.D. (Quantitative Methods and Health Policy), 1992, University of Maryland, Research Associate (primary appointment in the Prevention Research Center). Understanding factors that allow organizaions to successfully adopt and sustain evidence-based interventions; Developing and testing methods that allow organizations to use data when making programmatic decisions. E-mail: mxs693@psu.edu
- Graham
Spanier, Ph.D. (Sociology), 1973, Northwestern University,
Professor (President of The Pennsylvania State University;
joint appointments with HDFS, Sociology, Demography, and
Family and Community Medicine). Quality and stability of
marriage across the life course; family demography; family
policy. E-Mail: spanier@psu.edu
- Elizabeth
Susman, Ph.D. (Human Development and Family Studies),
1976, The Pennsylvania State University, Professor (primary
appointment in Biobehavioral Health). Interaction of hormones
and phychological development adolescents; neuroscience of stress and coping; stress and reproduction, and adolescent obesity. E-mail: esusman@psu.edu
Penn State's Department of Human Development and Family
Studies is committed to excellence in research, teaching, and service
regarding lifespan human development in the context of the family, community,
and society.
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