Publications

The present study evaluated unstructured play with blocks as a method of understanding children's informal spatial skills to establish a link with direct cognitive assessment (e.g., formal spatial skills) in contrast to prior research using semi-structured paradigms. Participants were 110 socioeconomically diverse preschoolers (56% male, M age = 58 mos., range = 4 yrs. 1 mo.–6 yrs., 0 mos.) filmed in 55 dyads during play with wooden unit blocks. Children were coded for informal spatial skills using eight spatial configurations in block building (e.g., stacking, symmetry, tiers) and directly assessed on formal spatial skills with the Spatial Skills and Transformation Task (Levine et al., 1999). Block structure size was measured by area and volume. Informal and formal spatial skills were significantly related (b = .11, p = .011). Children with stronger informal (b = .42, p < .001) and formal (b = .99, p = .014) spatial skills built larger, more complex block structures. Findings suggest that prompting children to build large, spatially complex block structures may support broad spatial development.

Loneliness is a pervasive phenomenon among college students globally, which has been previously explored in qualitative research. "Friendsickness," focused on the preoccupation with lost or changed pre-college friendships, is linked to heightened social concerns, discrepancies between expectations and experiences, and loneliness in college (Paul & Brier, 2001). Additionally, pre-college romantic and familial relationships can impact first-year college students' social adjustment and loneliness levels (Calderon Leon et al., 2022; Paul et al., 1998). Guided by social constructivist theory, this phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of eight undergraduate students at a small liberal arts college in the Northeast United States. This study involved conducting semi-structured interviews to examine the participants' experiences with loneliness, the impact on pre-college relationships, and successes and challenges in forming and maintaining relationships during their transition. Our results reveal that loneliness is a significant issue among first-year students, impacting their emotional and social adjustment and, occasionally, their psychological and physical well-being. Loneliness often stems from the inability to balance maintaining pre-existing relationships and forming new ones, compounded by isolation and roommate conflicts. However, many students succeed in finding connections through shared interests or co-rumination, as well as in strengthening family bonds. Through a social constructivist lens, these experiences reflect the tension between maintaining pre-existing values and relationships while adapting to new social and cultural expectations in higher education. Therefore, loneliness can result from identities and connections being heavily negotiated during the transition to college.

In what ways do students struggle with their bodies on college campuses? For most, the immediate struggle that comes to mind is eating disorders, and with good reason: Recent data estimates that 28% of college students are at eating disorder risk (Daly & Costigan, 2022). However, one struggle that is often overlooked is that faced by students with larger bodies. What do you do when the desk in the classroom is too small to maneuver your body into? Do you feel like you belong on campus when the collegiate apparel in the bookstore only goes up to a size XL? And that's nothing to say of the regular negative judgment that higher weight people receive everywhere, on and off campus alike. Whether eating disorders, weight stigma, body image concerns, or more, bodies occupy a considerable amount of college students' attention.

Loneliness is not just a phenomenon observed in clinical practice but is a core issue in the study of mental disorders more broadly — psychopathology. Loneliness is the key to the study of all mental disorders as many have shown significant relation to loneliness either as a risk factor for developing or maintaining the disorder, or as a co-occurring condition of the disorder. In other words, loneliness is both a cause and a consequence of mental illness. Specifically, this review explores the relationships of loneliness in cognitive disorders (Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder), social disorders (social anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and reactive attachment disorder), and personality disorders (avoidant personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder). Overall, loneliness is an under-researched concept, yet it plays a nucleus role in many psychological disorders. Recognizing the role of loneliness within psychopathology is crucial for improving diagnostic accuracy, as well as developing more precise clinical interventions and treatment strategies.

The cliché of a college student surviving off ramen noodles sheds light on a deeper issue — high rates of food insecurity among undergraduate college/university students in the United States. There have been countless studies in recent years exploring the hidden causes of why an estimated 40% of students experience food insecurity as of 2022. These studies conclude three main reoccurring factors causing these high rates: costs, accessibility, and demographic characteristics. Food insecurity rates are important for higher education officials to address due to the countless physical and mental health, academic, and equity implications for the students.