Background Information

I will be graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with minors in Special Education and Human Development. Previously, I worked in Dr. Jude Cassidy’s Child and Family Development Laboratory focusing on the Attachment Theory and infant development. I was also a research assistant in Dr. Andrea Chronis’ ADHD Program examining the influence of parental psychopathology on treatment outcomes for children with ADHD. Currently, I am involved in several studies at The Center for Addictions, Personality, and Emotion Research (CAPER). Primarily, I am a research assistant for Dr. Stacey Daughter’s Adolescent Distress Tolerance (ADT) study, examining the association between distress tolerance and risk behaviors among adolescents. In addition, I am working on my own project exploring how externalizing disorders such as Conduct Disorder are related to distress tolerance and substance use in racial minority populations. This project was awarded by The University of Maryland’s Summer Senior Scholars Program in the summer of 2008. After graduation, I hope to attend a doctoral program in clinical psychology.

Research Interests

My research interests are developmental and externalizing disorders in childhood and adolescence. Particularly, I am interested in risk behaviors associated with these disorders, including race and gender differences. I would also like to focus on the utilization of behavioral treatment interventions within the home and school settings.