Fall 2021 Newsletter | Research Highlights

A new grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been awarded to Maria Galano. Early-life exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) puts children at risk for future violence victimization and perpetration through its effects on mental health outcomes. Trauma socialization (TS)—or the processes by which caregivers communicate information and perspectives about trauma, danger, and fear—is one modifiable process that may shape children’s pathways to risk for future violence involvement. The study examines the effects of TS on children’s early symptoms of aggression, PTSD, and internalizing problems; as well as the effects of TS on children’s physiological stress regulation.

Eleni Kapoulea successfully defended her Master’s Thesis proposal on June 8th. She is preparing to submit a manuscript for publication. In this cross-national and cross-cultural study, she found complex associations between gender, nationality, interdependence, and loneliness. Results will be useful to guide tailored interventions to treat loneliness and have inspired her to continue this line of work in mixed-methods research.

Mike Broggi's master's thesis was accepted for publication in The Clinical Neuropsychologist. His study found that university students with a history of multiple concussions may be at risk for poor academic outcomes due at least in part to slower processing speed and psychological symptoms.

Molly Mather successfully defended her Dissertation on June 3rd. The study determined whether change in neural structure and function in emotion centers predicted symptoms of depression and apathy in aMCI and conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD). She found that apathy, change in depressive symptoms, and atrophy in the amygdala and cingulate cortex predicted progression of disease.