Sonnette Bascoe

Research Interests

In general, I’m interested in the ways that relationships within the family (i.e., interparental, parent-child, sibling) influence children’s socio-emotional adjustment. Working from the emotional security theory, part of my research has focused on understanding how children’s representational models of family relationships serve as processes for understanding individual differences in children’s socioemotional functioning. My thesis specifically examined children’s peer representations as an explanatory mechanism underlying the association between their insecure representations of interparental and parent-child relationships and their psychological maladjustment. In 2009, I was awarded a pre-doctoral individual fellowship which focuses on integrating family systems and developmental psychopathology theory and research to understand the processes underlying the association between family conflict and adolescents’ psychological adjustment with a specific emphasis on the role that sibling relationships play for understanding patterns of adolescent adjustment and maladjustment. Toward this endeavor, I developed an innovative semi-structured interview to assess family systems processes in sibling relationships. My doctoral work specifically focuses on a novel approach to both conceptualizing and measuring patterns of relating in the family (triadic, sibling) based on family systems theory’s concept of boundaries, or the implicit relationship rules of transmitting information and resources across and within family subsystems.

Grants

• 2009 – 2012: Marital Conflict, the Role of Sibling Relationships, and Adolescent Adjustment, National Institute of Health, 1 F31 HD061348-02. Role: Principal Investigator. Funded: $89,564

Publications/Manuscripts

• Bascoe, S. M., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (in press). Beyond Warmth and Conflict: The developmental utility of a boundary conceptualization of sibling relationship processes. Child Development.
• Martin, M. J., Bascoe, S. M., & Davies, P. T. (2011). Family Relations. In B. B. Brown and M. Printstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Oxford: Academic Press.
• Bascoe, S. M., Davies, P. T., Sturge-Apple, M. L. & Cummings, E. M. (2009). Children’s representations of family relationships, peer information processing, and school adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1740 - 1751.

Presentations

• Bascoe, S.M., Davies, P.T., & Cummings, E.M. (2011). Family Boundary Patterns, Sibling Warmth, and Adolescent Adjustment. Poster submitted for the Society for Research on Adolescence Conference. Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
• Bascoe, S.M., Davies, P.T., & Cummings, E. M. (2010). Identifying distinct adolescent-sibling relationship  boundary patterns: Utilizing a semi-structured interview. Poster submitted for the Society for Research in Child Development Conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Bascoe, S.M., Davies, P.T., & Cummings, E. M. (2010). Role of sibling relationship processes in models of marital conflict: A process oriented approach. Poster submitted for the Society for Research in Child Development Conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• Bascoe, S. M., Martin (Woitach), M. J., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (2009). Identifying the nature and consequences of children's profiles of reactivity in peer contexts. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Conference. Denver, CO.
• Martin (Woitach), M. J., Bascoe, S. M., Davies, P. T., Clutz, B. D., Gold, R., Gasaway, K. D., & Cummings, E. M. (2009). Insecure representations of the marital relationship and attention difficulties: Peer representations as mediator. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Conference. Denver, CO.
• Bascoe, S. M., Davies, P. T., Gasaway, K., & Cummings, E. M. (2008). The link between interparental and parent-child insecurity and child adjustment problems: Children’s peer information processing as an explanatory mechanism. Poster submitted for the Conference on Human Development, Indianapolis, IN.
• Bascoe, S. M., Woitach, M. J., Manning, L., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (2008). Links between emotional insecurity in the interparental and peer relationships: An ethological formulation as an explanatory mechanism. Poster submitted for the Conference on Human Development, Indianapolis, IN. 
• Woitach, M. J., Bascoe, S. M., George, R. M., Davies, P. T., & Cummings, E. M. (2008). Children’s reactivity to peer transgressions and their psychological adjustment: An evolutionary based analysis. Poster submitted for the Conference on Human Development, Indianapolis, IN.
• Robinson (Bascoe), S. M. (2002). Father Absence and Children’s Academic Achievement. Poster session presented at Atlanta University Center Psychology Research Conference, Atlanta, GA.
• Robinson (Bascoe), S. M. (2002). Parenting Style and the Characteristics of Preschoolers’ Sharing Behavior. Poster session presented at The Southeastern Psychological Association Research Conference, Orlando, FL. 
• Robinson (Bascoe), S. M. (2002). Parenting Style and the Characteristics of Preschoolers’ Sharing Behavior. Presentation presented at the Spelman College Departmental Honors in Psychology Research Symposium, Atlanta, GA.
• Robinson (Bascoe), S. M. (2001). Father Absence and Children’s Academic Achievement. Presentation presented at the University of Rochester Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, Rochester, NY.
• Robinson (Bascoe), S. M. (2001). Father Absence and Children’s Academic Achievement. Presentation presented at The Pennsylvania State University Ronald E. McNair Research Conference, University Park, PA.

Teaching

• Guest Lecturer, Exploring Research in Family Psychology, 2009-2011
• Teaching Assistant, Clinical Psychology, Spring 2009
• Teaching Assistant, Psychology and the Law, Fall 2008
  
  
  

Recent Honors and Distinctions

• Emory L. Cowen Award for First Author Outstanding Publication, University of Rochester, 2009

Additional Information

During the course of my graduate training, I have overseen several coding projects designed to assess family processes and adolescent adjustment and have mentored two under-graduate students on their honors theses. Finally, I enjoy being a wife and a mother of two beautiful children, Sean and Aniya!