Recent publications
Meléndez Guevara, A. M., Lindstrom Johnson, S., Wall, C., & Lopez, K. (2024). Sociocultural Responsive Frameworks to Increase Engagement in Service Systems Through a Peer-to-Peer Model. Prevention Science. Doi: 10.1007/s11121-024-01675-w
Service engagement is critical when working with children and families experiencing chronic adversities because of their socially marginalized status. Further, sociodemographic disparities exist in service engagement within service systems including Community-Based Behavioral Health; likely in part, a result of structural issues driving unresponsive service systems. Despite this knowledge, a large proportion of the family engagement literature continues to be approached through a deficit-based and family-centric lens leaving out important systemic considerations and furthering health inequities. Drawing from a Socio-Ecological Framework (Stokols, 1996), this study focuses on exploring the value of peer support providers (PSPs) to understand how sociocultural responsiveness functions under this service model. Individual interviews and focus group data were collected from both families and PSPs. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke in Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101, 2006) was utilized to code and synthetize the data collected. Findings highlight the importance of capitalizing on meaningful and trusting relationships to foster family engagement in services. These findings solidify the understanding that family engagement is a function of crucial relationships between family, provider, and systems. This work also illustrates how PSPs organic embodiment of sociocultural responsiveness through cultural humility is an avenue through which family engagement can be sustained.
Nelson-Coffey, S. K., & Coffey, J. K. (2024). Gratitude improves parents’ well-being and family functioning. Emotion, 24(2), 357-369. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001283
Parents are inundated with suggestions to improve their relationships with their children and promote child development, but improving caregiver well-being is often overlooked despite being considered one of the most important methods to promote healthy child development. Drawing on the robust literature on the emotional and relationship benefits of gratitude, we present two studies demonstrating the advantages of gratitude for parents’ well-being and family functioning. First, in a 7-day daily experience study conducted in 2018 (N = 270), daily gratitude predicted greater well-being and family functioning, controlling for daily happiness, coder-rated care difficulty, and sociodemographics. Second, in a short-term longitudinal experiment conducted in 2018 (N = 619), participants were randomly assigned to write a gratitude letter or to complete a control activity. In this study, expressing gratitude predicted greater well-being and family functioning 1 week later via increases in positive emotions. Notably, across both studies neither felt nor expressed gratitude referred to one’s children; however, the results of our studies suggest that gratitude in general improves parent–child relationships and family well-being. This work provides insights regarding ways to improve parents’ well-being without requiring greater effort, energy, or attention to one’s children, and it suggests that promoting parents’ gratitude in general may benefit the entire family.
Wheeler, B., Jung, S., Hall, D., Purohit, M., & Silva, Y. (2023). An analysis of temporal trends in anti-Asian hate and counter-hate on Twitter during COVID-19. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 26(7), 535-545. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2022.020
Recent studies have documented increases in anti-Asian hate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet relatively little is known about how anti-Asian content on social media, as well as positive messages to combat the hate, have varied over time. In this study, we investigated temporal changes in the frequency of anti-Asian and counter-hate messages on Twitter during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Twitter Data Collection Application Programming Interface, we queried all tweets from January 30, 2020 to April 30, 2021 that contained specific anti-Asian (e.g., #chinavirus, #kungflu) and counter-hate (e.g., #hateisavirus) keywords. From this initial data set, we extracted a random subset of 1,000 Twitter users who had used one or more anti-Asian or counter-hate keywords. For each of these users, we calculated the total number of anti-Asian and counter-hate keywords posted each month. Latent growth curve analysis revealed that the frequency of anti-Asian keywords fluctuated over time in a curvilinear pattern, increasing steadily in the early months and then decreasing in the later months of our data collection. In contrast, the frequency of counter-hate keywords remained low for several months and then increased in a linear manner. Significant between-user variability in both anti-Asian and counter-hate content was observed, highlighting individual differences in the generation of hate and counter-hate messages within our sample. Together, these findings begin to shed light on longitudinal patterns of hate and counter-hate on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Burleson, M. H., Roberts, N. A., Munson, A. A., Duncan, C. J., Randall, A. K., Ha, T., ... & Mickelson, K. D. (2022). Feeling the absence of touch: Distancing, distress, regulation, and relationships in the context of COVID-19. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(1), 56-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211052696
During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical distancing guidelines were implemented to reduce viral spread, altering typical social interactions and reducing the amount of physical contact and affectionate touch many individuals experienced. The pandemic also caused psychological distress, perhaps in part related to reductions in affectionate touch with close others. We theorized that this would be particularly problematic for individuals reliant on affectionate touch to help regulate their emotions. Using online survey data collected nationwide from married or romantically partnered adults (N = 585), we examined how physical distancing (moderated by cohabiting with spouse/partner) and affectionate touch with close others (moderated by individual differences in typical use and efficacy of touch for affect regulation [TAR]) related to individual psychological distress and romantic relationship quality. As hypothesized, more physical distancing was associated with less affectionate touch among non-cohabiters, but surprisingly with more touch among cohabiters. Also as hypothesized, participants higher in TAR and experiencing less affectionate touch reported more psychological distress than those similarly high in TAR and experiencing more affectionate touch, or than those lower in TAR. Unexpectedly, more physical distancing was associated directly with lower psychological distress and better relationship quality. Better relationship quality was linked directly to more affectionate touch and greater endorsement of TAR. Thus, for those cohabiting in satisfying romantic relationships, physical distancing may facilitate relationship-positive behaviors. Further, individual differences in TAR may influence the potency of touch effects on mood and stress.
Luo, R., & Song, L. (2022). The unique and compensatory effects of home and classroom learning activities on Migrant and Seasonal Head Start children’s Spanish and English emergent literacy skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1016492. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1016492
Children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFW) are among the most underprivileged, underserved groups in the United States. The current study examined how home and classroom language and literacy experiences uniquely and interactively contributed to MSFW children’s emergent literacy skills in English and Spanish. Participants were 255 Spanish-English dual language learning children (Mage = 49 mon; 98.3% Latino/Hispanic) and their parents and 47 teachers, drawn from the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study. Parents reported how often the target children engaged in language and literacy activities (i.e., teaching letters, words, or numbers, book-reading, singing, and storytelling) with their family members. Teachers reported how often the target children engaged in classroom language and literacy activities (e.g., book-reading, learning letters, retelling stories, etc.). Children’s emergent literacy skills in English and Spanish were assessed by standard tests. After controlling for demographic variables, home and classroom language and literacy activities uniquely predicted children’s emergent literacy skills in Spanish, but not in English. Additionally, home and classroom activities compensated one another in supporting children’s English and Spanish emergent literacy development. That is, language and literacy activities in one context showed a stronger effect for children who experienced less frequent activities in the other context. Together, these findings shed light on ways to support MSFW children’s emergent literacy skills and reveal the importance of integrating and connecting home and school learning experiences.
Cooper, A. N., Tao, C., Totenhagen, C. J., Randall, A. K., & Holley, S. (2020). Emotion regulation and daily stress in same-sex couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37, 1245-1267.
Using daily diary data from 81 same-sex couples, we examined the link between stress experienced outside the relationship (external) and within the relationship (internal) for individuals (stress spillover) and their partners (stress crossover). Extending prior literature, we examined spillover and crossover of both common external (e.g., work stress) and sexual minority stress (e.g., discrimination based on sexual orientation) and the extent to which individuals’ own and their partner’s difficulties in emotion regulation moderated these associations. We found compelling evidence for spillover of common external stress and crossover of both types of stress. Further, we found both concurrent (same day) and lagged (next-day) stress spillover and crossover processes for both types of external stressors, moderated by both partners’ reported difficulties in emotion regulation. Findings related to stress spillover and crossover as well as implications for researchers and clinicians working with same-sex couples are discussed.
Waldron, V & Farnworth, M. J. (2020). Steeling against midlife adversity: Resilience-promoting practices of long-term romantic pairs. Journal of Family Communication, 20, 129-145.
Midlife is a time of both turbulence and stability for long-term romantic couples, a period that may bring adversity in the form of changed roles, distressed adult offspring, health conditions, and caregiving for parents. We draw on Afifi’s theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) to interpret interview data collected from 265 couples. Participants illustrated TRRL by describing familiar resource management practices, such sharing quality time. They extend the theory by reporting unanticipated practices, such as truth-telling and having fun. TRRL was challenged to account for the roles played by culture, faith, and resource intensive identities. Some practices, such as broadening the base, were consistent with both TRRL and other theories. Findings respond to calls by resilience researchers for improved understanding of interactive practices that help people steel against the inevitable challenges of aging.
Wright, K.A. (2020). Time well spent: Misery, meaning, and the opportunity of incarceration. The Howard Journal, 59 (1), 44-64. 10.1111/hojo.12352
People often leave prison worse than when they arrived; sometimes, they leave the same. People could leave prison better than when they arrived through a reimagined response to crime. They could be set up to live sustainable, fulfilling, and meaningful lives after prison. This approach could be informed by research on what makes for a meaningful life – regardless of whether a person has come into contact with the criminal justice system. A reimagined corrections could view time spent in prison as an opportunity rather than solely as a punishment; an opportunity to repair harm, empower people, and promote public safety.