Jennifer L. Maggs, Ph.D.

1993, University of Victoria

Associate Professor of Human Development

110F South Henderson
(814) 865-2028
jmaggs@psu.edu

Research

My research interests are centered around risk behaviors during adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Together with my students and colleagues, I am directing two NIAAA-funded research projects that use very different developmental designs to examine the etiology, correlates, and consequences of alcohol use during this age period, described below. We also recently completed the University Life Transitions Project, a 10-week telephone interview study examining links between alcohol motivations, use, and consequences. I am also collaborating with Dr. Nancy Galambos (University of Alberta) on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded Making the Transition study.

Using the British Cohort Studies longitudinal data, we are examining consequences of heavy alcohol use during adolescence for adult status attainment, relationships, and health, and the extent to which childhood factors may amplify or mitigate such risks. Data for these secondary analyses come from the British National Child Development Study and the British Cohort Study, which are ongoing longitudinal studies of one week's births in Britain in 1958 and 1970, respectively. The team for this project includes Jennifer Maggs (PI), Eric Loken (Co-Investigator), Jeremy Staff (Investigator), Megan Patrick (Project Manager), Andrea Finlay (Graduate Assistant), Lela Rankin (Post-doc at Temple University and University of Maryland), and Laura Wray-Lake (Graduate Assistant).

The University Life Study is designed to examine links between daily activities, risk behaviors (including alcohol use and sexual behavior) and college experiences in college students. In the Fall of 2007 we will begin a longitudinal study with a measurement burst design to examine developmental changes and situational fluctuations in links between risk behaviors in different domains. Using multi-level models, we are testing hypotheses about the extent to which such associations vary by intrapersonal (e.g., affect), interpersonal (e.g., relationship status), and environmental (e.g., holidays, sports events) predictors. Students are completing 14 days of web-based surveys each semester from freshman through senior year of college. The team for this project includes Jennifer Maggs (PI), Eva Lefkowitz (Co-Investigator), Meg Small (Managing Investigator), Nicole Morgan (Study Director), Wayne Osgood (Investigator), Megan Patrick (Graduate Assistant), Sara Vasilenko (Graduate Assistant), and Shannon Corkery (undergraduate Assistant).

Education

Research and Professional Experience

2004 - Present: Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University

2006 - Present, Research Associate, Bedford Group for Life Course and Statistical Studies, Institute of Education, University of London

2000-2003: Associate Professor, Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona

2003: Visiting Scholar, Institute of Education, University of London

2000: Visiting Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria

1996-2000: Assistant Professor, Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona

1996-2003: Adjunct Assistant Research Scientist, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

1995: Research Investigator, Survey Research Center, Instutute for Social Research, University of Michigan

1993-1995: Visiting Scholar, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

1993-1994: Visiting Scientist, Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence, Faculty of Public Health, Universität Bielefeld, Germany

Selected Publications

Patrick, M. E., Abar, C. C., & Maggs, J. L. (2007). Reasons to have sex, personal goals, and sexual behavior during the transition to college. Journal of Sex Research, 44, 240-249.

Lee, C. M., Maggs, J. L., & Rankin, L. A. (2006). Spring Break trips as a risk factor for heavy alcohol use among first-year college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67, 911-916.

Rankin, L. A., & Maggs, J. L. (2006). First-year college student affect and alcohol use: Paradoxical within- and between-person associations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 925-937.

Rhoades, B. L., & Maggs, J. L. (2006). Do academic and social goals predict planned alcohol use among college-bound high school graduates? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 913-923.

Maggs, J. L., & Schulenberg, J. (2004-2005). Trajectories of alcohol use during the transition to adulthood. Alcohol Research and Health, 28, 195-201.

Maggs, J. L., & Lee, C. M. (2005). What do you expect? Alcohol expectancies and consequences. In M. Fearnow-Kenney, D. L. Wyrick, & W. B. Hansen (Eds.), Alcohol use and harm prevention: A resource for college students. Greensboro, NC: Tanglewood Research.

Maggs, J. L., & Schulenberg, J. (2005). Initiation and course of alcohol use among adolescents and young adults. In M. Galanter (Ed.), Recent Developments in Alcoholism (pp. 29-47). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Schulenberg, J., & Maggs, J. L. (2002). A developmental perspective on alcohol use and heavy drinking during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Supplement No. 14, 54-70.