Overview

The Child/Family/Developmental Psychology focus area is a domain of specialization building on strengths long existing within the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. The focus area interfaces child clinical, school, family, and developmental psychology, supporting research with individuals ranging in age from infancy to adulthood. Recognizing the importance both of social context - family, peers, school, culture - and neurocognitive factors, it places emphasis on prevention and intervention.

Goals

The primary objective of this focus area is to develop competent scientists and practitioners interested in the investigation of child/family/developmental issues and the application of research to practice.

• Provide students with a broad theoretical background in the study of children, families, and lifespan development.

• Foster scholarly expertise in one or more areas of research specialization within this field.

• Build core competencies in practical applications of science including critical components of service delivery, as well as creation and implementation of research-based policies.

• Specifying the parameters of the focus area will provide graduate students with guidelines for attaining this area of expertise.

• For Clinical and School Psychology students selecting the Child/Family/Developmental specialization, the focus area will strengthen their applications for internships.

• Encourage greater interest and expertise in research methodology among students and faculty.

• Even more importantly, the focus area will aid graduate students from all of the departmental programs who wish to launch future careers with a developmental concentration.

Child/Family/Developmental Psychology Interest Areas

Possible Child/Family/Developmental Career Tracks

Graduates from this focus area would be qualified to serve in numerous capacities, including:

Student Preparation

The typical student who focuses in Child/Family/Developmental would take three courses in the area of children, families and/or development. With program committee permission, up to two directed readings/special topics courses may be included in the total of three CFD psychology courses.

When students prepare for their comprehensive exams, they should ensure that at least one question pertains to child, family, or developmental psychology. Alternatively, a published book chapter, journal article, or grant submission in the area of child, family, or developmental psychology may fulfill this requirement.

Finally, students are expected to have several research and applied experiences (15 weeks in duration) with a focus on children, families, and development. These could include: Research with faculty, externships, practica, and internships.

Child/Family/Developmental Psychology Course Content

Child:

Family:

Human Development:

Learning/Education/Language:

Child/Family/Developmental Faculty in Psychology

• Susan Brady, Ph.D. (School)
• Paul Bueno de Mesquita, Ph.D. (School)
• Ellen Flannery-Schroeder, Ph.D. (Clinical)
• Kathleen Gorman, Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences/Developmental)
• Ann Varna Garis, Ph.D. (Interim Director of the Psychological Consultation Center)
• Kathleen Gorman, Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences/Developmental)
• Robert Laforge, Sc.D. (Behavioral Sciences)
• Susan Loftus, Ph.D. (School)
• Lyn Stein, Sc.D. (Clinical)
• Gary Stoner, Ph.D. (School)
• Theodore A. Walls, Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences)
• Lisa Weyandt, Ph.D. (School)
• W. Grant Willis, Ph.D. (School)

Other Child/Family/Developmental Faculty

• Jerome Adams, Ph.D. (Human Development and Family)
• Sue K. Adams, Ph.D. (Human Development and Family)

Examples of Research/Practical Training Opportunities

• Working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system
• Coalitions involved in the development and promotion of policies affecting low-income individuals and families
• Evaluation of policies and programs that target low-income families including child care, health care, housing, and food assistance
• Practicum in Reading and Response to Instruction
• Treatment outcome studies of cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders
• Parenting variables and their relationship to the onset and maintenance of childhood anxiety disorders

Clinical Externship/Field Experience Opportunities

Clinical externship experiences are available in working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system, psychological testing with children, consultation in schools, classroom interventions, as well as individual and group psychotherapy with children in a variety of settings (e.g., inpatient, partial hospitalization, outpatient). Below is a non-exhaustive list of possible externship and practicum placements:

Hasbro Children’s Hospital

The Bradley School

Bradley Hospital

Psychological Centers

Butler Hospital

Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island

The Groden Center

Sargent Rehabilitation Center

Providence Community Health Centers – Allen Berry

Rhode Island Training School

Rhode Island Elementary, Middle, and High Schools - public and private (e.g., Central Falls, Providence School Districts; Monsignor Clark Catholic Elementary)

Proposed Governance Structure

Ellen Flannery-Schroeder, Ph.D., Chair

Research and clinical faculty and staff in psychology and in other closely-related departments may affiliate with the Child/Family/Developmental focus area upon request. Graduate students will be included as representatives. Focus area meetings will be scheduled at least once per semester.