Category: Faculty Partner Research

Leanne Nieforth – Many organizations are seeking innovative options to promote workplace mental health and wellbeing, including the integration of employees’ pets into the workplace. While empirical research exists, there has not yet been a systematic analysis focused on the outcomes of pets in the workplace.

Kim Updegraff – Parent-child communication is vital in preventing pre-adolescent health risk behaviors such as substance use and sex, yet little is known about these dynamics in Hispanic families.

Kristine Marceau – Adolescents exposed to traumatic events, including physical and sexual abuse, are at higher risk of developing problematic substance use behaviours. This study investigates associations between traumatic experiences and trajectories of substance use in adolescence and young adulthood, focusing in particular on differences in neuroendocrine and subjective stress reactivity as potential explanatory mechanisms.

Chris Agnew – Some people are single despite desiring a committed romantic relationship. Past research has revealed relationship maintenance strategies—thoughts and behaviors that couple members enact to fuel overall relationship satisfaction and commitment—associated with relationship stability.

Leigha MacNeill – The scope of the pediatric mental health crisis in the United States, coupled with clinical manifestations prior to school age, necessitates a systematic approach to early detection of mental health problems in public health settings.

David Purpua – Negative associations between English Learners (EL) status and early skills were found on measures of cardinality, numeral identification, and broad numeracy, but not spatial skills. The negative relation between EL status and numeracy was moderated by indicators of Executive Function, such that the negative relation between EL status and early numeracy was present for children with higher EF, but not lower.

Maria Marshall – Food safety concerns associated with fresh produce have gained prominence due to recurring foodborne outbreaks and recalls. However, consumer awareness and perceptions regarding food safety in small and medium-sized farm (SMF) operations remain
underexplored.

Leanne Nieforth – “We’re advocating for the option of having service dogs as part of a treatment modality for PTSD and overcoming sexual assault trauma,” Senter said. “I interact with the people. I’ve conducted interviews with the participants just asking them about their experiences, the process of getting their service dog, how their service dog assists them in their day-to-day life and the changes that have come from that, and the advantages and disadvantages of having a service dog in 2025.”

Annabelle Atkin – A common racial stressor for Multiracial people is racial identity invalidation: the experience of having one’s racial identity denied by others. This preregistered, exploratory study investigated Biracial people’s experiences of identity invalidation within a family setting.

Sooyeon Jeong – As social robots get more deeply integrated intoour everyday lives, they will be expected to engage in meaningful conversations and exhibit socio-emotionally intelligent listening behaviors when interacting with people. Active listening and backchanneling could be one way to enhance robots’ communicative capabilities and enhance their effectiveness in eliciting deeper self-disclosure, providing a sense of empathy,and forming positive rapport and relationships