My research examines how parents and children are shaped by their environments. I explore how children and family processes are associated with community characteristics, their social networks, and their personal characteristics. Inspired by principles of social justice, I often focus on the experiences of groups of people who are marginalized by society, such as families of color, teenaged mothers and fathers, and children in foster care. I explore resilience and strength in these populations rather than necessarily assuming deficits. Using this ecological perspective, my research studies have examined the lives of children through college-aged youth.
You can download my complete vita here. Some examples of my work related to this line of research include:
Miller, C. E., & Meyers, S. A. (2015). Disparities in school discipline practices for students with emotional and learning disabilities and autism. Journal of Education and Human Development, 4(1), 255-267. [Select to download]
Slattery, T. L., & Meyers, S. A. (2014). Contextual predictors of adolescent antisocial behavior: The developmental influence of family, peer, and neighborhood factors. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 31, 39-59. [Select to download]
Prusko, M., Serrano, L., Ross, K., Carroll, E., Rutkowski, B., & Meyers, S. A. (2010). Youth violence in Chicago: An intimate look. Chicago: Initiative for Child and Family Studies, Roosevelt University. [Select to preview/purchase information]
Meyers, S. A., & Miller, C. (2004). Direct, mediated, moderated, and cumulative relations between neighborhood characteristics and adolescent outcomes. Adolescence, 39, 121-144. [Select to download]
Johnson-Garner, M. Y., & Meyers, S. A. (2003). What factors contribute to the resilience of African American children in kinship care? Child and Youth Care Forum, 32, 255-269. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., & Battistoni, J. (2003). Proximal and distal correlates of adolescent mothers’ parenting attitudes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 33-49. [Select to download]
McGovern, J. M., & Meyers, S. A. (2002). Relationships between sex-role attitudes, division of household tasks, and marital adjustment. Contemporary Family Therapy, 24, 601-618. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., Varkey, S., & Aguirre, A. M. (2002). Ecological correlates of family functioning. American Journal of Family Therapy, 30, 257-273. [Select to download]
Winstanley, M. R., Meyers, S. A., & Florsheim, P. (2002). Psychosocial correlates of intimacy achievement among adolescent fathers-to-be. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 91-100. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., & Landsberger, S. A. (2002). Direct and indirect pathways between adult attachment style and marital satisfaction. Personal Relationships, 9, 159-172. [Select to download]
Fishman, E. A., & Meyers, S. A. (2000). Marital satisfaction and child adjustment: Direct and indirect pathways. Contemporary Family Therapy, 22, 437-452. [Select to download]
Suleman, M. J., & Meyers, S. A. (1999). Associations between custody arrangements and parent-child involvement following divorce. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 32, 31-46. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (1999). Mothering in context: Ecological determinants of parent behavior. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 332-357. [Select to download]
Second Line of Research
My second line of research focuses on effective college teaching, how current and future faculty can innovate their practice, and college students’ well-being. I have explored topics such as the conflict in college classrooms, how graduate teaching assistants are educated for their responsibilities, how to use case studies in psychology courses, and ways to promote students’ participation in group activities. Some examples of my writings in this area are listed below.
In addition, I was asked to write a teaching autobiography for an edited volume profiling psychology faculty members whose teaching has earned recognition. Use this link to read this chapter.
Rischall, E., & Meyers, S. A. (2019). Conflicting cultural pressures and the adjustment of Latino college students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 18, 343-356 [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2017). Using childhood memories to demonstrate principles of qualitative research. In W. E. Addison & J. R. Stowell (Eds.), Activities for teaching statistics and research methods in psychology (pp. 119-122). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Select to download]
Adams, D. R., Meyers, S. A., & Beidas, R. S. (2016). The relationship between financial strain, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, and academic and social integration in undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 64, 362-370. [Select to download]
Richmond, A. S., Boysen, G. A., Gurung, R. A. R., Tazeau, Y. N., Meyers, S. A., & Sciutto, M. J. (2014). Aspirational model teaching criteria for psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 41, 281-295. [Select to download]
Torres-Harding, S. R., & Meyers, S. A. (2013). Teaching for social justice and action. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 41, 213-219. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2012). Creating effective working relationships between faculty and graduate teaching assistants. In W. Buskist & V. A. Benassi (Eds.), Effective college and university teaching: Strategies and tactics for the new professoriate (pp. 9-16). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2010). Service learning as an opportunity for personal and social transformation. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21, 373-381. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2009). Do your students care whether you care about them? College Teaching, 57, 205-210. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2008). Using transformative pedagogy when teaching online. College Teaching, 56, 219-224. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A. (2007). Putting social justice into practice in psychology courses. APS Observer, 20(9), 45-48. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., Bender, J., Hill, E. K., & Thomas, S. Y. (2006). How do faculty experience and respond to classroom conflict? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 18, 180-187. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., Lansu, M. L., Hundal, J. S., Lekkos, S. K., & Prieto, L. R. (2006). Preparing new psychology instructors to teach undergraduates: Developing competence and confidence. Journal of Faculty Development, 21, 169-178. [Select to download]
Wimer, D. J., Prieto, L. R., & Meyers, S. A. (2004). To train or not to train; that is the question. In W. Buskist, B. C. Beins, & V. W. Hevern (Eds.), Preparing the new psychology professoriate: Helping graduate students become competent teachers (pp. 2-9). Syracuse, NY: Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Retrievable from: http://teachpsych.org/resources/e-books/pnpp/html/pnpp01.html
Meyers, S. A. (2003). Strategies to prevent and reduce conflict in college classrooms. College Teaching, 51, 94-98. [Select to download]
Kvaal, S. A., & Meyers, S. A. (2003). Who is teaching psychology? Availability of gender and ethnically diverse mentors. Teaching of Psychology, 30, 321-323. [Select to download]
Prieto, L. R., & Meyers, S. A. (Eds.). (2001). The teaching assistant training handbook: How to prepare TAs for their responsibilities. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press. [Select to read an excerpt]
Meyers, S. A., & Prieto, L. R. (2000). Training in the teaching of psychology: What is done and examining the differences. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 258-261. [Select to download]
Meyers, S. A., & Prieto, L. R. (2000). Using active learning to improve the training of psychology teaching assistants. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 283-284.
Meyers, S. A. (1997). Increasing student participation and productivity in small group activities for psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 24, 105-115. [Select to download]