Clinical Psychology

Natalie Rosenthal

		Graduate Student  -  Primary Advisor: Roger Kobak Research Interests Recent Publications   nlr@udel.edu Office: 012A McKinly Hall (302) 831-1692 (302) 831-3645 -fax Lab: 010 McKinly Hall (302) 831-0224 Preferred contact method - email

Research Interests

Adolescent relationships with parents and peers and adolescent psychopathology

Research Summary:

My research interests include the connection between interpersonal relationships during adolescence and adolescent psychopathology. During my first year as a graduate student, I concentrated on a project involving the attachment hierarchies of undergraduates. We assessed these hierarchies using the Important People Interview, and examined the varying levels of transfer (utilizing parents or peers as attachment figures) apparent within the sample, as well as how these levels relate to adjustment outcomes.  For my second year project, I worked on the development of a coding system, designed to assess parenting discourse during a conflict situation with their adolescents.  We found relationships between certain patterns of parental discourse and teacher-rated adolescent psychopathology symptoms. 

In the Family Relations Lab, we are presently involved with the Parent Teen Project, which is an NIMH funded study, designed to investigate parents and teens in a low-income sample. We have completed the first wave of data collection for this project, which took place when the adolescents were 13 years old.  We are currently collecting data on these adolescents at 15 years of age.  By contributing to all stages of this project, graduate students develop several valuable skills, such as interviewing and interacting with families, understanding the role of poverty cofactors in the mental health of children and parents, as well as coding, organizing and analyzing the incoming data. Additionally, graduate students acquire abilities involving supervision of undergraduates as well as professional development skills, such as presenting and performing literature reviews.

Recent Publications

Kobak, R., Rosenthal, N. & Serwik, A. (2005). The attachment hierarchy in middle childhood: Conceptual and methodological issues. In K. Kerns & R. Richardson (Eds.) Attachment in Middle Childhood. New York: Guilford Press.

Rosenthal, N.L., Kobak, R., & Zajac, K. (2004).  Attachment patterns in young adulthood: Implications for depressive symptoms.  Poster symposium presentation at the Annual Meeting for the American Psychological Society, Chicago, Illinois.

Rosenthal, N.L., & Kobak, R. (In preparation). Adolescent attachment hierarchies and adaptation in peer relationships.  Paper symposium presentation at the Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, Georgia.

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