Research by SUNY Poly’s Professor Kazuko Behrens and alumnus David Franklin, Jr., published in Youth Voice Journal

Research by SUNY Poly’s Professor Kazuko Behrens and alumnus David Franklin, Jr., published in Youth Voice Journal

Published:
Friday, June 3, 2022 - 15:47
Research News
SUNY Poly Faculty in the News
SUNY Poly Students in the News
Admissions News
Drs. Franklin and Behrens photo

SUNY Poly Associate Professor, Coordinator of the Psychology Program, and Chair of the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences Dr. Kazuko Behrens recently published a paper with SUNY Poly alumnus David W. Franklin, Jr., in the special Issue of Youth Voice Journal.

The research, “Attachment Security and Self-Concept in Middle Childhood,” started when Dr. Behrens designed the study with support from SUNY Poly’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Under Dr. Behrens’ supervision, David led data collection as a senior student before proceeding to graduate school, and ultimately acting as lead author of the paper.

This study examined the relationship between attachment security and self-concept in middle childhood (N = 78, M = 8.9 years). The findings suggest that an important developmental milestone such as self-concept, a critical component for academic and relational success, can be predicted by attachment security in middle childhood, utilizing multiple user-friendly measures of attachment concurrently, i.e., family drawings and questionnaire-based attachment scales.

To facilitate the research, David, who also worked at the Tree House After School program, a local daycare in the region, recruited child participants. The preliminary findings were first presented together at a national conference the following year after the study was completed. Notably, as a doctoral student, David also taught several psychology courses as an adjunct professor at SUNY Poly.

Read More