MSU Human Development and Family Studies members published and received awards and recognition September 2025

Awards/Recognitions

Deja Young won the 2025 Intervention Research in Systemic Family Therapy Conference Student Poster Competition! Her poster, “Emotion as Legacy: Theoretical Insights into Parent-Emerging Adult Relationships in African American Families” presented important theoretical insights into understanding emotional processes in African American families and represents the work she is currently undertaking for her dissertation.

The American Psychological Association (APA) awarded Dr. Deborah Johnson with the APA Fellow distinction with Divisions 7 (Developmental Psychology) and 45 (Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race), an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology.

Undergraduate HDFS major Jessica Arvizu was selected for MSU’s 2025 Homecoming Court.

Dr. Andrea Wittenborn was invited to serve on the Theoretical Psychology Task Force at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, Netherlands. The Task Force was assembled to create a subfield of theoretical psychology to improve theory construction, theoretical modeling, clinical assessment, and clinical intervention.

Publications

Dr. Megan Maas published her research, “Sexual Misconduct Policies in Secondary Schools: A Mixed-Method Analysis of In-Person and Online Behaviors and Consequences” in the Journal of School Health. 

Hamed Fatahian-Tehran published his research, “Empathic Conjectures in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT): A Process Microanalytic Study” in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT).

Drs. Adrian Blow, Andrea Wittenborn, Chi-Fang Tseng, and Jennifer White VanBoxel published, “The Efficacy of the Hold Me Tight Relationship Education Program Delivered by Paraprofessionals in South Africa,” and “Training Paraprofessionals to Implement Hold Me Tight in South Africa: Outcomes and Experiences,” in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT).

Drs. Caitlin Edwards and Andrea Wittenborn published, “’Be Open to All Those Ways That People Can Live Their Lives:’ LGBTQ+ Client Recommendations for Adapting Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy,” in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT).