Christine McCauley Ohannessian, Ph.D.

Interests

Broadly, I am interested in psychological health during adolescence and emerging adulthood. My research focuses on maladaptive family environments (e.g., parental substance abuse) and psychosocial adjustment (e.g., especially as indicated by internalizing disorders, substance abuse, and social media use). I am particularly interested in variables that moderate that relationship to address the question of why some adolescents from dysfunctional family environments turn out to be well adjusted, whereas others do not. Another area of my research focuses on individual vulnerability factors (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) and contextual factors (family, peers, and school) associated with gender differences in psychological problems during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Education

B.A., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

M.S., Department of Human Development and Family Studes, Penn State University

Ph.D., Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University

Post-Doc, Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Publications and Other Scholarly Activities

Previously was a faculty member in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Delaware, the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and the Department of Kinesiology & Health Education at the University of Texas in Austin.

Published in top tier disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals including:
Developmental Psychology, Development and Psychopathology, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Journal of Affective Disorders, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Early Adolescence, and Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

*For publications, please refer to my CV.

Courses taught include adolescent development, research methods, and substance use and abuse.

Accomplishments

Proud to admit…

• Currently serves as Editor for the research journal Emerging Adulthood.
• Served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Early Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood, and as Field Editor for the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
• Longitudinal research projects focusing on adolescents, emerging adults, and their families –
  • The Adolescent Adjustment Project (adolescentadjustmentproject.org)
  • PANDA Project (pandaresearchproject.org)
  • BALANCE Project (balanceresearchproject.org)
• Featured in/on TIME magazine, Parade magazine, Vice Media, Yahoo!life, NBC news, and the American Psychological Association.