Dr. Powell's Research Lab

Research Interests

Dr. Powell's research primarily focuses on adult roles and parenting issues. For example, ​she is interested in how prepared college students feel regarding impending adult roles and what they perceive as norms for those roles. Additionally, she is interested in adults' experiences in the parenting role compared to their expectations before they became parents. Dr. Powell's secondary line of research focuses on teaching and learning, specifically related to student engagement with material outside of the classroom and practices to facilitate retention of material.

What Dr. Powell is looking for in a Research Assistant

Dr. Powell is looking for students who are interested in areas of research that overlap with her own. Students should be motivated, organized, and self-sufficient. Some experience in research methods or statistics would be preferred, but is not required. Also, it is recommended that students have taken Introductory Psychology as well as a Developmental Psychology class. She is open to mentoring students at any level (Freshmen to Seniors); however, they must be in good academic standing (overall and psyc-based GPA). Ideally students will join the lab for at least two semesters. She encourages a sort of trial-run where the student interacts with the lab prior to enrolling in course credit. Once in the lab, student roles can vary from assisting her in her own research to carrying out their own independent project.  

Current Research

Recent studies carried out in her lab include an examination of the correlates of young adults' parenting attitudes and knowledge, mother's experiences in caring for their young infants, and parent-child relationships for college-aged children. This research has led to student presentations at regional and national research conferences.   

Recent Publications

Freedman, G., Powell, D. N., Le, B., & Williams, K. D. (in press). Ghosting and destiny: Implicit theories of relationships predict beliefs about ghosting. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Powell, D. N. & Karraker, K. (2017). Prospective parents' knowledge about parenting and their anticipated child-rearing decisions. Family Relations, 66(3), 453-467. doi: 10.1111/fare.12259

Babskie, E. Y., Powell, D. N., & Metzger, A. (2017). Variability in parenting self-efficacy across prudential adolescent behaviors. Parenting: Science & Practice, 17(4), 242-261. doi: 10.1080/15295192.2017.1369314

Douglas, J., Powell, D. N., & Rouamba, N. H. (2016). Assessing graduate teaching assistants' beliefs and practices. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, 27(3), 35-61.

Barron, K. & Powell, D. N. (2014). Options on how to organize and structure advising in our departments. In W. Buskist (Ed.), Academic Advising: A Handbook for Advisors and Students (Teaching of Psychology E-book; pp. 14-26). Retrieved from http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/academic-advising-2014-vol1 

Powell, D. N. & Karraker, K. (2013). Young adults' liking of infant names. Names: A Journal of Onomastics, 61 (3), 127-139. doi: 10.1179/0027773813Z.00000000047  

Links

If you are interested in working with Dr. Powell, please contact her at dpowell@roanoke.edu