Ongoing Research Projects
The Counseling Psychology Program has a strong research orientation. Graduate students in counseling psychology benefit from a variety of faculty research programs as well as the Center for Interest Measurement Research (CIMR) and the Vocational Assessment Clinic (VAC).
Research of Professor Jo-Ida Hansen
Center for Interest Measurement Research – The Center for Interest Measurement Research (CIMR), directed by Dr. Hansen, functions as a research office dedicated to the accumulation of new knowledge in the field of vocational interest measurement, to the development of materials that make practical use of this knowledge, and to the provision of graduate student and professional education. CIMR is regarded as a major center for vocational interest research and serves as a point of focus and as a clearinghouse for other researchers in the field both nationally and internationally. The Center also houses archival data on the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) that date back over a period of 75-80 years. Currently, the archives consist of interest data on hundreds of thousands of people who have taken the Strong Interest Inventory (SII), making this the most massive developmental data bank on the SII available in the world.
Current CIMR projects include examinations of (a) the relationship of leisure interests to other psychological constructs (e.g., values, personality, self-assessed disabilities), (b) the relationship of leisure interests to the psychological well-being of retirees, (c) the role that moderators may play in estimation of the relationship between interests and work satisfaction and job performance, (d) the role of work commitment at mid-career, (e) the relationship between career interests, personality and temperament, (f) the relationship between volunteerism and interests, values and personality, and (g) the structure of leisure interests for college students, people at middle age, and older adults.
The E.K. Strong, Jr. Memorial Fellowship, a competitive award intended to support graduate student projects in the field of interest measurement, is administered through the Center. In addition, two Fellowships (Jo-Ida C. Hansen Dissertation Research Fellowship Fund, Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Assistantship/Fellowship Fund) have been established to support graduate student research in the area of vocational and leisure interest measurement, career development, and occupational health psychology. The Renè Dawis/Lloyd Lofquist Fellowship Fund, established by Dr. David Weiss, is another source of funding for graduate students working in the area of vocational psychology.
Vocational Assessment Clinic (VAC) – VAC is a career counseling clinic staffed by graduate students in counseling psychology that provides comprehensive assessment, test interpretation, and planning services for individuals who want to learn more about their vocational potential. The assessment includes the measurement of important aspects of an individual’s work personality, work related abilities and needs, and vocational interests as well as biographical and work history information. Counseling Psychology Ph.D. students often complete advanced practicum with VAC in their third or fourth year of graduate school. The client data, along with longitudinal follow-up data for each person who visits the clinic, are available to graduate students for research projects related to work adjustment and career decision-making.
Research of Professor Patricia Frazier
Coping with Stressful Life Events – One major focus of this research is to identify factors associated with adjustment to stressful or traumatic life events, drawing heavily on social psychological research and theory. Much of this research has focused on violence against women (i.e., sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence), although projects also have examined coping with other kinds of stressors (e.g., bereavement, terrorism, chronic medical conditions, and relationship breakups). One current project is a 5-year longitudinal study of factors related to postrape recovery among women who reported to one of several local emergency rooms. The primary purpose of this study is to test a theoretical model of the relations among attributions, perceived control, and coping strategies and both the negative (e.g., PTSD) and potentially positive (e.g., posttraumatic growth) consequences of trauma. In data collected from a random sample of 900 women in the Twin Cities area regarding traumatic life events, faculty and students also are investigating some more general issues regarding coping processes, such as differences in the correlates of recovery across events (e.g., sexual assault versus bereavement); the role of religion in coping with traumatic life events; and the relationships among personality, coping, and traumatic events.
Interpersonal Relationships – One aspect of this research focuses on relational events as stressors (e.g., breakups, infidelity) and investigates factors associated with distress and growth. Another aspect of the research explores such issues as the extent to which significant others are affected by their partner's traumas and the ways in which their coping processes affect the partner's adjustment.
Posttraumatic Growth – To more fully understand the impact of trauma, research projects have examined the positive changes that can occur in people’s lives following a trauma, such as greater appreciation of life. Research in this area uses multiple methods and both clinical and community samples to address issues of theoretical and clinical importance, including the course and predictors of posttraumatic growth.
Research of Professor Richard Lee
Measurement and Relevance of Social Connectedness to Mental Health and Well-Being – This research draws upon theories of the self to understand the psychological importance of a sense of connectedness and belonging in life. Past and current studies examine the importance of social connectedness in life transitions, community involvement, coping and well-being, and the counseling process.
Acculturation and Ethnic Identity Development in Asian American Communities – This research investigates the measurement of acculturation and ethnic identity and the relevance of these culture-specific constructs to mental health and well-being. One line of research examines the frequency and impact of parent-child acculturation conflicts among late adolescent and young adult Asian Americans with a specific focus on the coping strategies that help moderate the negative effects of family conflict. Another line of research examines the mediator/moderator role of ethnic identity in the relationship between perceived discrimination and adjustment.
International Adoption – A series of on-going studies examine the cultural socialization experiences and psychological adjustment of internationally adopted children and their families. Particular attention is paid to families with children adopted from South Korea. These studies are conducted in collaboration with the International Adoption Project (directed by Dr. Megan Gunnar in the Institute of Child Development) and the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (directed by Dr. Matthew McGue in Psychology).