Lauree Tilton-Weaver

About Lauree Tilton-Weaver

Background:

I am a lifespan developmental psychologist, specializing in the adjustment and development of adolescents. As a social scientist, I am primarily interested in how parenting and peer relationships influence, and are influenced by, adolescents. Below is some additional information about my work and role at Orebro University.

I am an active member of the Society for Research on Adolescence and the European Association for Research on Adolescence, holding or having held positions in each. I am also a member of the International Society for Research on Behavioral Development and the Society for Adolescent Medicine. I am an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Adolescent, a Series Editor for Psychology Press' Studies in Adolescent Development. I have been very involved in the EARA-SRA Summer Schools, including serving as Chair of its steering committee and director or co-director of four schools.

Research Focus:

I have two focal interests in my research work: adolescent autonomy and adolescent internalizing problems.

Autonomy: Within the area of autonomy, I am particularly interested in how adolescence experience autonomy and how their experiences are related to their adjustment. I view adolescents as agents of their own development, and look for ways in which they influence their own developmental paths and those around them. I have studied problem behavior under this topic, because problem behavior is sometimes a normative expression of autonomy (e.g., disobeying parents, misbehaving at school, violating social norms, substance use). I’ve contrasted normative levels with more serious levels of delinquency (crime, violent behavior) engaged in by a relative few we call delinquents, and those who abstain entirely from such behaviors (abstainers). I have also devoted much of my research to understanding the interplay between parents’ attempts to regulate and adolescents’ experiences of autonomy. This includes work on adolescents’ perceptions of a maturity gap (the difference between wanting to be autonomous or mature, and actually being treated that way), and delving into what parents do that contributes or detracts from adolescents’ experiencing themselves as autonomous. The latter includes studies of parental control, privacy invasions, and their attempts to influence who adolescents have as friends. I have also been interested in how peers—friends at school and friends at home—contribute to the picture. My most recent work on the topic involves developing a new theoretical perspective on autonomy and parenting, in collaboration with my colleague, Sheila Marshall (UBC, Canada). Other collaborations involve scholars in the US, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Internalizing problems: In the main, I have focused on the manifestation of depressive symptoms and self-harm during adolescence. I have studied the links between certain kinds of parental control behaviors and depressive symptoms, as well as low self-esteem. This has led to a better understanding of how parental control—good and bad—affects adolescents’ internalizing problems. I am particularly interested in understanding when the two problems are seen together, the contextual problems that appear to give rise to them, and the cognitive-emotional processes that link contextual risk with comorbid presentations. I’m currently involved in a 5-year longitudinal study designed to better understand these issues, using intervention/preventions as an experimental element, working with scholars here at Örebro and Karolinska Institute (Stockholm).

Teaching: I am a university lecturer (rank of Professor) teaching at all levels—ground (bachelor’s) education, psychology program (clinical), and doctoral-level education. I typically teach courses in development (lifespan development, adolescence, adulthood and aging) and methods (research designs, statistics). I also co-teach and oversee the first year course in Psychology. I also supervise independent research at all levels.

Current collaborations:

Sheila Marshall, University of British Columbia: Project Ex and Over 2 U (SHHRC funded studies on adolescent development

Nancy Darling, Oberlin College: FAS-supported research on processes within and between families that relate to parental monitoring and adolescent information-management

Chris Gibson, Florida State University: FAS-supported research on delinquency abstention