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Interests

• positive youth development
• peer victimization, violence and injury prevention
• community psychology
• school-based social emotional learning programs
• youth activism and social responsibility
• mixed-method designs

Faculty bio

My research is centered on identifying factors that enhance or undermine the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Because youth thrive in contexts that affirm their sense of purpose and identity, I am especially interested in understanding how we can best support the synergy between youths’ individual strengths and available opportunities in their environment.

In particular, my work examines ways in which we can leverage the power of social responsibility to advance research in prevention science through the implementation of school-based programs. Social responsibility reflects societal norms that underlie attitudes and actions of tolerance, compassion, fairness and an overall concern for the welfare of others that often results in behaviors that favour the common good.

I employ a range of community-based qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate how we can foster the development of youth social responsibility through relationships with peers, parents, teachers and communities across diverse cultural contexts.