47.501 Applied Developmental Psychology

Final Paper Topic Suggestions

Here are some preliminary topics that have been submitted and approved by students this semester along with some of my suggestions (these may evolve):

• Family and school achievement: What is the connection. Palak will examine some aspects of family (e.g., dynamics, structure) possibly as they cross with some other aspects (e.g., SES) to investigate their relation to student achievement across the school years.

• A lifespan developmental perspective on stress and coping across adulthood. Katie will examine the changing nature of stressors and development of coping abilities across adolescent-adult years. Possibly consider stress itself as deviation form age graded developmental expectations.

• Maternal depression as a developmental phenomenon. Kerry will examine maternal depression, impacts on children and development in mothers.

• Effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Meredith will explore FAS, integrating effects on child and maternal perspective with an eye toward appealing to girls and women via their own developmental tasks to reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

• Child hood eating habits and the development of mature lifestyles. Jessica will examine childhood eating habits in the context of family factors and the perspective of multi-aged individuals in time and place to explore the relation to later health.

• The effects of neglect in childhood. Manisha will offer a developmental perspective on the pathways of neglect (target child—consequences and perpetrating adult—causes).

• A developmental perspective on women’s roles and women’s health. Sarah will examine multiple roles in women’s adult development and their effects on health.

• The roles of the individual and society in disengagement. Maureen will examine developmental and community level influences on disengagement during later adulthood.

11/05/02