Dr. Shauna M. Cooper received her Ph.D. (2005) in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
where she was funded by fellowships from the American Psychological Association and NIH (Individual National Research Service Award).
Prior to her arrival at USC, she completed a NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in the Department of Psychology (2005-2007).
Dr. Cooper specializes in the development of African American children and adolescents. Using Ecological and Integrative frameworks, her broad research interests include understanding specific socio-contextual factors (family-, school-, and community-level) influencing both their educational and health outcomes. Currently, her specific research interests include:
In addition, Dr. Cooper is dedicated to translating her research into practice- and programming-oriented solutions. She is particularly interested in the development of culturally-sensitive and developmentally-appropriate programming (e.g., academic enrichment; health promotion) for youth of color.
Cooper, S.M. & Smalls, C.P. (in press). Culturally-Distinctive and Academic Socialization: Direct and Interactive Relationships with African American Adolescents’ Academic Adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Cooper, S.M. (in press). Associations between father-daughter relationship quality and the academic engagement of African American adolescent girls: Self-esteem as a mediator? Journal of Black Psychology.
Cooper, S. M. & McLoyd, V.C. (in press). Race-related socialization and the well-being of African American adolescents: The moderating role of mother-adolescent relationship. Journal of Research on Adolescence.
Rowley, S. R., Kurtz-Costes, B., & Cooper, S. M. (in press). The role of schooling in ethnic
minority achievement and attainment. In J. Meece and J. Eccles (Eds), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human development.
Cooper, S.M., McLoyd, V., Wood, D., & Hardaway, C. (2008). The mental health consequences
of racial discrimination for African American adolescents. In S. Quintana and C. McKown (Eds), Handbook of race, racism and the developing child. Wiley.
Reid, P.T., Cooper, S. M, & Banks, K. H. (2008). Girl to woman: Theories, research, and issues. In F. Denmark & M. Paludi (Eds), Handbook of psychology of women.
Cooper, S. M. & Guthrie, B. G. (2007). Ecological influences on health-promoting and
health-compromising behaviors: A socially-embedded approach to urban African American adolescent girls’ health. Family and Community Health, 30(1).
Rowley, S. J., Cooper, S.M., & Clinton, Y. C. (2005) Family and school support for healthy racial
identity development in African American youth. In H. Fitzgerald, R. Zucker, & K. Freeark, (Series Eds.), Crisis in youth mental health: Volume 3. Issues for families, schools, and communities. Westport: Praeger.
Wallace, J. M., Jr., Bachman J. G., O'Malley, P. M., Schulenberg, J. E., Cooper, S. M., & Johnston, L. D. (2003). Gender and ethnic differences in smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use among American 8th, 10th and 12th grade students, 1976-2000. Addiction, 98, 225-234.
Wallace, J. M., Jr., Bachman J. G., O'Malley, P. M., Johnston, L. D., Schulenberg, J. E., & Cooper, S. M. (2002). Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use: Racial and ethnic differences among U.S. high school seniors, 1976-2000. Public Health Reports 117(Supplement), 67-75.
