Contact Information
Owings-McQuagge Hall
118 College Drive #5025
Hattiesburg, MS 39406
The Family and Emotional Health Research and Treatment Group
Overview
The Family and Emotional Health Research and Treatment Group under the direction of Dr. Gilbert Parra conducts research focusing on the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive reactions of children and adolescents to stressful life circumstances. Family-systems principles as well as several conceptual frameworks that emphasize the role emotions play in shaping and being shaped by family interaction patterns (i.e., attachment theory, emotional security theory, and emotion socialization heuristic models) guide our work. We are particularly interested in adolescents’ reactions to family-related stressors such as interparental conflict and parent mental health problems and the association of those reactions to the emotional health of adolescents. Our most recent work focuses on translating knowledge of family-related risk factors to interventions for adolescent emotional problems. More specifically, we are interested in the development and evaluation of family-focused interventions that directly target family processes associated with adolescents’ reactions to family-related stressors.
Links
Dr. Parra will be accepting a new graduate student for Fall 2013 admissions.
