Collaborators


Elana B. Gordis

Elana B. Gordis


Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, The University at Albany, SUNY
egordis@albany.edu 

B.A., Yale University
M.A., University of Southern CaliforniaPh.D., University of Southern California

Dr. Gordis studies how psychophysiology mediates negative consequences of child maltreatment. She has a 5-year NICHD K-award. She also is co-PI on the NICHD grant with the USC Family Studies Project. Her publications include studies about how triadic family conflicts relate to children’s behavior problems, and how children are sensitized to conflict through earlier exposure to family violence. In addition, Dr. Gordis has examined communication patterns and fear among couples with different trajectories of aggression and has collaborated on reviews of the effects of violence exposure on children.


Pamella H. Oliver

Pamella H. Oliver


 Associate Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, California State University, Fullerton
poliver@fullerton.edu 

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., California State University, Fullerton
Ph.D., University of Southern California

Dr. Oliver's teaching and research focus on human development in the context of families. She is co-PI on the NICHD grant with the USC Family Studies Project and also conducts research with the Fullerton Longitudinal Study. She co-authored the book, Temperament: Infancy through Adolescence, and is especially interested in the interactions between individual child characteristics and family influences. Her research examines how conflict influences family interactions, with a particular focus on the moderating effects of parental mental health and is based on detailed observational data as well as prospective data collected daily from participants. Before coming to USC, Dr. Oliver worked as a teacher, then obtained a masters degree at CSUF.


Diana Bennett

Diana Bennett

dcbennet@usc.edu 
B.A., 2009, University of Southern California

Diana is currently a doctoral student of clinical psychology at the University of Utah, working with Dr. Patricia Kerig. As a Family Studies Project RA and project coordinator, she worked on projects examining how undergraduates' history of parental conflict is related to their distress ratings of different types of relationship conflict as well as the scope and prevalence of electronic aggression in undergraduate romantic relationships and friendships. Diana is interested in studying the factors influencing youth risk and resilience, both psychological and physiological. Her honors thesis investigated the moderating role of school engagement in the link between adolescent negative life events and salivary cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor. Currently, Diana is working on a project investigating the links between trauma exposure and delinquency among juvenile justice-involved youth.



  • USC Family Studies Project
  • Seeley G. Mudd 926
  • University Park MC 1061
  • 3620 McClintock Ave
  • Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061