Dedicated to understanding and improving family life.
Welcome
Thank you for visiting the Family P.O.W.E.R. Lab website. This page was created as a way of sharing our research interests, describing on-going research projects, and promoting collaboration and exchanges of ideas. Our work focuses on understanding family dynamics that underlie the well-being of its members. We invite you to explore the different pages of this website to learn more about our work, including a discussion of Family Systems Theory, which provides a framework for much of our work, current research projects, recent publications, and learn about our lab members.
To stay current with frequent updates, also follow our lab on Twitter: @PSU_FamilyPOWER
If you have questions about family research or family-centered prevention research that we are conducting, please feel free to contact the lab director, Dr. Gregory M. Fosco at: [email protected]
To stay current with frequent updates, also follow our lab on Twitter: @PSU_FamilyPOWER
If you have questions about family research or family-centered prevention research that we are conducting, please feel free to contact the lab director, Dr. Gregory M. Fosco at: [email protected]
News & Announcements:
May 2021: Emily LoBraico's paper examining patterns in family attendance when participating in the Strengthening Families Program, for Youth ages 10-14 was accepted at the journal Primary Prevention! Look forward to it coming out soon: LoBraico, E.J., Fosco, G.M., Feinberg, M.E., Spoth, R. Redmond, C. & Bray, B.C. (In Press). Predictors of Attendance Patterns in a Universal Family-Based Preventive Intervention Program. Journal of Primary Prevention.
CONGRATULATIONS, Emily LoBraico!!! She successfully defended her dissertation! We're so proud of you, but we're going to miss you! Mathematica is lucky to have you - keep in touch!
April, 2021: Carlie Sloan has been awarded the prestigious Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program fellowship for 2021-2023! Congratulations, Carlie!
January 2021: The Family POWER Lab is excited to learn that we were awarded a grant from the Mental Research Institute! Our project will develop a family strengthening mobile application!
June 2020: Interested in how family relationships affect parents' and adolescents' happiness, life satisfaction, engagement, and meaning/purpose in life? Check out our new paper, just accepted at the Journal of Positive Psychology!
Fosco, G.M., Brinberg, M., & Ram, N. Day-to-Day Changes in Parent-Adolescent Connectedness: Relations with Daily Subjective Well-Being and Eudaimonia Differ for Parents and Adolescents. (In Press). Journal of Positive Psychology.
June, 2020: Carlie Sloan successfully defended her Master's Thesis! "Utilizing daily diary methods to test sensitization to interparental conflict".
Great job, Master Carlie!
We apologize that there is no obligatory photo of Carlie standing in front of her PowerPoint slides... a zoom screen shot just didn't feel right.
June, 2020: Check out Devin McCauley's new paper, putting old theories to the empirical test. Very cool set of findings, coming out soon!
McCauley, D.M., Sloan, C.J., Xia, M., & Fosco, G.M. (Conditional Acceptance). Same Family, Divergent Realities: How Triangulation Preserves Parents’ Illusory Harmony while Adolescents Navigate Interparental Conflicts. Journal of Family Psychology.
March, 2020: What about love? Check our our recent paper: "When do adolescents feel loved? A daily within-person study of parent-adolescent relations," recently accepted at Emotion.
Coffey, J., Xia, M. & Fosco, G.M. (In Press). When do Adolescents Feel Loved? A Daily Within-Person Study of Parent-Adolescent Relations. Emotion.
Quick congratulations to Anna Hochgraf! Check out her recent paper: "Honey, do I look fat? Perceptions of spouses' weight and weight concerns predict marital relationship quality" in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
October, 2019: Greg Fosco and David Lydon-Staley are at it again! Their paper, examining within-family variation in family cohesion and conflict in relation to adolescent mood and well-being was accepted for publication!
Fosco, G.M. & Lydon-Staley, D.M. (In Press). Implications of Family Cohesion and Conflict for Adolescent Mood and Well-Being: Examining Within- and Between-Family Processes on a Daily Timescale. Family Process
October, 2019: Emily LoBraico and Miriam Brinberg lead the way on another paper for the POWER Lab! Congratulations on a great piece landing in a great journal.
LoBraico, E. J., Brinberg, M., Ram, N., & Fosco, G.M. (Conditional Acceptance). Exploring Processes in Day-to-Day Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Angry Mood: Evidence for Circular Causality. Family Process.
Devin McCauley is in the news again! Check out his piece in Science Trends:
July, 2019: Xutong Zhang, a graduate student working with Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, just published a paper collaborating with the POWER Lab! A wonderful piece integrating family emotion socialization practices, physiological regulation, and developmental theory.
Zhang, X., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M., Fosco, G.M., & Bierman, K.L. (In Press). Parental Support of Self-Regulation among Children at Risk for Externalizing Symptoms: Developmental Trajectories of Physiological Regulation and Behavioral Adjustment. Developmental Psychology.
June 13, 2019: Devin McCauley just successfully defended his Master's Thesis! Congratulations, Devin! Great job!
Emily LoBraico will be awarded her Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) from NIDA!
Congratulations to Emily! She really worked hard for this and earned every bit of it! This project is a wonderful example of student leadership, and Penn State support for student success. This project was supported by Dr. Jennie Noll's graduate grant-writing course, with additional mentorship from Drs. Bethany Bray and Greg Fosco. Thanks also to Drs. Jennifer Maggs and Janet Welsh for supporting the submission and serving as important contributors to her training plan. We're all excited to see where Emily takes this project.
Congratulations to Emily! She really worked hard for this and earned every bit of it! This project is a wonderful example of student leadership, and Penn State support for student success. This project was supported by Dr. Jennie Noll's graduate grant-writing course, with additional mentorship from Drs. Bethany Bray and Greg Fosco. Thanks also to Drs. Jennifer Maggs and Janet Welsh for supporting the submission and serving as important contributors to her training plan. We're all excited to see where Emily takes this project.
Sunday, May 5, 2019: Graduation Ceremony for Mengya Xia and Hio Wa Mak
What an amazing day! Mengya and Grace (Hio Wa) both walked in their graduation ceremony over the weekend. They are shining examples of success, both as emerging scholars and as wonderful human beings. It is with great pride and admiration that the POWER Lab wishes them a grand send-off!
What an amazing day! Mengya and Grace (Hio Wa) both walked in their graduation ceremony over the weekend. They are shining examples of success, both as emerging scholars and as wonderful human beings. It is with great pride and admiration that the POWER Lab wishes them a grand send-off!
The POWER Lab is back from our trip to SRCD. POWER Lab Presentations:
Bridget Weymouth "Sequence of Co-Occurring Social Anxiety and Antisocial Behavior during Early Adolescence: A Latent Transition Analysis"
Greg Fosco "Does it Work Both Ways? Examining Parent-Adolescent Connectedness for Parent and Adolescent Well-Being"
Mengya Xia "Profiles of Family Relationship Dynamics: Associations with Adolescent Flourishing"
Devin McCauley and Carlie Sloan "Evaluating Interparental Conflict and Triangulation with the Family System on a Daily Timescale"
Lauren Streeter and Devin McCauley "Snapshots of Adolescent Positive Well-Being: A Daily Diary Coding System"
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak "Age-Varying Associations of Parent and Friend Support with Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence through Early Adulthood"
Congratulations to Devin McCauley! His recent publication (December 2018) is receiving media attention. For some Penn State coverage, follow the link below.
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak successfully defended her dissertation on Thursday, February 28, 2019! Congratulations to her on this wonderful achievement!
Mengya Xia successfully defended her dissertation on Monday, February 18, 2019! Congratulations to her on this wonderful accomplishment!
February, 2019: Exciting new findings from the FLOW study just accepted for publication at the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry!
Fosco, G.M., Mak H.W., Ramos, A. LoBraico, E.J., & Lippold, M.A. (In Press). Exploring the Promise of Assessing Dynamic Characteristics of the Family for Predicting Adolescent Risk Outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
February, 2019: POWER Lab alumnus Bridget Weymouth's paper was accepted to Developmental Psychology. Look forward to it coming out soon!
Weymouth, B.B., Fosco, G.M., Mak. H.W., Mayfield, K., LoBraico, E.J., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press). Implications of Interparental Conflict for Adolescents' Peer Relationships: A Longitudinal Pathway through Threat Appraisals and Social Anxiety Symptoms. Developmental Psychology.
January, 2019: Emily LoBraico just landed a great paper in Prevention Science! It's a cool piece on drivers of family-based prevention programs.
LoBraico, E.J., Fosco, G.M., Crowley, D.M., Feinberg, M.E., Spoth. R.L., & Redmond, C. (In Press). Examining Intervention Component Dosage Effects on Substance Use Outcomes in the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth Ages 10-14. Prevention Science.
December, 2018: Devin McCauley's paper was accepted to the Journal of Adolescence! It is available now on line!
McCauley, D., Weymouth, B.B., Feinberg, M.E., & Fosco, G.M. (2019) Evaluating School and Peer Protective Factors in the Effects of Interparental Conflict on adolescent Threat Appraisals and Self-Efficacy. Journal of Adolescence, 71, 28-37.
Family P.O.W.E.R. Lab in 2018
As 2019 approaches, we are reflecting on our accomplishments over the past year. The Family POWER Lab has been busy as ever! Nine papers come out in print, and five papers accepted for publication (one was printed in the same year!).
In Press:
McCauley, D., Weymouth, B.B., Feinberg, M.E., & Fosco, G.M. (2019) Evaluating School and Peer Protective Factors in the Effects of Interparental Conflict on adolescent Threat Appraisals and Self-Efficacy. Journal of Adolescence, 71, 28-37.
Glatz, T., Lippold, M.A., Jensen, T.M., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press) Hostile interactions in the family: What are the patterns and how are they linked to youth externalizing problems? Journal of Early Adolescence.
Lydon-Staley, D.M., Xia, M., Mak, H.W., & Fosco, G.M. (In Press). Adolescent Emotion Network Dynamics in Daily Life and Implications for Depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
Hochgraf, A., McHale, S., & Fosco, G.M. (In Press). Parent responsiveness and gender moderate bidirectional links between self-esteem and weight concerns during adolescence. Journal of Family Psychology.
In Print:
Jensen, T.W., Lippold, M.A., Mills-Koonce, R., & Fosco, G.M. (2018). Stepfamily Relationship Quality and Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems. Family Process, 57, 477-495.
Lippold, M.A., Glatz, T., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (2018). Parental Perceived Control and Social Support: Linkages to Change in Parenting Practices During Early Adolescence. Family Process, 57, 432-447.
Xia, M., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (2018). A Longitudinal Analysis of Family Influences on Young Adult Romantic Relationship Quality: Mediation through Interpersonal Skills. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 1499-1516.
Connell, A. M., Stormshak, E. A., Dishion, T.J., Fosco, G.M., & Van Ryzin, M. (2018). The Family Check-Up and adolescent depression: An examination of treatment responders and non-responders. Prevention Science (Supl 1), 16-26.
Fosco, G.M. & Feinberg, M.E. (2018). Interparental Conflict and Long-Term Adolescent Substance Use Trajectories: Examining Threat Appraisals as a Mechanism of Risk. Journal of Family Psychology, 32, 175-185.
Creavey, K. L., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M., & Fosco, G. M. (2018). Differential Effects of Family Stress Exposure and Harsh Parental Discipline on Child Social Competence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 483-493.
Mak, H.W., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (2018). The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 306-320.
Lippold, M.A., Hussong, A., Fosco, G. M., & Ram, N. (2018). Lability in the Parent's Hostility and Warmth Toward Their Adolescent: Linkages to Youth Delinquency and Substance Use. Developmental Psychology, 54, 348-361.
November, 2018: Congratulations to Terese Glatz! The POWER Lab is proud to collaborate with her recently accepted paper to the Journal of Early Adolescence!
Glatz, T., Lippold, M.A., Jensen, T.M., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press) Hostile interactions in the family: What are the patterns and how are they linked to youth externalizing problems? Journal of Early Adolescence.
August, 2018: Well, well, well! David Lydon-Staley's paper was accepted for publication in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. It is available online right now!
Lydon-Staley, D.M., Xia, M., Mak, H.W., & Fosco, G.M. Adolescent Emotion Network Dynamics in Daily Life and Implications for Depression
Better late than never? A few months back, Hio Wa (Grace) Mak received some media attention for her paper looking at parental rejection and adolescents peer relationships. Her work shines a spotlight on father rejection as particularly problematic for adolescent social development. Click the button below to see the news story, or find the article:
Mak, H. W., Fosco, G. M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2018). The role of family for youth friendships: Examining a social anxiety mechanism. Journal of youth and adolescence, 47, 306-320.
June 2018: Well, more good news for Mengya Xia! She has been named an Emerging Scholar by the Society for Research on Adolescence. Congratulations, Mengya!
May 2018: Mengya Xia's paper about understanding family factors in adolescence that predict the quality of their young adult romantic relationships was featured on Penn State Today! Click the button below to read more or find the article:
Xia, M., Fosco, G. M., Lippold, M. A., & Feinberg, M. E. (2018). A Developmental Perspective on Young Adult Romantic Relationships: Examining Family and Individual Factors in Adolescence. Journal of youth and adolescence, 47, 1499-1516.
We presented two talks:
Fosco, G.M., *Mayfield, K.T., & *Malloy, D.W. Examining the Impact of Family Functioning on Adolescent School-Day Functioning: A Daily Diary Study.
*Mak, H. W. & Fosco, G. M. The Role of Parents and Peers in Adolescent Emotion Socialization: Understanding Emotion Levels and Emotion Lability.
And a number of nice posters:
*Weymouth, B. B., Fosco, G.M., Bray, B. C., Feinberg, M. E. A Latent Profile Analysis of Co-Occurring Social Anxiety and Antisocial Behavior: Implications for Youth Substance Use Initiation.
Lippold, M.A., Hussong, A., Fosco, G.M., & Ram, N. Lability in Parents' Warmth and Hostility Are Associated With Youth Internalizing Problems.
*MacNeill, L. & Fosco, G.M. Temperament, Interparental Conflict, and Threat Appraisals Impact Daily Variations in Adolescent Anxiety: A Within-Family Model.
*Xia, M., Fosco, G.M., & Bray, B. C. Triadic Dance on a Daily Basis: Profiles of Mother-Father-Adolescent Triadic Relationship Forms and Dynamics.
*Hochgraf, A. K., McHale, S. M., & Fosco, G. M. Bidirectional Links between Self-Esteem and Weight Concerns in Adolescence and the Roles of Parent Responsiveness and Youth Gender.
*Mak, H. W. & Fosco, G. M. Daily Fluctuations in Parent-Adolescent Closeness, Peer Interactions, and Adolescents’ Daily Mood.
*Malloy, D, M., & Fosco, G. M. Parents’ Individual and Dyadic Predictors of Adolescent Triangulation into Conflict.
April 2018: Congratulations to Bridget Weymouth! She has recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Alabama. We're so excited for her!
March 2018: Mengya Xia's paper was accepted to the Journal of Youth and Adolescence! Look forward to it coming out in print:
Xia, M., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press). A Longitudinal Analysis of Family Influences on Young Adult Romantic Relationship Quality: Mediation through Interpersonal Skills. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
2017 POWER Lab Papers Accepted for Publication:
It looks like 2017 was a banner year for the Family POWER Lab! Check out the papers that have recently been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Weymouth, B.B., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press) Nurturant-Involved Parenting and Adolescent
Substance Misuse: Examining an Internalizing Pathway through Adolescent Social Anxiety
Symptoms and Substance Refusal Efficacy. Development and Psychopathology.
Fosco, G.M. & Lydon-Staley, D.M. (In Press). A Within-Family Examination of Interparental Conflict,
Cognitive Appraisals, and Adolescent Mood and Well-Being. Child Development.
Creavey, K.L., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M., & Fosco, G.M. (In Press). Differential Effects of Family Stress Exposure
and Harsh Parental Discipline on child Social Competence. Journal of Child and Family Studies.
Brinberg, M., Fosco, G.M., & Ram, N. (In Press). Examining Inter-Family Differences in Intra-Family
(Parent-Adolescent) Dynamics using Grid-Sequence Analysis. Journal of Family Psychology
Mak, H.W., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press). The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a
Social Anxiety Mechanism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Fosco, G.M. & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press). Interparental Conflict and Long-Term Adolescent Substance Use
Trajectories: Examining Threat Appraisals as a Mechanism of Risk. Journal of Family Psychology.
Lippold, M.A., Hussong, A., Fosco, G.M., & Ram, N. (In Press). Lability in the Parent's Hostility and Warmth
Toward Their Adolescent: Linkages to Youth Delinquency and Substance Use. Developmental
Psychology.
Lippold, M.A., Glatz, T., Fosco, G.M., & Feinberg, M.E. (In Press). Parental Perceived Control and Social
Support: Linkages to Change in Parenting Practices During Early Adolescence. Family Process.
Jensen, T.W., Lippold, M.A., Mills-Koonce, R., & Fosco, G.M. (In Press). Stepfamily Relationship Quality and
Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems. Family Process.
August, 2017: Some recognition of lab member accomplishments. The POWER Lab couldn't be happier for them!
Congratulations to Emily LoBraico and Hio Wa (Grace) Mak!
As of July 1, they have begun graduate training fellowships as part of the Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program. They will be joining Mengya Xia, another POWER Lab member in this program. Watch out for some compelling basic and intervention science to guide the prevention of adolescent substance use. This is a wonderful opportunity for them.
Congratulations to Keiana Mayfield!
Starting in August, Keiana begins a training fellowship as part of the Training Interdisciplinary Educational Scientists (TIES) program. She will be learning about the intersection of family and school contexts in understanding adolescent academic success. She joins lab affiliate Amanda Ramos in this fellowship program. What a great opportunity for interdisciplinary training.
Congratulations to David Lydon-Staley!
David Lydon-Staley successfully defended his doctoral dissertation July 12. He has been a graduate student working with Chuck Geier in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. But, in his spare time, David also contributed to the POWER Lab. He will soon begin a postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania soon. Keep in touch, David!
Click the titles of these posters to download a PDF:
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak: The Influence of Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality on Adolescents’ Romantic Attachment: the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem
Emily LoBraico: Coercion and Parent Disengagement Risk Processes in Adolescent Substance use: Considerations for the Role of Adolescent Aggression
Devin Malloy: School and Peer Protective Factors in the Effects of Interparental Conflict on Adolescent Threat Appraisals and Self-Efficacy
Keiana Mayfield: Examining the Influence of Interparental Dynamics on Parenting Behaviors and Adolescent Academic Outcomes
Amanda Ramos: Impact of Positive Marital Conflict Resolution on Youth Connectedness by Parenting Quality Over Time
Mengya Xia: What Makes Adolescents Feel Loved by Their Parents? Daily Dynamics Among Support, Conflict, and Relationship Quality
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak: The Influence of Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality on Adolescents’ Romantic Attachment: the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem
Emily LoBraico: Coercion and Parent Disengagement Risk Processes in Adolescent Substance use: Considerations for the Role of Adolescent Aggression
Devin Malloy: School and Peer Protective Factors in the Effects of Interparental Conflict on Adolescent Threat Appraisals and Self-Efficacy
Keiana Mayfield: Examining the Influence of Interparental Dynamics on Parenting Behaviors and Adolescent Academic Outcomes
Amanda Ramos: Impact of Positive Marital Conflict Resolution on Youth Connectedness by Parenting Quality Over Time
Mengya Xia: What Makes Adolescents Feel Loved by Their Parents? Daily Dynamics Among Support, Conflict, and Relationship Quality
We're excited to announce that our new book came out! Check it out on line at:
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Past Conferences
Presentations are listed by presenting author. If you want to see more, click the titles for the presentation, or publication (if it has since been published). Check them out!
2016:
Greg Fosco: Family Climate Contextual Effects on Adolescent Threat Appraisals: A Longitudinal Evaluation
Keiana Mayfield and Emily LoBraico presented: Examining the Social Consequences of Interparental Conflict: Pathways through Threat Appraisals and Social Anxiety
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak presented:
Family Influences on Successful Adolescent Peer Relationships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism
Mengya Xia presented two posters:
Examining the Intergenerational Links between Parent and Adolescent Self-Esteem: A Family Process Model
Profiles of Triadic Family Relationships: Predictors and Implications for Adolescent Friendship Quality
Greg Fosco: Family Climate Contextual Effects on Adolescent Threat Appraisals: A Longitudinal Evaluation
Keiana Mayfield and Emily LoBraico presented: Examining the Social Consequences of Interparental Conflict: Pathways through Threat Appraisals and Social Anxiety
Hio Wa (Grace) Mak presented:
Family Influences on Successful Adolescent Peer Relationships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism
Mengya Xia presented two posters:
Examining the Intergenerational Links between Parent and Adolescent Self-Esteem: A Family Process Model
Profiles of Triadic Family Relationships: Predictors and Implications for Adolescent Friendship Quality
SRCD 2015:
Greg Fosco: Cascading Effects of Interparental Conflict: Implications for Adolescent Substance Use
Mengya Xia: A Developmental Perspective on Emerging Adult Romantic Relationships: Family Effects through Adolescent Interpersonal Skills
Hio Wa Mak: Children’s Patterns of Emotion Regulation during Interparental Conflicts: Implications for Children’s Adjustment
Mengya Xia: Examining the Interplay between Family Climate, School Attachment, and Academic Self-Regulation: Implications for Academic Success
Greg Fosco: Cascading Effects of Interparental Conflict: Implications for Adolescent Substance Use
Mengya Xia: A Developmental Perspective on Emerging Adult Romantic Relationships: Family Effects through Adolescent Interpersonal Skills
Hio Wa Mak: Children’s Patterns of Emotion Regulation during Interparental Conflicts: Implications for Children’s Adjustment
Mengya Xia: Examining the Interplay between Family Climate, School Attachment, and Academic Self-Regulation: Implications for Academic Success
SRA 2014
Greg Fosco: Family Relationships and Adolescent Problem Behavior: A Reciprocal Influence Model Predicting Early Adult Romantic Relationship Competence and Violence.
Mengya Xia: Initial Investigation of Adolescent’s Schematic Representation of Interparental Conflict: Implications for Adolescent Outcomes
Greg Fosco: Family Relationships and Adolescent Problem Behavior: A Reciprocal Influence Model Predicting Early Adult Romantic Relationship Competence and Violence.
Mengya Xia: Initial Investigation of Adolescent’s Schematic Representation of Interparental Conflict: Implications for Adolescent Outcomes
SRCD 2013
Greg Fosco: Triangulation, Parent-Adolescent Hostility, and Adolescent-Parent Hostility: A Family Process Model for Adolescent Aggression Problems
Mengya Xia: Transmission of Relationship Dysfunction: Examining Mechanisms Linking Triangulation into Parental Discord and Adolescent Romantic Relationships
Mengya Xia: Transmission of Relationship Dysfunction: Examining Mechanisms Linking Triangulation into Parental Discord and Adolescent Romantic Relationships