Sarah J. Erickson
Associate Professor
Email: erickson@unm.edu
Office: Logan 168
Phone: 505-277-0635
Degree Received
Ph.D., Stanford University, 1994
Research Interests
My research interests within the broader
Clinical Child Psychology and Health Psychology domains are situated
more proximally within Pediatric Psychology. These interests incorporate
coping, a multi-dimensional, transactional process concerning how
children and families manage stress, as a unifying theme. My research
program includes three primary foci: (1) children's adaptation to
chronic illness. This study of adaptation incorporates both trauma
spectrum and quality of life theoretical models in understanding
the long term adjustment of children with chronic illness (pediatric
cancer survivors, pediatric traumatic brain injury) and their families.
For pediatric cancer survivors, I have focused on trauma spectrum
adaptation, somatization, and the repressive adaptive personality
style as a moderator of children’s symptom reports. For pediatric
traumatic brain injury, I have addressed self-reported quality of
life in the context of the larger pediatric quality of life domain.
(2) The second research area within pediatric psychology addresses
disordered eating and body image concerns in preadolescent girls,
including developmental considerations, the relationship of these
constructs to broader psychological domains such as self-esteem,
and an investigation of ethnic differences. (3) A third area of
pediatric psychology research interest includes an attachment theory-based
investigation of infant/toddler mental health associated with maternal
parenting practices in pediatric samples. Specifically, I have investigated
infant-mother interactions and emotion regulation in infants born
very low birth weight, an at-risk population. Other related areas
of interest within the pediatric psychology realm include: adolescent
coping as it pertains to health outcomes; associations between coping,
defense, personality, humor, and psychological distress and well-being;
and physiological reactivity associated with adolescent personality
and defenses.
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Psychology Faculty
