My name is Madeline Klotz (she/her/hers) and I am currently a doctoral student in Human Development and Family Studies, with a concentration in Child Development. I work with Dr. Ryan P. Bowles. My program of research focuses on how to reduce risk and bolster resilience by identifying and promoting protective factors for children and families facing adversity. I am interested in understanding how early experiences of maltreatment affect relationships with a resilience-based lens of promoting healthy development in young children, including by reducing stress and supporting the psychosocial wellbeing of caregivers. Given the importance of relationships for children’s development, I am interested in further understanding what aspects of relationships (or relational quality) might buffer experiences of trauma, and the intergenerational effects thereof. Additionally, I am interested in the development and promotion of empathy and self-concept in childhood and early adolescence.

Prior to joining the ELLI and CHILD labs at MSU, I was the Research Coordinator at the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at the Yale Child Study Center. I graduated summa cum laude from State University of New York, College at Geneseo with a dual B.A. in Psychology and Sociology. 

Updated Spring 2023