Last week I described different types of graduate programs if you want to be a clinician/counselor/therapist of some kind. This week I want to address the issue of choosing a specific graduate program once you know the general type of program you want.

First, think realistically about what limiting factors you might have in choosing your graduate program. Can you move anywhere in the country, or do you have geographic limitations (e.g., want to be within three hours’ drive of your family; have a partner who has to find work in a specific city; prefer to live in a big city or a small town; know you want to settle in CT forever)? If you have no geographic limitations you will have more possibilities for finding an ideal fit, but it doesn't make sense to look at programs that fall outside of your expectations of where you will live if you do have geographic limitations. If you are interested in programs that are very competitive (like clinical PhD programs, for instance), you might want to consider a broader geographic search. Perhaps you and your partner can live a couple of hours apart for a couple of years. In addition, think of your financial limitations. Do you have parental or other money to support your time in school, or will you have to take out loans? If you're going into a career like social work, you are unlikely to have a huge salary right after graduation, so considering the cost and what you can afford in loans after you finish is important. Programs can vary greatly. For 2018-2019, full time MSW tuition at NYU is $46,266; at Southern Connecticut State it is $12,143 in state, $24,487 out of state. Over the two-year degree that could be a difference of $60,000.

Once you have a sense of the type of program you want and any limiting factors you may have, you can start to research specific programs. Obviously, the Internet is a great source for finding out about programs (picture me, in 1991, sending letters to 30 psychology PhD programs, and then waiting for them to send me brochures about each program, and having those brochures take over my bedroom in piles of Yes/No/Maybe, and you'll start to realize what a truly great resource the internet is for this task!). There are different places you can look. US News & World Report ranks some types of programs, and so it can be a useful place to look. Let’s say I know I’m staying in North Carolina, and I’m interested in an MSW. It gives me 12 MSW programs in North Carolina. gradshools.com can sometimes be helpful. You can narrow your search down by discipline (e.g., social work), and then, if you'd like, state and/or city. If you're not interested in an online degree, make sure to check "campus" as one of the options. It is very important to note, though, that universities have to pay to advertise on gradshools.com, so you will not find every program there. Also note that there are a lot of other websites that compile graduate school information, and they may or may not charge to be listed – just be a bit careful when you are searching, as the listing could be incomplete or the information inaccurate. When I did the North Carolina MSW search on gradschools.com, I came up with only 5 programs.

You can also visit the websites of professional organizations. For instance, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has a directory of training programs that lists US and Canadian programs.

Another option is a general google search. For instance, "graduate school North Carolina social work." When you do so, you will get a lot of different websites like gradschools.com, that try to compile lists of programs. You will also get a lot of ads for online programs.

But if you scroll down enough, you will also find specific programs.

 For instance, when I did this search, I found North Carolina Central University, which was not listed on gradschools.com.

When you look at specific programs, read their website carefully, and look for some of the following components (what you look for is going to vary by what kind of program you're considering):

• How do they describe their philosophy? What is their mission statement?
• What areas of specialization/emphasis do they describe, if any?
• What type of careers do they describe their graduates going into?
• How research focused is the program?
• Do they provide any information about the ranking of the program?
• Are they accredited?
• What courses do they offer? Do these courses match your interests?

For instance, back at NCCU, their mission statement includes: " The mission of the Department of Social Work is to prepare students to promote social and economic justice by engaging in problem solving efforts and offering direct and macro interventions with individuals, communities and organizations… The graduate program places special emphasis on preparing students to develop, deliver and evaluate services either for youth involved or at-risk of being involved in the juvenile justice system or with families involved with child and family services agencies." That may be great if you plan to practice in settings with at risk youth or family service agencies, but less so if your long term goal is private practice with adults. You can learn a lot about a program’s focus in their mission statement.  Over at the University of Pittsburgh site, I found information about skill concentrations, where they describe emphases in Direct Practice or Community, Organization, and Social Action. Some programs may only focus on one or the other, which you can learn pretty quickly by reading their website. They also offer a certificate in gerontology so if you're interested in aging, it could be a better program than MSW programs that don't offer such specialization.

Also consider talking to people you know. Talk to your professors, people where you work, other students. You may find someone who knows someone at a specific program, or knows about a specific program. Firsthand experience can provide information you may not find on a web site.

Throughout this process, the important thing will be finding the program that's right for you. Be realistic about your qualifications. If you don't have the highest GPA, consider programs that are not the highest ranked programs. If you're not certain whether you want to do community work or private practice, or work with children or adults, make sure you select a program that trains in both.

Also, be careful to determine the licensing regulations and requirements. Different types of degrees have different licensing requirements, and sometimes they're state specific. Some states have sharing rights for licenses, others do not. Consider these issues carefully when you decide where you want to train, and where you want to live afterward.

The better idea you have of what you want when you start this process, the easier it will be to narrow down your choices. That said, even if you start out with little sense of how to narrow things down, reading about all of the different programs will likely help you figure out what you do and don’t want in a program. Just like reading all those hard copy brochures in 1991 helped me – and you’ll harm fewer trees in the process.
 
“How to choose a graduate program first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on October 16, 2018.”

Note: Now over 90.

​In the past couple of weeks, I described different types of funding for graduate study, and why you should get external funding while a graduate student. And a few weeks ago, I shared my list of over 120 post doc opportunities related to Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS). People found that list helpful, so today I’m sharing another list I compiled (with graduate student help), of over 50 (hopefully more by the time this posts; it’s a work in progress) graduate fellowship and grant opportunities also related to HDFS.
 
As with the post doc list, it’s a broad list. I did limit it to ones that can fund you during grad school, and excluded fellowships that require you are a student at a specific university. The list includes some that cover tuition as well as a stipend, and some that are stipend only. Some are only for a couple thousand dollars (e.g., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.), and others are for tuition plus a generous stipend (e.g., NSF, tuition plus $34,000 a year for 3 years). There are dissertation-specific grants, and grants that you can apply for earlier in your graduate education.
 
Some are very general, such as any discipline, or any social science discipline. Others are more specific, and for these, areas of research vary widely, and include childhood, health, diversity, cultural studies, studies of specific cultures, education, evaluation, gender, social services, and brain sciences. They are certainly relevant to HDFS students, but also to students from multiple psychology areas (e.g., developmental, health), social work, education, sociology, gender and sexuality studies. Some are only for US citizens, but some are only for non-US citizens. There are some that are specific to women or to underrepresented ethnic/racial groups, veterans or LGBTQ individuals. 
 
Due dates range widely, with some in summer, fall, winter, or spring.
 
I make no claims that any information, including information about citizenship requirements, is accurate.
 
I hope that you find this information useful, as you plan out your funding for your time in graduate school.
 
FIND IT HERE.
 
If you have suggestions of other graduate fellowships or that fit these criteria, please share them and I will add them to the list. If you find errors or broken links, please let me know.
 
“50+ fellowship opportunities related to Human Development and Family Studies first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on October 11, 2018.”

For individuals considering graduate school (after taking a couple years off, of course), figuring out what kind of program to attend can be challenging. I know that among HDFS majors, we often have a huge range of interests, including medicine, law, education, physical therapy, rehabilitation, speech therapy, human resources, other business areas, and research-oriented PhD programs. Today, I want to talk about a specific set of programs -- degrees that can lead to some form of clinical work. There are a lot of different ways that you can become a clinician and/or therapist, and it can be confusing to sort out the similarities and differences. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the different programs:
 

• PhD in Clinical Psychology: Often when people think about being a clinician, they think that this degree is the one they need. With a PhD in clinical psychology, you can become a licensed psychologist, and during graduate school you get many hours toward licensing. Clinical psychology PhD programs tend to be very research focused. They are based on the scientist-practitioner model. You need to be involved in research throughout your time in grad school, you need to complete a research-based master’s thesis, and a research-based dissertation. You complete a one-year full time clinical internship as part of your degree, as well as other clinical training and clinical hours throughout your program. With a PhD in clinical psychology, you can also move into a research or academic career, including a position as a professor. An advantage of these programs over others is that you can often get a stipend and tuition coverage to support your time in graduate school. A disadvantage is that these programs tend to be some of the most competitive (I know of programs that receive 600 applications for 10 slots). If you are not interested in research and having your career involve research, you should seriously consider a different type of program.
• PsyD in Clinical Psychology: A PsyD is also a doctorate, but is less focused on research, following a practitioner-scholar model. These programs tend to take a bit less time than PhD programs, and focus more heavily on clinical training. You also complete a one-year full time clinical internship. For students not interested in research, PsyD programs are a more efficient way to get a doctorate. These programs are generally less competitive than PhD programs, and therefore easier to get into. However, there are few opportunities for fellowships/funding, so if you have to take out loans, you could end up graduating with a lot of debt.
• MSW (Masters of Social work). There are a number of different types of MSW degrees. If you want to be a clinician, you need to make sure you attend the correct program (I'll discuss this issue in more detail in a subsequent post). MSW degrees can lead to a number of different careers. With a clinical MSW you can become a therapist, but other MSW degrees include medical social work, psychiatric social work, school social work, or jobs in hospitals, criminal settings, administrative positions, etc. MSWs generally take 2 years, and require some supervision hours after graduation. There is some variation by state in how to become licensed with an MSW. These obviously take less time than doctorates. Because they are professional degrees, funding is generally not available.
• Masters or PhD in Counseling Psychology: Most counseling psychology programs are through colleges of education. Often, degrees in counseling psychology lead to school-based work, such as becoming a guidance counselor. However, some counseling psychology programs can lead to family counseling. PhD programs often have opportunities for funding, though perhaps not at the same rate as clinical psychology programs. There is a lot of variation between programs. Like a clinical psychology doctorate, if you go for a PhD, there will be much more research focus.
• Masters or PhD in Counselor Education: These programs often train you to be a professional counselor in a school or community based setting, and like counseling psychology, often are within a college of education. Training can lead to a number of different foci, including being a school counselor, a career counselor in higher education, a clinical and mental health counselor, or rehabilitation counseling. These programs often have somewhat less focus on research than counseling psychology.
• Masters or PhD in MFT/CFT (Marriage/Couple and family therapy): A masters in family therapy can lead to a career as a therapist, generally at the family level. MFT's can work in many different settings, including social services, mental health centers, schools, and private practice. There is more variability with MFT degrees across states than with some other degrees, so you want to be clear on where you are training, and where you want to be afterward (to some extent, this is true with any of the degrees listed here). As with other degrees, the focus on research will be higher at the PhD than at the master’s level.

 
There are obviously a lot of other subtler differences between different types of programs. There is also great variability across universities in different programs for the same degree. I'll address this issue more in the future.

Trying to figure out future plans can be both exciting and intimidating. Make sure you give yourself enough time so that it's more the former and less the latter.
 
“Graduate programs in clinical work first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on October 9, 2018.”

Last week I described different types of funding during graduate school. There are some students who must apply for funding external to their department during graduate school. Students in programs that don’t guarantee funding may scramble to support themselves throughout their graduate program. For these students, applying for funding outside their department is survival.
 
Other students, however, enter doctoral programs with 4-5 years of guaranteed funding – often in an assistantship with tuition, stipend, and access to health insurance in exchange to 10-20 hours of work per week. Students with generous departmental support may believe they do not have to apply for funding outside their department during graduate school, because they already have support. Students may also feel that spending time applying for additional funds is time they could spend getting research done. However, there are several benefits to applying for external support even if you don’t financially need it. So, before you write off getting funding external to your department (whether applying within or outside your university), consider the following.
 

• Money. You may not need money to support you, but it’s rare that graduate students feel so financially comfortable that they would turn down extra money. I’ve never heard a grad student say, my stipend is so generous, I really don’t know what to do with all this money. When we have scholarship competitions (not for huge amounts of money), I’m surprised at the small number of students who actually apply. Who wouldn’t want extra money, even if it’s for more flexibility for going to the movies or out for dinner, or for your savings account?
  
• Dissertation research. You may have funds to support yourself, but what about funds to do the dissertation (or other) research project you really want to do? Students often use their mentor’s, another faculty member’s, or publicly available data. But is there a research project you really want to do during graduate school, and could a couple of thousand dollars provide support to complete that project? Grants can support a range of research expenses, such as participant payment, access to measures or software, travel, and other research costs.
• Build your CV: Demonstrating you have successfully secured your own funding positions you well for many jobs. If you are interested in a tenure track position at a top research university, demonstrating the ability to secure funding can be critical. There are other jobs with similar expectations – e.g., soft money jobs at medical schools (though sometimes you can demonstrate this ability after you start the position and start off paid on others’ projects). In addition, many people who work at research institutes have to secure external funding to support various projects. When I received a tenure track position at Penn State right out of my PhD program, I was told the only reason they considered my application was that I had gotten an F31 from NIMH. I know that was 20 years ago, and it’s even harder now to get tenure track positions without doing a post doc first, but whenever you go on the faculty job market, demonstrating your ability to secure funding is highly valuable.
• Practice: For many different careers (tenure track faculty at research-oriented university; faculty at medical school or other soft money position; research institutes), part of your job will be to obtain external funding. This need isn’t limited to researchers working at large universities and institutes. Many smaller local agencies and organizations survive on grants and contracts. So, you might as well get started as a graduate student when the stakes may be lower, and you have built in mentors to help you with the process. Also, habits you form in graduate school often stick – make yourself the person who applies for funding now, and you’ll consider it part of your job for the rest of your career.

 
“ Why you should apply for fellowships and grants during grad school first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on October 4, 2018.”

Although in this blog I frequently focus on advice for graduate students and early career professionals, I have occasionally written posts aimed at undergraduate students. And some of my advice aimed at graduate students – for instance, advice on writing – is applicable to undergraduate students as well. Before I was department head at UConn or graduate program director at Penn State, I had several roles at Penn State relevant to career and grad school advice for undergraduate students: chair of graduate admissions committee; director of life span developmental science program (a research-oriented undergraduate track for non-honors students); undergraduate director. So, for the next few weeks, my posts once a week will focus on advice to undergraduate students, particularly (though not limited to) students in HDFS and related fields like psychology and sociology.
 
Have you ever been to career counseling? Have you even been to their website? At UConn, we have the Center for Career Development, and I’m often surprised how little students take advantage of the services there.

Of course, if you are you a senior and planning to graduate in December, May, or August, you should get yourself there asap. But if you are a sophomore or junior (maybe even freshman) who is not yet sure what to do when you graduate, now is the time to start reading about careers and talking to career counselors. You don’t have to figure out your career early during college – exploring majors and careers is great. But as with many things, the sooner you figure out what you want to do after you graduate, the better you can tailor your college experiences to have the strongest record possible to obtain that job or get into that graduate program.

It's never too soon to start thinking about your future career.
 
Previously I discussed why you should consider not going straight to graduate school after you graduate. I think there were even a couple of parents angry at me when their kids decided to take my advice (sorry moms and dads!).

It’s possible you know exactly what you want to do when you graduate, and have started on a steady path toward that goal. Good for you!

But if not, don't worry. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I was a junior (or even by graduation). At graduation, my best idea was that I wanted to go into advertising or market research. Some of us take more time to figure out our career paths. That’s totally fine.
 
You may have talked to your academic adviser, and/or your faculty adviser about what you want to do. That’s great. Faculty advisers are often great for advice on going to doctoral programs, because… that’s what we did! But also know that on most college campuses, there are people who literally have degrees in how to help people figure out their careers. It makes sense to also get advice from them.
 
Did you know that many people around the country who are not students pay career counselors a lot of money for their services? While you’re a student, you can access these services for free.
 
First, you can check out their online resources, which at UConn include:

• How to develop a career plan
• Career and major exploration
• Diversity and inclusion resources
• Resources on writing resumes and cover letters,  interviewing, and the job search
• List of internship sites and suggestions on how to find others  

 
There is a wealth of information available without ever leaving the comfort of your computer screen.
 
But, I highly encourage you to make an appointment (link for UConn students) and talk to someone in the Center for Career Development. Actually, you don’t even have to leave your computer screen to do so – you can do it by Skype (though I still encourage you to walk over there and meet with someone face-to-face). Why meet with a career counselor?

Career counselors can help you:

• Decide on a major
• Take assessments to identify your strengths and interests
• Learn about resources for researching career options
• Explore and choose a career plan
• Plan your time in college wisely to set yourself up for a great career
• Learn about internships
• Research job vacancies, alumni contacts, and job leads
• Develop your resume and cover letter
• Practice interviewing skills

So, even if you know exactly what you want to do, career counselors can help you finalize your job application materials and practice interviewing for your dream job.
 
I recommend that you consider visiting the Center for Career Development, or your university’s career counseling center soon, whatever part of the career planning process you are in.

Planning for the future is an exciting part of the college experience, and the more you plan for it, the less overwhelmed you're likely to feel.
 
“Why you should go to career counseling first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on October 2, 2018.”

If you are considering applying to graduate school, you may not yet know much about what funding looks like during graduate school. Even if you are currently a graduate student you still may be confused about different options for funding. So I wanted to walk you through different types of funding. As always, this mainly applies to HDFS, psychology, and similar programs, with a focus on graduate programs. Other programs may differ. In addition, I’ve only ever been affiliated with 3 graduate programs (UCLA psych, Penn State HDFS, UConn HDFS), all public universities, so there may be other options at other universities that I’m unfamiliar with.
 

• Assistantships: The most common type of doctoral funding is through an assistantship. Usually, you work a set number of hours per week and then the assistantship covers your tuition and a stipend and usually provides access to health insurance. Usually, your assignment is as a teaching assistant, a research assistant, or a combination of the two. For some programs, teaching your own course is another option in an assistantship position. Number of hours varies; for some programs the norm is 10 hours per week of work; for others 15 or 20. Assistantship rates vary dramatically by program. In 1998 when I was admitted to developmental psych doctoral programs, one program offered me $7000 a year, and another $12000. But, when comparing assistantship rates at multiple programs, don’t just think about the dollar amount. You also need to consider the number of hours of work, and, perhaps most importantly, the cost of living. Affording rent as a UConn graduate student while living in northern Connecticut is vastly different from affording rent in Boston, for instance. You can look at UConn’s current rates as one example.
  
• Paid hourly labor: Some programs hire students in various roles on an hourly basis, particularly students who were not guaranteed funding. Paid labor would not cover with tuition support. Departments or faculty may hire you to grade papers, to work on a research project, to do departmental tasks, or in the case of clinical programs, to work as a clinician. Unlike an assistantship, this type of funding does not include tuition coverage. Increasingly, graduate students are becoming unionized, and in some instances, the union prevents departments from hiring students for an hourly rate.
• University fellowship at entry: Many universities have fellowships that they use as recruiting tools. These are usually either for your first year, or for 2 or more years beginning at entry to the doctoral program. Usually you will learn about this fellowship either when you are admitted, or some time before the April decision deadline. Many programs do not even require that you separately apply for such a fellowship – you learn about it after you are admitted. These fellowships usually cover your tuition and provide an (often generous) stipend and access to health insurance. Sometimes there are specific fellowships for students from underrepresented ethnic/racial groups. Here are examples from UConn.
  
• University dissertation fellowship: Universities often have 1-2 year fellowships. These often (not always) are specific to your last/dissertation year. Often they come from endowments – someone donated to the university to support graduate students in a specific area. They may be specific to a discipline or area of study, or may be more general. They usually cover tuition and provide a stipend and access to health insurance.
  
• University scholarships: Here, I distinguish between fellowships, which cover tuition and a (hopefully) livable stipend, and scholarships, which are a lump sum but do not include tuition. Note that some awards are named fellowships but do not include tuition. Many universities have these smaller scholarships, at the department, college, or university level. They may offer anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars. They may be very specific to an area of research, for any dissertation research, or may have certain other criteria (e.g., service to the university). You may have to apply, or your department may have to nominate you. These rarely provide enough money that they can be your only source of funding.
• Institutional training grants: As I described in my post about post docs, this category includes T31’s from National Institutes of Health, which are relatively common in HDFS and related fields. A team of researchers at your university will have already applied for and secured the training grant. So, your application process is generally not immensely complicated, and is internal to the university. These address a specific topic (for instance, at UConn there is one on the social processes of HIV/AIDS). Support on a training grant usually involves a commitment to attend a seminar and/or speaker series, to identify multiple mentors in the area, and to commit to research on that topic for a 2-year period. Depending on the training grant directors, they sometimes involve a stipulation that you cannot do research assistant tasks but instead must be involved in more independent research processes like analyses and writing for your own work. They usually come with a fair bit of professional development training – activities such as support for writing papers, support for writing and submitting grants, and support for going on the job market/applying for post docs. When the PI’s apply to renew the T32, they usually have to report on the current status of all of their alumni, which makes the team of mentors highly invested in their fellows’ success.
• External Individual training grants: The most common one related to HDFS (and psychology) is the F31 from NIH. It requires that you put together a training plan – not only the research you plan to do, but all aspects of training. How do you plan to train to be the scholar you want to be by the end of the plan? It may include, for instance, mentoring in fMRI if your dissertation will require techniques you have not yet used. It might include specific advanced methodology courses. The training plan should include a lot of detail on your activities, not only your specific research study. F31s are generally very involved applications to write, and then provide stipend and tuition for 2+ years of doctoral study. 
• External fellowships: These include a huge range of possible fellowships. Perhaps the best known (and funded!) is from NSF, which provides 3 years of generous support for students from a range of disciplines. Students generally apply in their second year of graduate school. It may cover one year, or multiple years.
• External scholarships: To be clear, a lot of these programs actually call themselves fellowships, but I’m using the term scholarship to indicate that they do not cover tuition. Some universities will provide a tuition grant when students receive this type of funding. Sometimes the stipend amount is generous enough that you can cover tuition and still have enough for living expenses. Sometimes it is only a couple thousand dollars (which can still help, just isn’t enough to support you). These are often one year, frequently the dissertation year. They may be general to social science, they may cover a specific topic, may require membership in a specific organization, or they may be for a specific group of scholars, e.g., women, underrepresented ethnic/racial minorities, individuals from a specific country, etc. Sometimes they may specifically provide support for international travel or research outside of your university’s country, either generally, like the Fulbright, or to a specific country. Sometimes universities will let you have an assistantship and this type of external funding – and other times not. So it’s important to check with your university if the amount will not be enough for you to support yourself.
• External grants: Rather than providing money to the individual per se, grants cover funding for a specific project. Applying often involves a budget, and the funds should be used to cover research expenses, such as travel, data collection, and/or data analysis. More so than other external sources, they very frequently involve a particular discipline or topic.
• Dissertation completion fellowship at other institution: Increasingly, I’ve noticed specific universities offering support for dissertation year funding for students from other universities to be in residence at their university. Sometimes this arrangement involves some teaching, other times not. It seems more common, though not limited to, smaller, prestigious liberal arts colleges that do not have doctoral programs. Often, they involve the potential for future employment by the university. These fellowships frequently are specific to students from underrepresented ethnic/racial backgrounds to improve the university’s diversity long term.

 
Of course, students sometimes have jobs outside of their university. Other students work full time and attend school part time. And students sometimes take out loans to support their graduate education. Here, I focused on funding related to your graduate training.
 
What did I miss? Feel free to comment or email me if you believe I neglected another form of funding.
 
“Different types of funding during graduate school first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on September 27, 2018.”

Lefkowitz, E. S., Vasilenko, S. A., Wesche, R., & Maggs, J. L. (in press). Changes in diverse sexual and contraceptive behaviors across college. Journal of Sex Research.
 
I did it – I have now blogged about all of our published and in press papers from the past three years, posting weekly about our research papers for about three months. So, this post is the last one about a specific paper until we get another paper published (and there are currently four submitted, two with R&R’s, so fingers crossed it won’t be too long).
 
In my continued efforts to be fully transparent, particularly for the benefit of junior scholars, this paper took a while to publish. I’ve written before about publishing perseverance and the time it took us 8 years and 4 rejections to get a paper published.
 
I don’t think that the paper I’m writing about today had QUITE as long a road to publication. Well, let me go look up the details. So, it looks like I proposed this paper about 7 years ago, had a draft of the intro and methods 4 years ago, added the results about 3 years ago, and had a full draft over 2 years ago. And it looks like I first submitted it only over a year ago, and that it was only rejected from one journal (somehow, my memory is of more rejections – funny). So I guess the delay was much more in my writing it, than in multiple review processes. I think I remember more rejections because I really saw this paper as a developmental paper and therefore wanted to publish it in a developmental journal, even after the first rejection from a developmental journal. But between submissions I eventually changed my mind and recognized it was a better fit for a sexuality journal, where it found its home.
 
As with many of our other papers, we approached this paper from a normative developmental framework of sexuality. Our perspective is:

1. It is typical, appropriate, and healthy to express interest in and explore sexuality during adolescence and young adulthood
2. A healthy framework shifts the focus from identifying risk factors to understanding a range of sexual experiences, some of which (e.g., kissing, touching) do not confer the same physical risks as vaginal and anal sex
3. To recognize that individual and contextual factors like gender and relationship status influence and shape sexual experiences
4. To acknowledge that sexuality is a developmental phenomenon that changes across adolescence and young adulthood with both age and context
5. Despite risks of sexual behavior, sexual behavior also confers benefits to physical, mental, and relationship health

 
The unique aspects of this paper were that we:

1. Examined rates using longitudinal data with frequent assessment – assessing participants every semester for seven semesters. Most work in this area uses cross-sectional data; existing longitudinal data generally have long gaps between assessments, which may fail to capture variability during a time of rapid change
2. Considered a range of sexual and contraceptive behaviors in the same sample, rather than simply focusing on vaginal sex and/or condom use
3. Considered performing and receiving oral sex separately, given conflicting data on gender differences in rates of oral sex
4. Included both condoms and non-condom contraception, to include more female-focused contraceptive behaviors
5. Considered time-varying changes in romantic relationship status and their association with sexual and contraceptive behaviors

 
We found that:

• Likelihood of kissing, touching, performing oral sex, receiving oral sex, and engaging in penetrative sex in the past 3 months increased with time
• Men were more likely to report receiving oral sex and using condoms in the past 3 months than women were
• Students were more likely to report kissing, touching, performing oral sex, receiving oral sex, and penetrative sex in semesters they were in a serious relationship than semester they were not. They were less likely to report using condoms when they were in a serious relationship compared to when they were not.
• There was a three-way interaction for both contraceptive behaviors. Specifically, consistent use of any contraception in the past three months decreased over time more for men in semesters they were not in a relationship than for men in semesters they were, or for women. In addition, condom use decreased for men regardless of relationship status, and for women in semesters they were in a relationship, but not in semesters women were not.

In summary, rates of participation in penetrative and nonpenetrative behaviors generally increase, whether young adults are in relationships or not. Still, relationship status was an important determinant of engaging in all types of sexual behaviors, as well as consistently using any contraception. Our findings suggest the value of continued sexual health promotion across college, not limited to the first year orientation.
 
 
“ Developmental changes in diverse sexual and contraceptive behaviors across college first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on September 25, 2018.”

Previously I shared some big picture recommendations and smaller tips for writing papers for graduate courses. Another important skill to master in graduate courses is course participation.
 
I went to a relatively small university with many undergraduate courses of 10-20 students and high expectations of participation. If anything, students were over-engaged in class discussion, talking over each other or feeling the need to contribute to every point. When I became a graduate TA at a large state university, I was shocked that in my TA-led discussion sessions of undergraduate students, it was hard to get students to participate. That sense has continued at the two other large state universities I have worked as a professor. When I teach large classes in particular, it can be challenging to get even one student to answer one of my questions.
 
Once you’re in graduate school, particularly in the social sciences, the expectation is generally that you will contribute during discussion in graduate seminars. The specific expectations vary. In some courses, you need to run a whole class or part of a class with PowerPoint and content that you developed in advance. Students often (not always – your results may vary) find that type of participation easier because it is a structured, prepared contribution. But today I’m referring to more informal, but no less important, discussions where you participate in a discussion of a specific reading, set of readings, or specific topic. In some courses, a portion of your course grade relies on class participation (I often do make class participation part of the grade in graduate seminars).
 
Students approach this expectation with varying degrees of enthusiasm… and dread. Some students love the opportunity to share their reactions and opinions, and like the switch from more lecture-oriented course sessions to more interactive sessions. Other students are petrified at the idea of having to speak up in this informal way. Here are some things that I’ve learned through the years that students may find helpful for grad class participation – both for students who are afraid to speak up, and for students who speak up frequently but don’t receive the participation grade they would like.

• Come to class prepared: It should go without saying that if you want to contribute to class discussion, you should have done the readings in a thoughtful way. While you are reading, take notes on questions you have or points you may want to make during class. Don’t ask a question unless you’ve done the reading. It’s awkward when someone asks a question that makes it clear the student didn’t do the assigned readings. It’s fine to ask for clarification of ideas in the reading you didn’t fully understand, as long as you make it clear that you actually read it. Thoroughly reading the assigned papers and coming to class prepared also makes it easier to jump in when someone makes a point that relates to notes you have taken. It’s easier to make connections to others’ points if you all read the same papers.
  
• What are good contributions? There’s obviously a range of points that will further the discussion. But, much like in response papers, the types of points that can particularly impress the instructor, or can help move discussion forward, include:
  • Making connections between one or more readings
  • Making connections between theoretical constructs and empirical findings
  • Making connections to earlier weeks or, sometimes, to other courses
  • Saying something appropriately critical of a reading (but not just criticizing for the sake of criticizing)
  • Thinking about extensions/applications. For instance, can we apply these findings to intervention or clinical settings? 
  • Responding to other students’ comments
  • Disagreeing with other students’ comments, as long as it’s respectful
  • In the context of student presentations, asking classmates a question or following up on one of their points
  • Considering other ways to measure constructs in empirical work
  • Based on questions or future directions the authors posed, thinking about how to respond to those points
  • Considering cultural changes over time, and how applicable the theory or findings are in light of these changes, particularly if the reading is more than 10 years old. Do these ideas still apply in the current world?
  • How universal is this perspective? That is, can the theory be applied to people of all possible categories all over the world?
  • Describing your own thoughts on a perspective, e.g., I really liked this theory because…
• Ask questions: Asking the instructor or other students questions is always a relatively easy way to contribute. Simple questions to ask include:
  • Clarification questions
  • Has anyone ever considered this research topic in this different context? (e.g., different population, different constructs, etc.)
  • Has there been subsequent work on this topic?
• Learning how to jump in: One thing I realized through the years is that some students in general, and international students in particular, can find it challenging to jump into discussions. I’ve had students say that they have an idea but that so many other people contribute that by the time the discussion quiets down, it feels too late to make that point (or the class has moved onto a new point). So, even learning some key phrases for jumping in can be useful to students. Here are some phrases that students may find useful:
  • Related to Sara’s point…
  • Following up on Nate’s point…
  • I also wanted to say that…
  • That part of the paper made me think about…
  • That’s an interesting point. I also thought that…
  • Does that make you think about…?
  • Given what Carla said I wonder if…
  • I see what you mean about X. I also wonder if…
• Apply the concepts to your own research area: It can be interesting to classmates if from time to time you share how a particular theory or research area may apply to your own area of research – you are extending the topic and bringing in new ideas. Just don’t be the student who every single week pulls the week’s topic back to your own area of research.
• Sharing personal experiences: The issue of sharing personal experiences is a challenging one. I find that some students, rather than thinking about the work at a higher, conceptual level, think about the reading in terms of how it relates to their own lives (not even their own research). Which sometimes is fine. But there is always the student who, every week, turns the readings into self-disclosure that seems to go beyond that week’s readings. The, “my brother used to do that” student. I used to just let these students go when they talked about these personal experiences, because as an instructor, I find it awkward to stop them (how do you interrupt a student talking about her parents’ divorce?). But once, someone noted in my teaching evaluations that they wished I had done more to stop students’ discussion of personal experience. Since then, I’m more aware when a student goes into “my brother used to do that” mode. Instead of cutting the student off, though, I try to bring the student back to the topic, which is something you could also try to do if you want to share a personal experience. So, for instance, if the topic is parenting style and adolescent outcomes, and a student shares that her parents used to be really strict, and her brother was rebellious, I might then ask, does that illustrate the expected outcome of an authoritarian parent? What would the readings suggest your parents should have done differently to lead to your brother being less rebellious? How could the reading be used as general parenting advice? So, if you want to share a personal experience, make sure that it clearly relates to, and expands on, the readings rather than simply… sharing a personal experience.

 
Do you find it challenging to participate in grad class discussion? What tricks do you use?
 
“Participating in graduate seminar discussions first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on September 20, 2018.”

Wesche, R., Kreager, D. A., & Lefkowitz, E. S. (in press). Sources of social influence on adolescents’ alcohol use. Journal of Research on Adolescence.

Peer relationships contribute to adolescents’ alcohol use, but the mechanisms are not fully known. Adolescents may influence each other’s attitudes; they may model each other’s behaviors; or they may spend time in unstructured socializing settings without adult supervisors present. In this paper, we considered all three potential sources of influence: attitudes, behaviors, and unstructured socializing. We also considered three different types of peers: friends, romantic partners, and romantic partners’ friends.
 
We used data from the PROSPER study, a longitudinal study of rural adolescents followed beginning in sixth grade. Each wave, adolescents nominated friends and romantic partners, and we used these data to determine friends’, romantic partners’, and romantic partner’s friends’ alcohol attitudes and behaviors. We used participant report of unstructured socializing with friends and romantic partners, and romantic partners’ reports for unstructured socializing with romantic partners’ friends.
 
Behavior: Adolescents were drunk more frequently in waves when their friends, romantic partners, and romantic partners’ friends were drunk more frequently. However, when all in the same model, only friends’ and romantic partners’ friends’ behaviors remained significant.
 
Attitudes: adolescents were drunk more frequently in waves when their friends, romantic partners, and romantic partners’ friends had more positive alcohol related attitudes. However, when all in the same model, only romantic partners’ attitudes remained significant.
 
Unstructured socializing: Unstructured socializing was not associated with adolescents’ drunkenness.However, there was an interaction with time for unstructured socializing with friends. Older adolescents increased their drunkenness frequency when they engaged in more frequent unstructured socializing with friends, but this association was not there at earlier ages. In addition, there was an interaction with gender and time for unstructured socializing of romantic partners with friends. Older girls increased their drunkenness frequency when their romantic partners engaged in more frequent unstructured socializing with friends.
 
Finding suggest that multiple peer relationships matter for alcohol use. Findings also indicate that the mechanisms differ by type of relationship. Friends’ and partners’ friends’ behavior seem to matter more than their attitudes. In contrast, romantic partners’ attitudes matter more than their behaviors. It may be that friends and partners’ friends serve as behavioral models, whereas romantic partners’ beliefs may have more influence. This difference may be because we limited friends to same sex friends, and partners to heterosexual partners, adolescents may model peers of the same sex, but, within a romantic context, adhere to the belief system of the other sex. Findings also suggest the increasing importance of unstructured socializing as a potential setting for dangerous levels of alcohol use.
 
“Adolescents’ friends, romantic partners, and romantic partners’ friends matter for alcohol use first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on September 18, 2018.”

Last week I wrote about some general guidelines for writing reaction papers and other grad class papers. Today I want to cover some smaller issues that arise in writing graduate papers.
 
Multiple times in my upper level undergraduate courses I’ve had students complain that I marked off for writing quality – spelling, grammar, clarity. Students’ argument is generally, I already took my W (writing) course, why should I be graded on writing in a non-W course?
 
Hopefully by graduate school you recognize that clear, accurate writing is important in any writing setting [well, hopefully you realize this in undergrad, but if not…]. So, here are some things to be aware of in your writing. Note that these issues are based on ones that I’ve noticed most frequently in graduate student class papers. Some of them arise more frequently because of the kinds of classes I teach (e.g., adolescence vs. adolescent).

• Identify your writing foibles: A general point is that everyone has different writing issues. The ones I’m listing are those I notice frequently; yours may be different. Start to notice what errors your instructors and/or advisors note on your writing. And then be aware of them. I know for myself, for instance, I have issues with consistency. So before I submit a paper, I figure out what terms I am using interchangeably, decide which ones I want, and go through and search and replace. I had an international student who had great English, but often confused she and he. Figure out yours, and check for them before submitting papers.
• Tense switching: An easy one to go back through your paper and check on. Make sure that you are not being inconsistent.             
  • Incorrect example: Lifetime rates of kissing and touching are similarly high for male and female adolescents and college students (Garcia et al., 2008; O’Sullivan et al., 2007; Regan et al., 2004), but reported daily rates were higher for female than male students (Patrick et al., 2015).
  • Corrected: Lifetime rates of kissing and touching are similarly high for male and female adolescents and college students (Garcia et al., 2008; O’Sullivan et al., 2007; Regan et al., 2004), but reported daily rates ARE higher for female than male students (Patrick et al., 2015).
• Singular/plural switching: Make sure that you consistently use singular or plural. So don’t go back and forth between describing people vs. a person. For instance:
  • Incorrect: An adolescent who feels rejected by his/her peers may be less open to seeking out new friendships. Feeling rejected by peers, therefore, may lead adolescents to perpetuate future rejection.
  • Correct:  ADOLESCENTS who feel rejected by THEIR peers may be less open to seeking out new friendships. Feeling rejected by peers, therefore, may lead adolescents to perpetuate future rejection.
• Too long sentences: Think about your sentence length. You will lose the reader if it goes on too long. It’s relatively easy to break up your points into two separate sentences.
• Contractions: Avoid contractions in formal writing. I get to use them in blog posts; but don’t use them in manuscripts, theses, or class papers
• While vs. although/whereas: Use WHILE for comparing time. Use ALTHOUGH or WHEREAS for comparing arguments:
  • Incorrect: While limited past work has examined longitudinal changes, our findings are in line with prior cross-sectional work…
  • Correct: ALTHOUGH limited past work has examined longitudinal changes, our findings are in line with prior cross-sectional work…
  • Incorrect: Some research demonstrates similar reported rates of couple-level oral contraception use for men and women, while other research demonstrates…
  • Correct: Some research demonstrates similar reported rates of couple-level oral contraception use for men and women, WHEREAS other research demonstrates…
  • Correct: While the participants completed surveys, the researcher surreptitiously rated their Tanner level.
• Since vs. because: Use BECAUSE for logical arguments; only use SINCE to describe time.
  • Incorrect: Since multilevel models allow for incomplete data, we retained all measurements…
  • Correct: BECAUSE multilevel models allow for incomplete data, we retained all measurements…
  • Correct: Researchers have recognized the value of human subjects protection since several high profile unethical research studies.
• That/which: This rule has taken me the longest to learn of any grammar rule, I think. Use THAT if the clause (defined as a restricted clause) is critical to the sentence’s meaning. Use WHICH to add additional information (nonrestrictive clause).
  • Future research might consider whether such health benefits are especially true for nonpenetrative behaviors, WHICH do not have accompanying risks of unwanted physical health outcomes.
  • We excluded behaviors THAT do not have accompanying risks of unwanted physical health outcomes from other analyses.
• Relationships/associations: People have relationships; variables have associations. This distinction is particularly important when writing about relationships. Otherwise, you end up with sentences like “the relationship between relationship satisfaction and depression was…”
• Male/female vs. women/men or boy/girl: APA style says to only use male/female as adjectives when referring to humans; use them as nouns only for non-humans. Use women/men or boy/girl for humans. Yes, this wording can be challenging when describing adolescents. Depending on the age, we sometimes use boys/girls, sometimes young men/young women, sometimes male adolescents/female adolescents.
• Adolescents vs. adolescence: For whatever reason, students often mix up these two forms. I know if asked which is used when they could quickly identify; I guess because they sound similar, in writing quickly students sometimes mistype them.
• Plural vs. possessive: Students often use apostrophes when they intend the plural form, or vice versa.
• Others: See my other posts for how to dis the this; use consistent ordering (different from consistent terms); and vanquish the vague.

 
Getting a handle on these issues, and your other writing foibles, early in your academic career isn’t just about getting better grades. It’s about your ability to communicate your ideas and your research with other academics and outside of academia.

What are your writing foibles?
 
“ first appeared on Eva Lefkowitz’s blog on September 13, 2018.”