Research Opportunities

This is an ongoing project. New research assistants will be recruited regularly.

The Sibling Experiences with Early Development Study (SEEDS) is a multi-informant, multi-method study on the impacts of birth order on early development. Research assistants engage in cleaning data from parent surveys, conducting tasks with the children in the preschool, and coding observational videos regarding language development.

Couples With Diabetes is researching how young adults couples manage Type 1 Diabetes together.

This is an ongoing project. New research assistants will be recruited yearly.

The overarching goal of this project is to understand how couples change during couple therapy. We use couples’ responses to questionnaires that are administered throughout therapy as part of the Marriage and Family Therapy Process Research Network and/or video recordings from sessions of therapy to examine processes of interest. Each year we examine a different aspect of the change process. This opportunity is particularly useful for students interested in pursuing graduate training as a marriage and family therapist.

Dr. LeBaron-Black is looking for students who are excited about family finance research and enjoy writing to join her research team! She is primarily recruiting students to write articles for her website--check it out at lebaron-black.com. You would "translate" the research findings from long, complicated papers into jargon-free, easy-to-apply articles for non-academics.

This project explores parent-child sex communication as it relates to children and adolescents’ development of healthy sexuality. The project also focuses on adults’ healthy sexuality within committed relationships. We have cross-sectional pilot and measurement data, and in the Fall of 2019 plan to begin gathering longitudinal data to explore how healthy sexuality is socialized and develops over time.

The MFT-PRN an Internet-based assessment system that can be used by MFTs and other systemically-oriented therapists across the country and the world. The system is designed so that the receptionist or therapist works with clients to complete the assessments before each therapy session. When the client checks in with the receptionist or other person designated by the clinic, the receptionist will enter their name in the PRN website (if it is the first session) or pull-up the client by their initials (if it is an established client). The receptionist will then scan the QR code that automatically pops up using an iPad or other electronic tablets (if preferred a computer could also be used). The appropriate assessment measures will then automatically be loaded, and the clients will complete the assessments. Once they are finished, the attending therapist will then instantaneously receive a clinical report of the clients’ assessments, and the responses will be automatically stored on a secure server. Data from all clients using the PNR are to BYU for use in publications and presentations.

An examination at how siblings influence one another in reaching important markers of adulthood. RAs should prepare by taking SFL 290 & STATS 121 (preferred).

The American Families of Faith research project is a national research project involving in-depth, qualitative interviews with nearly 300 religious couple and families (500+ individuals) from all eight regions of the United States. We interview "exemplary" families with strong marriages and learn how they have overcome challenges in life, marriage, and parenting--and how their faith has helped them do so.