The central focus of the research that I have been involved with has been an examination of the effects of various life course transitions, such as marriage, becoming a parent, and divorce, on adult development and psychological well-being.

Additionally, I am interested in the importance and effects of parenting and parent-child relationships on adolescent psychological well-being. I have worked on research examining Rosenberg's concept of "mattering," which we define as the psychological tendency to evaluate the self as significant to specific others."

Finally, I am currently investigating factors associated with risky alcohol use among college women by examining the role of opposite-sex reflective drinking preferences (females perceptions of how much males want them to drink), on drinking behavior alcohol-related problems.