Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York, 2005 Assistant Professor Member, Community Psychology Program Member, Developmental Psychology Program Faculty, Partnership for Urban Health Research srweaver@gsu.edu 404-413-6278 1108 Urban Life

Research Interests

My research, focusing on ethnic minority, immigrant, and economically disadvantaged children and families, entails integrating various perspectives (e.g., developmental, ecocultural, community-clinical, and prevention science) to better understand and reduce health disparities among these populations.

Much of my research has focused on identifying and testing viable, theory-informed ecological models of adolescent psychosocial development within ethnic populations and examining the cultural specificity or universality of these models across ethnic/cultural populations. In an effort to better understand how some adolescents appear stress-resilient, whereas others develop psychosocial difficulties, I study family, parent and adolescent factors that may protect adolescents from the impact of contextual adversity. A major aim of this research is to develop an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that account for health disparities in psychological and behavioral illness, academic achievement, and resiliency, with an emphasis on research that can be translated into the development of culturally-sensitive, preventive interventions for these populations.

Recently, I have become involved in research focused on the effects and interactions of community and family contexts on the development of children of immigrant families. In order to adequately address important, contemporary research questions in my areas of research interests, sophisticated methodological and statistical methods often are needed. As such, I have a strong interest in the application, development, and dissemination of research and statistical methodologies germane to my substantive research areas. Statistical models for evaluating hypotheses of change, mediation and moderation, measurement invariance, population heterogeneity, multi-level influences, and intervention impact are of notable interest to me.

Representative Publications

Little, M., Weaver, S. R., King, K., Liu, F., & Chassin, L. (in press). Historical change in the link between adolescent deviance proneness and marijuana use, 1979-2004. Prevention Science.

Weaver, S. R. , & Kim, S. Y. (in press). A person-centered approach to studying the linkage among parent-child differences in cultural orientation, supportive parenting, and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese American families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Bowman, M. A., Prelow, H. M., Weaver, S. R. (2007). Parenting behaviors, association with deviant peers, and delinquency in African American adolescents: A mediated-moderation model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 517-527.

Prelow, H. M., Bowman, M. A., & Weaver, S. R. (2007). Predictors of psychosocial adjustment for urban African American and European American youth: The role of ecological factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36 , 543-553.

Fuse, T., Forsyth, J. P., Gallup, G., Marx, B., & Weaver, S. R. (2007). Factor structure of the tonic immobility scale in female survivors of sexual assault: An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 265-283.

Prelow, H. M., Weaver, S. R. , & Swenson, R. (2006). Competence, self-esteem, and coping efficacy as mediators of ecological risk and adjustment in urban African American and European American youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 507-517.

Weaver, S. R. , & Prelow, H. M. (2005). A mediated-moderation model of maternal parenting style, association with deviant peers, and problem behaviors in urban African American and European American adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 14, 343-356.

Prelow, H. M., Weaver, S. R., Swenson, R. R., & Bowman, M. A. (2005). A preliminary investigation of the validity and reliability of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 in economically disadvantaged Latina American mothers. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 139-155.