Research Interests: |
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Marissa Diener is a developmental psychologist interested in individual differences in socio-emotional development in children. Her approach assumes that in order to understand children's development, one needs to examine child characteristics (e.g., temperament, age), as well as parents' behavior and characteristics (e.g., personality, social support), the quality of parent-child relationships, and the socio-cultural context in which they are embedded. Her research combines behavioral observations with self-report and informant reports.
Specifically, she is interested in the antecedents of parent-child relationships, the development of emotion regulation, and parenting processes in diverse populations and cultures. For example, a recent study examined the maternal, child and contextual correlates of mother-child attachment security in a diverse sample of low income families. Another study examined the associations between father-infant attachment quality and infants' emotion regulation strategies. She is currently examining the relationships among parents' marital interactions, children's emotion regulation strategies and relationships with mothers and fathers, and children's social competence. |
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Selected Publications: |
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Diener, M.L., Isabella, R. A., Behunin, M. G., & Wong, M. S. (2007). Attachment to Mothers and Fathers during Middle Childhood: Associations with Child Gender, Age, and Competence. Social Development.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S., Diener, M., Mangelsdorf, C, Brown, G., McHale, J., & Frosch, C. (2006). Attachment and sensitivity in family context: The roles of parent and infant gender. Infant and Child Development , 15, 367-385.
Diener, M. & Lucas, R. (2004). Desires for children’s emotions across 48 countries: Associations with Gender, Emotional Experience, Norms for Emotions, and Characteristics of Nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 525-547.
Diener, M., & Kim, D. Y. (2004). Maternal and Child Predictors of Children’s Social Competence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 3-24.
Diener, M., Wright, C., Julian, J., & Byington, C. (2003). A pediatric literacy education program for low socioeconomic, culturally diverse families. Journal of Research in Childhood Education.
Diener, M., Nievar, C., Wright, C. (2003). Correlates of attachment security among low socioeconomic, culturally diverse families: Maternal, child, and contextual characteristics. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 49, 254-282.
Diener, M., Mangelsdorf, C., McHale, J., & Frosch, C. (2002). Infants' behavioral strategies for emotion regulation with fathers and mothers: Associations with emotional expressions and attachment quality. Infancy, 5, 151-172.
Mangelsdorf, C., McHale, J., Diener, M., Goldstein, L., & Lehn, L. (2000). Mother-infant attachment quality: Contributions of infant temperament and maternal personality. Infant Behavior and Development, Vol. 23.
Cole, W., Diener, M., Wright, C., & Gaynard, L. (2001). Health care professionals' perceptions of child life specialists. Children's Health Care, 30, 1-15.
Diener, M. (2000). Gift from the gods: A Balinese guide to early child rearing. In J. DeLoache & A. Gottlieb (Eds.), A World of Babies: Imagined Childcare Guides for Seven Societies (p. 91-116). Cambridge University Press.
Wright, C., Diener, M., & Kay, S. (2000). School readiness of low-income children at risk for school failure. Journal of Children and Poverty, 6, 99-117.
Diener, M. & Mangelsdorf, S. (1999). Behavioral Strategies for Emotion Regulation in Toddlers: Associations with Maternal Involvement and Emotional Expressions. Infant Behavior and Development, 22, 569-583.
Contreras, J., Mangelsdorf, S., Rhodes, J., Diener, M., & Brunson, L. (1999). Parenting Competence Among Latina Adolescent Mothers: The Role of Family and Social Support. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9, 417-439.
Goldstein, L. H., Diener, M. L., & Mangelsdorf, S. C. (1996). Maternal characteristics and social support across the transition to motherhood: Associations with maternal behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 60-71.
Diener, M., Goldstein, L. H., & Mangelsdorf, S. (1995). The role of prenatal expectations in parental reports of infant temperament. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 41, 172-190. |
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Teaching Interests: |
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Marissa teaches courses on parent-child relationships, child development from infancy through childhood, research methods, and theories of development. Her classes include a variety of formats, including lectures and discussions, class demonstrations and small group projects. She encourages students to apply course material to real-life issues. Her course on child development is taught as a service learning course. Students in this course volunteer at agencies in the community that work with at-risk children, providing service to needy children, and applying course material to interaction with and observations of real children. Her course on theories of human development is a writing/communication intensive course. |
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Courses Taught: |
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FCS 3200-1: Research Methods
FCS 3215/PSYCH 3215: Development in Infancy & Childhood
FCS 3270: Parent-Child Relationships
FCS 5250: Theories of Human Development
FCS 5962: Maximizing Human Potential (with Cheryl Wright) |
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Research Interests: |
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parent-child relationships
children's socioemotional development
family interaction |
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Service Interests: |
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promoting early literacy in at-risk children
educational programs for parents |
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FCS 5962 Maximizing Human Potential |
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Readings Summer 2008
Emotional Intelligence Powerpoint
Rathunde powerpoint 1
Rathunde powerpoint 2
Rathunde powerpoint 3
Scott powerpoint
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Current Course Descriptions and Syllabi: - FCS 3215 - Development In Infancy & Early Childhood - Fall '06
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