Research Interests

My research area may be subsumed under the broad rubric of clinical child and adolescent psychology, which is concerned with both typical and aberrant behavior and development among children and adolescents and emphasizes the myriad family, interpersonal, biological/medical, and socio-ecological contexts in which young persons are embedded. Significant overlap exists among clinical child/adolescent, developmental, school, and family psychology. Pediatric psychology, or child health psychology, is another research area akin to clinical child and adolescent psychology with sub-specialization applications in health, wellness, medical illness and injury, and developmental disabilities. Clarifying processes involved in individual and family adaptation to pediatric chronic illness and disability or promotion of health and wellness appeals to me as a scientist and a practitioner. Some of my scholarly activities emphasize evidenced-based psychological assessment and some accentuate evidenced-based systems interventions. The link among all this work is an understanding of family and child functioning within developmental and bioecological contexts and a priority on practical application. A more recent secondary line of scholarly activity involves professional issues in education/training in applied psychology. This work is an out-growth of my role as Clinic Director and Associate Director of Clinical Training and my long-standing active participation in the Association of Psychology Training Clinics.

Recent Publications

Carter, J.E.M, Rivera, G.N., Heffer, R.W., & Schlegel, R.J.  (2020). Stuck in an existential quagmire: The role of perceived true self-knowledge in client stuckness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 39, 449-477.  https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2020.39.5.419.  [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 1.472/1.906]

Varni, J.W., Delamater, A.M., Hood, K.K., Raymond, J.K., Chang, N.T., Driscoll, K.A., Wong, J.C., Yi-Frazier, J.P., Grishman, E.K., Faith, M.A., Corathers, S.D., Kichler, J.C., Miller, J.L., Doskey, E.M., Aguirre, V.P, Heffer, R.W., & Wilson, D.P. (2019). PedsQL 3.2 Diabetes Module for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Reliability and validity in Type 2 Diabetes.  Diabetic Medicine, 36, 465-472. [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 3.054/3.144]

Varni, J.W., Delamater, A.M., Hood, K.K., Raymond, J.K., Driscoll, K.A., Wong, J.C., Adi, S., Yi-Frazier, J.P., Grishman, E.K., Faith, M.A., Corathers, S.D., Kichler, J.C., Miller, J.L., Raymond, J.K., Chang, N.T., Doskey, E.M., Aguirre, V.P, Heffer, R.W., & Wilson, D.P. (2018). Diabetes management mediating effects between diabetes symptoms and health-related quality of life in adolescents and young adults with Type 1 Diabetes. Pediatric Diabetes, 19, 1322-1330. https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12713 [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 4.267/3.488]

Varni, J.W., Delamater, A.M., Hood, K.K., Raymond, J.K., Driscoll, K.A., Wong, J.C., Adi, S., Yi-Frazier, J.P., Grishman, E.K., Faith, M.A., Corathers, S.D., Kichler, J.C., Miller, J.L., Doskey, E.M., Aguirre, V.P, Heffer, R.W., & Wilson, D.P. (2018).  Diabetes symptoms predictors of health-related quality of life in adolescents and young adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.  Quality of Life Research, 27, 2295-2303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-018-1884-6 [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 2.488/2.954]

Varni, J.W., Delamater, A.M., Hood, K.K., Raymond, J.K., Chang, N.T., Driscoll, K.A., Wong, J.C., Yi-Frazier, J.P., Grishman, E.K., Faith, M.A., Corathers, S.D., Kichler, J.C., Miller, J.L., Doskey, E.M., Aguirre, V.P, Heffer, R.W., & Wilson, D.P. (2018). PedsQL 3.2 Diabetes Module for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Reliability and validity in Type 1 Diabetes.  Diabetes Care, 41, 2064–2071.  https://doi.org/10.2337/dc17-2707.  [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 13.397/10.396]

Turner, E.A., Jensen-Doss, A., & Heffer, R.W. (2015). Ethnicity as a moderator of how parents’ attitudes and perceived stigma influence intentions to seek child mental health services. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21, 613-618. [Journal Citation Impact Factor: 1.790/2.562]