Welcome to the DEAR Lab! We are committed to advancing scientific understanding of how daily family interactions shape emotional and interpersonal resilience in adolescence. Grounded in developmental psychopathology and family systems theory, our research investigates dynamic processes within parent-adolescent relationships, including emotional reactivity, co-regulation, and connectedness. A central goal of our work is to capture within-family variability in real time and to identify how everyday experiences, ranging from support to conflict, contribute to adolescents’ mental health, including risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidality.

Current projects integrate innovative methodologies such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), GPS tracking, and intensive longitudinal designs to examine when and how family interactions become protective or detrimental. Our findings aim to inform prevention and intervention strategies that enhance adolescent resilience through strengthened family resilience. If you are interested in learning more, participating in a study, or joining our team, please contact Dr. Chiang at shouchun.chiang@ttu.edu.

Areas of Study

• Daily Parent-Adolescent Interactions and Emotional Well-being
• Family Dynamics and Adolescent Psychopathology
• Intensive Longitudinal Methods
• Depression, Suicide, and Substance Use

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