Research Projects

Body Image, Disordered Eating, Weight Stigma, and Social Media Use

We conduct both basic and applied (intervention) research concerning a broad range of body image topics. Special emphasis on mother-daughter relations, the interaction of social media use and body image among adolescents and young adults, body image among men and women, and how factors like interoception and identity development influence body dissatisfaction and eating-related outcomes.

What factors of social media use most influence body dissatisfaction? How might we harness social media to be protective of body satisfaction? How do family and peers influence the development of positive body image? How are body image outcomes different across populations? How does social media use influence outcomes such as body-focused substance use? Our research addresses these questions.

ADHD

Cognitive underpinnings of ADHD, interventions for adolescents with ADHD (cognitive and family-based), basic research on parenting and well-being when youth and/or their parents have ADHD.

How is parenting affected by ADHD? How does ADHD affect emotion regulation and social impairment among adults? How does ADHD affect sleep and sleep-related impairments among adolescents? Our research addresses these questions.

Predictors and Outcomes of Parenting during Adolescence

Longitudinal and experimental research on parenting, mother-adolescent relations, and maternal and teen well-being during adolescence.

Why do parents parent as they do? How and why does parenting change during the transition to adolescence? What are the effects of different parenting practices on adolescents? Our research addresses these questions.