Current Projects
Our Current Projects
Book Project on Emotional Socialization in Children and Adolescents
Along with colleague Janice Zeman, Ph.D., from the College of William and Mary, Dr. Erdley is
currently co-editing a book entitled, Emotion Socialization in Children and Adolescents: The
Importance of Family and Peer Relationships. This volume will be published by Routledge
(anticipated Spring, 2027) as part of their International Handbook Series. This book will be a
valuable resource that gathers the relevant empirical knowledge about the ways in which
parents and friends socialize youth’s emotions and the linkages of emotion socialization to
psychological, social, and emotional functioning. Importantly, the role of gender, culture, race,
and ethnicity will also be considered, given that emotion socialization processes are sensitive to
the norms and values about emotional expressivity inherent in these aspects of identity.
In addition to serving as the editor for this volume, Dr. Erdley, with graduate student co-authors
Daniella Gelman and Kathleen Duncan, will be contributing a chapter, “Developmental Changes
in Youth’s Close Peer Relationships and Their Relations to Emotion.” This chapter will cover key
developmental aspects and functions of children’s and adolescents’ close peer relationships
(i.e., friendships, romantic relationships). Topics will include changes in intimacy and disclosure,
as well as the increasing value and importance of friendships and romantic relationships during
adolescence.
Social Network Measurement Development, Utility, and Validity
Principal Investigator:
Kathleen Duncan, MSc., MA
Co-Investigators:
Daniella Gelman, MA.
Cynthia Erdley, Ph.D. (and faculty sponsor)
Description:
The overall aim of the proposed set of three studies is to further develop and then evaluate a self-report measure of social network size and diversity for college students. This program of research builds upon preliminary work undertaken by The Peer Relations and Adjustment Lab to adapt the Cohen Social Network Index into the Duncan Index of Social Connection (DISC) for college students. It seeks to establish a measure with good evidence for utility, including readability, time to complete, administration ease, scoring ease, feasibility, acceptability, relevance, and treatment planning assistance. Evidence for face and construct validity will also be sought through engagement with college students and field experts. Three central aims will be worked towards: (1) Refining the DISC in consultation with students via focus groups to maximize utility, face-validity, and accuracy; (2) Refining the DISC in consultation with field experts via a survey to maximize utility, expert validity, and accuracy; (3) Gathering confirmatory evidence of the utility, validity, and accuracy of the Revised DISC by administering it, along with other relevant measures, to a large sample of college-students, (4) Investigating the accuracy of the measure, (5) Testing the predictive validity of the measure in line with Social Cognition theory.
Coming in the fall of 2025: The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Relation between Adverse Experiences and Well-Being
Principal Investigator:
Daniella Gelman, MA.
Co-Investigators:
Kathleen Duncan, MSc., MA
Cynthia Erdley, Ph.D. (and faculty sponsor)