Eva S. Lefkowitz, Ph.D.

1998, University of California, Los Angeles

S-110 Henderson
(814) 863-7005
EXL20@psu.edu

Research

Development during adolescence and emerging adulthood. My first area of interest involves development of attitudes, behaviors, and relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood. I am particularly interested in the areas of sexual attitudes and behaviors, gender role development, romantic relationships, religiosity, ethnic identity, body image, and communication. Much of my past work in this area has focused on how mothers and adolescents communicate about sensitive topics, such as sexuality and AIDS. I have used videotaped interactions to code the extent to which mothers dominate these conversations, the positive and negative affect that mothers and adolescents express, and what topics are discussed. We have currently finished the fourth wave of a longitudinal study to examine how attitudes and behaviors change across the transition to college, for European American, African American, and Latino American young men and women. In particular, I am interested in the development and interrelationships of sexual attitudes and behaviors, gendered attitudes, romantic relationships, conversations with friends, involvement in campus activities, religious beliefs, ethnic identity, and body image. Participants completed surveys about these topics, and also participate in videotaped interactions with other college students. In addition, I am beginning a new study with Jennifer Maggs to examine the co-occurrence of alcohol use and sexual behaviors across the college years. Each semester, participants will complete surveys, daily diaries, and answer open-ended questions about their experiences. Undergraduate and graduate students who work on these projects are involved in all aspects of research, including data collection, data scoring, coding of videotaped interactions and open-ended data, data analysis, and report writing.

Relationships between adults and their parents. I am collaborating with Karen Fingerman (of Purdue University) to examine how adults and their parents communicate. In this work, we are also examining the extent to which parents dominate conversations, and the positive and negative affect expressed. We collected questionnaire, interview, and videotaped data on a group of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters to address these issues. Of particular interest are: (1) how communication may differ depending on the gender of the parents and offspring; (2) differences between parents and offspring; (3) how changes in conversational topic (e.g., positive versus negative topics) will affect changes in verbal and nonverbal communication; (4) how self-reported communication differs from observed communication. Students involved on this project can use videotaped data to address their own research questions.

Education

Honors and Awards

Research and Professional Experience

Research Grants

Publications