Scope and Aims
The Social Relationships Lab seeks to understand how social relationships with family members, friends, and romantic partners contribute to meaningful qualities of future relationships and individual adjustment. Students will have the option to work from a longitudinal data set containing a multitude of developmental, social, and adjustment measures from annual assessments of individuals from ages 13 to 30, and/or a data set recently collected assessing the impact of online social networking on first-year JMU students' transition to the university.
Current lab interests:
However, data are available to address a wide range of students' interests (see lists of student presentations below), and students are encouraged to develop an individual project that fits with their interests.
Graduate Students
I encourage graduate applicants to the JMU Psychological Sciences M.A. program with shared research/professional interests to contact me with questions about potential mentorship. I am best equipped to mentor students in the M.A. program who have a strong interest in attending a Ph.D program in Clinical or Developmental Psychology. My research interests might be best described as developmentally-focused with a clinical bent. Please review recent publications and presentations to gain a sense of the types of projects/topics available. I am interested in admitting a student for the Fall 2021 academic year.
Current Graduate Students:
Emme Lis, 2nd year Applied Research Concentration (Furman University)
Emily Shah, 1st year Applied Research Concentration (James Madison University)
Undergraduate Students
Interested undergraduate students are invited to apply for the lab experience and then meet with Dr. David Szwedo ([email protected]) to discuss their interests and learn more about potential opportunities. The SRL is offered as a PSYC 403 experience and as a two-semester sequence. It is most appropriate for students who have completed PSYC 210/11 and 212/213 by the start of the experience. This research experience is a particularly good fit for students who are interested in pursuing graduate school in developmental or counseling/clinical psychology areas.
How to Get Involved
Find example syllabi for the Fall and Spring SRL semesters here:
Fall Semester Spring Semester
Download the SRL Application for the Fall 2021-Spring 2022 year here.
Email the completed application to Dr. David Szwedo ([email protected])
Applications are accepted/considered on a rolling basis during the Spring 2021 semester. Please apply earlier when possible as there is often more student interest than can be accommodated.
By the end of the year, students will create a poster of their project that they will present at the JMU Psychology Student Research Symposium and the annual meeting of the Virginia Association for Psychological Science. Students may also have the option to submit their posters for presentation at a national-level conference. We have had great success submitting students' work to these conferences in recent years (38 out of 39 submitted posters accepted)! Find examples of recent students' posters below.
The Social Relationships Lab seeks to understand how social relationships with family members, friends, and romantic partners contribute to meaningful qualities of future relationships and individual adjustment. Students will have the option to work from a longitudinal data set containing a multitude of developmental, social, and adjustment measures from annual assessments of individuals from ages 13 to 30, and/or a data set recently collected assessing the impact of online social networking on first-year JMU students' transition to the university.
Current lab interests:
- (a) how family and peer relationship factors promote healthy vs. unhealthy romantic relationships,
- (b) how observed peer interactions on social networking websites such as Facebook affect individuals’ friendships and well-being over time, and
- (c) how individual differences in emotion regulation and coping responses may affect the quality of romantic relationship development and online social relationships.
However, data are available to address a wide range of students' interests (see lists of student presentations below), and students are encouraged to develop an individual project that fits with their interests.
Graduate Students
I encourage graduate applicants to the JMU Psychological Sciences M.A. program with shared research/professional interests to contact me with questions about potential mentorship. I am best equipped to mentor students in the M.A. program who have a strong interest in attending a Ph.D program in Clinical or Developmental Psychology. My research interests might be best described as developmentally-focused with a clinical bent. Please review recent publications and presentations to gain a sense of the types of projects/topics available. I am interested in admitting a student for the Fall 2021 academic year.
Current Graduate Students:
Emme Lis, 2nd year Applied Research Concentration (Furman University)
Emily Shah, 1st year Applied Research Concentration (James Madison University)
Undergraduate Students
Interested undergraduate students are invited to apply for the lab experience and then meet with Dr. David Szwedo ([email protected]) to discuss their interests and learn more about potential opportunities. The SRL is offered as a PSYC 403 experience and as a two-semester sequence. It is most appropriate for students who have completed PSYC 210/11 and 212/213 by the start of the experience. This research experience is a particularly good fit for students who are interested in pursuing graduate school in developmental or counseling/clinical psychology areas.
How to Get Involved
Find example syllabi for the Fall and Spring SRL semesters here:
Fall Semester Spring Semester
Download the SRL Application for the Fall 2021-Spring 2022 year here.
Email the completed application to Dr. David Szwedo ([email protected])
Applications are accepted/considered on a rolling basis during the Spring 2021 semester. Please apply earlier when possible as there is often more student interest than can be accommodated.
By the end of the year, students will create a poster of their project that they will present at the JMU Psychology Student Research Symposium and the annual meeting of the Virginia Association for Psychological Science. Students may also have the option to submit their posters for presentation at a national-level conference. We have had great success submitting students' work to these conferences in recent years (38 out of 39 submitted posters accepted)! Find examples of recent students' posters below.
Examples of Lab Alumni Graduate School Experiences:
Degree/Program College/University
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Southern Illinois University
M.D. Rowan University (New Jersey)
M.Ed. in School Counseling William and Mary
School Psychology JMU
M.S. Sport Psychology Florida State University
Ph.D. Counseling University of North Texas
J.D. University of Maryland School of Law
M.A. Psychological Sciences JMU
M.A.T. Early Childhood Education New Jersey City University
M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling Eastern Mennonite University
M.A. Professional Counseling Liberty University
M.S.W. Columbia University
Occupational Therapy Towson Univerity
M.Ed. School Counseling JMU
Industrial/Organizational Psychology NYU
Degree/Program College/University
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Southern Illinois University
M.D. Rowan University (New Jersey)
M.Ed. in School Counseling William and Mary
School Psychology JMU
M.S. Sport Psychology Florida State University
Ph.D. Counseling University of North Texas
J.D. University of Maryland School of Law
M.A. Psychological Sciences JMU
M.A.T. Early Childhood Education New Jersey City University
M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling Eastern Mennonite University
M.A. Professional Counseling Liberty University
M.S.W. Columbia University
Occupational Therapy Towson Univerity
M.Ed. School Counseling JMU
Industrial/Organizational Psychology NYU
Mentored Undergraduate Psychology Student Research Projects
* Denotes poster subsequently submitted and accepted for presentation at a National Conference.
2019-2020
*Kayla Kemp: The effect of ACEs on future physical health: The moderating effect of coping strategies. Link
*Aleni Zamalis: The intergenerational transmission of parenting behavior and the moderating effects of romantic relationships. Link
*Maddie Linn: Rejection sensitivity, negative romantic attitudes, and romantic satisfaction. Link
*Emily Shah: Parental psychological control as a predictor of parental dependence and internalizing behaviors.
*Emme Lis: Long-term predictors and consequences of romantic self-sacrifice behaviors.
*Lauren Alexander: Parental predictors of adolescents’ negative influence behaviors.
2018-2019
*Jordan Gamache: The effects of adolescent social experiences on adult romantic jealousy. Link
*Natalie Poole: Early social pressures as predictors of sexual and romantic experiences. Link
*Rachel Miller: ACES and romantic attachment styles: Moderating role of substance abuse. Link
*Emily Shaffer: Risk and protective factors for problem behaviors in early adulthood. Link
*Natalie Doucette: Adolescent gender role nonconformity, values, and future psychological adjustment. Link
*Kelsey Sullivan: Adolescent social rejection and early adulthood adjustment. Link
*Kayla Pitchford: Neighborhood quality, parenting behavior, and grit: Links to future adjustment. Link
*Emily Isola: Family of origin and young adults’ romantic relationship outcomes. Link
*Keiva Brannigan: Effects of childhood trauma on romantic relationships and problem behaviors. Link
2017-2018
*Morgan Welch: The influence of rejection by peers on social anxious behavior. Link
*Cerella Chandra: Interactions between anxiety subtypes, personality characteristics, and emotion regulation skills as predictors of future career outcomes. Link
Rachel Brown: Intimacy idolization vs. ego development in adolescence: Links to social relations and overall wellness in later adulthood. Link
*Sarah St. Martin: Childhood expectations of support as a predictor of future romantic relationship satisfaction: The mediating effects of coping and rejection sensitivity. Link
*Hannah Dowdy: Ameliorating factors between early traumatic experiences and future problems with adjustment. Link
*Taylor Weir:The effects of timing of romantic relationships in adolescence on future depression and anxiety. Link
*Samantha Baccaro:The effects of parental relationships on adolescents’ future romantic relationships. Link
*Lydia Florez: Early predictors of adolescent deliquent behaviors. Link
2016-2017
*Korey Beckwith: Parental predictors of adolescent substance use and rule-breaking behavior. Link
*Marissa Sariol-Clough: Influence of parenting on emerging adults' drug and sexual experimentation. Link
*Michael Sloan Hooks:Peer rejection and romantic relationships: The moderating role of aggression, anxiety, and depression. Link
Maddie Palkovitz:The effects of childhood emotional abuse on later romantic relationship outcomes. Link
*Samantha Rohrbacher:Effects of adverse life events in childhood on internal feelings about romantic relationships in adulthood. Link
*Molly Shine: Associations between negative self perception and insecurity, support and social comparison: The moderating effect of facebook use. Link
*Aashna Dhayagude:The effect of adolescent attachment styles on romantic relationship quality. Link
Kristin Gross: The effects of early parental pressure on later adolescents internalizing and externalizing problems. Link
2015-2016
*Laura Sylke: Early adolescent parent and peer predictors of early adult social functioning. Link
*Maddison Miles: Moderators of longitudinal associations between anxiety and future career satisfaction. Link
*Elisabeth Burleson: Attachment in early adolescence as a predictor of professional development in young adulthood. Link
*Emily Davis: The interplay of relationships and work for personal and professional fulfillment. Link
*Mikala Morrow: Predictions from emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical abuse to late adolescent relationship quality. Link
*Emily Smith: Parental psychological and behavioral control as predictors of late adolescent peer and romantic relationships. Link
2014-2015
*Shawna Anderson: The long term effects of early verbal abuse on adult romantic relationships. Link
*Lauren Barlotta: Number of Facebook friends and coping online as predictors of rejection sensitivity. Link
*Emily DelGuercio: Attachment, coping, and social competence. Link
Erin Holland: Number of Facebook friends as a moderator of the association between social acceptance and emotional adjustment. Link
*Olivia Jewell: Sexual activity as a predictor of adolescent anxiety, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem: Considering relationship context as a moderator. Link
*Heather Kiefer: Who do you talk to online? A look at social anxiety, depression, and loneliness with social media. Link
*Emily Severt: Relationship between adolescent male peer friendships, maternal alienation, and mothers' influence on teen dating. Link