The Health & Development Lab
Health psychology is changing, along with the pattern of our lives. In addition to health disparities that shape our health and well-being, we are now living longer, and the leading causes of death have changed. More adults, are living with chronic illness.
In the HDL we consider how the factors that influence health and illness vary across the human lifespan, including both historical, sociocultural, and individual changes over time. Theoretically, our research is grounded in both a developmental perspective and the biopsychosocial model. This interdisciplinary view is important to understanding both developmental and health outcomes and how they may vary and change over the course of a lifetime.
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Please check out the pages linked here to learn about the three different foci of the Health and Development lab.
Do you ever wonder the factors that influence your relationship with your body?
Have you ever thought about the factors that influence your relationship with food?
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Check out our research studies on the psychosocial influences on compulsive exercise, intuitive eating, and risks for eating disorders.
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Are you a playful person?
How does it feel when you are playful?
Does being playful enhance your life and help you cope with challenging situations?
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Check out our research studies exploring the role of play across adulthood.
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Have you ever wondered how you can better achieve your goals?
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Do you self-reflect on strategies to help you succeed
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How much control do you believe you have over outcomes you strive for?
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Check out our research on how possible selves, metacognition, and agency lead to better self-regulation.
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Disability Identity Project
“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”
– Michael J. Fox
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One in four individuals in the U.S. are diagnosed with a disability and this may be an underestimate because many people do not get diagnosed.
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This project examines the psychosocial factors that may influence disability identity integration, whether identifying with disability relates to mental and physical outcomes and thow disability comes to be articulated and internalized in one’s sense of self.
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