Project Mentor

Dr. Damion Grasso 
Department of Psychiatry

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description

Project Description	The summer research experience in the Family Adversity & Resilience Research (FARR) program involves two large studies funded by the National Institute of Health. The first is the Adaptation & Resilience in Childhood Study (ARCS), which seeks to understand what factors help to determine the link between early exposure to family violence and developing psychopathology in children ages 4-6. Activities related to this study include (1) facilitating in-person laboratory visits with families (e.g., conducting electroencephalograms, managing data acquisition, recording parent-child interactions), (2) assisting with participant correspondence, (3) laboratory visit preparation, and (4) recruitment efforts in the field. The second study is the Parenting Infants in the Pandemic Study (PIPS), which seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on families who gave birth during the pandemic. This study involves an online survey and a remote interview where we will be conducting an interview, facilitating a parent-infant observation, and collecting DNA via a home kit. Students on this study will likely assist with participant correspondence, data management, remote visit preparation, and recruitment. Link to these research studies from our FARR page: h.uconn.edu/farr
Project Direction	The UConn Health Family Adversity and Resilience Research (FARR) program is led by child psychologists, Margaret Briggs-Gowan, Damion Grasso, and Carolyn Greene. At FARR, we are conducting studies to help us learn ways to promote healthy development in children who have experienced stressful life events and other kinds of adversity. Many children have stressful or challenging experiences while growing up, such as family conflict or violence, community violence, or other stressful experiences like car accidents or medical emergencies. These experiences can have a negative impact on children’s development. Some children have problems with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, or behavior problems. Other children do well even after these kinds of experiences. The FARR program is working to identify social and biological factors that influence children’s development and behavior. We hope that what we learn will be used to develop better interventions for reducing risk and building resilience. The FARR program is designed to be comfortable for families with young children as well as older children. We use child-friendly activities that are tailored to each child’s age to learn about their development and behavior.
Mentorship and Supervision	Students will receive training and guidance from several members of the research team. Students will meet at least once per week with me and will be expected to keep a record of time commitments and duties performed each week.
Student Qualifications	Undergraduate students who have taken courses in psychology, social work, or a related field and who are in excellent academic standing. Prior research experience is helpful, but not mandatory. Fluency in Spanish is desired, but also not required.
Summer Schedule Options	Research Dates: May 23 to July 29, 2022 Schedule: M-F, 9am-5:00pm** Research visits with families typically occur after work hours and on weekends. Students interested in this position should have a flexible schedule and be prepared to avail themselves for some weekend hours. Non-visit activities typically occur within normal work hours (9-5).
Project Continuation	Fall 2022, Spring 2023
Academic Year Time Commitment	9 hours/week
Possible Thesis Project	Yes

Application

Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP22-13. The application deadline is Monday, January 31, 2022.

This application requires a cover letter, a resume or CV, an unofficial transcript, a brief statement of research interests, and a brief statement of career interests. References required.