Undergraduate Students
The ADAPT Lab is looking for enthusiastic and highly motivated students who are interested gaining valuable research experience in the areas of adolescent stress and well-being, parenting, and/or parent-adolescent communication.
Responsibilities may include any of the following:
- Participation in regular lab meetings
- Recruiting families for our studies
- Assisting with survey design
- Administering surveys
- Conducting and/or transcribing interviews
- Managing survey, interview, and/or observational data
- Conducting literature reviews
- Assisting with online study designs and monitoring
- Translating study materials from English to Spanish for specific projects
- *as of October 2023, we are looking for 1-2 URAs who can speak and write in Spanish
Students interested in earning research credit (HDFS 294) should complete an application: ADAPT Lab Undergrad RA Application and return it to Dr. Tu (ktfrantz@illinois.edu).
Undergraduate students at any standing are welcome to apply. A commitment of at least one academic year is strongly preferred (e.g., Fall-Spring). Work in the lab ranges from 1-3 credits (1 credit hour = 3 hours of work per week).
Please send an email an inquiry about available positions before completing and submitting an application.
Fall: April 30th for early consideration, July 31st for late consideration
Spring: November 15th
For full consideration, please submit your completed application by the following deadlines. Please note that incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Prospective Graduate Students
Dr. Tu’s research focuses on understanding variability in youth adjustment in the face of common stressors (e.g., peer, academic) through the examination of individual and environmental factors. She investigates individual physiological (e.g., heart rate), biological (i.e., sleep), and behavioral processes, as well as parents’ role in helping youth to navigate and manage these challenges, peer relationships, and the interplay among these factors in the prediction of adjustment among children and adolescents. Her current work is focused on (1) parenting and adolescent emotions and coping, and (2) stress, sleep, and supportive processes among Latino families with adolescents. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach and aims to inform efforts to support positive youth development and well-being.
Students interested in working with Dr. Tu and the Ph.D. program in HDFS at UIUC are encouraged to contact her at: ktfrantz@illinois.edu.
Undergraduate Student Highlights
2021-2022
Congratulations to Saira Gonzalez (’22) and Jacqueline Quintana (’22) who recently presented their James Scholars independent research project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium for Spring 2022. They examined how youths’ pre-pandemic coping and parent advice-seeking was related to their depressive and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic (2 years later).
We are excited to have Norma Garcia (’25) join our lab through the ACES Ignite program!
2020-2021
Congratulations to Jacqueline Lee (’21) who successfully completed and presented her independent research project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium for Spring 2021. Jacqueline’s project examined the link between sleep quality and academic engagement and performance, comparing 2 cohorts of participants (non-pandemic, pandemic cohorts).
2019-2020
Congratulations to Jordan Halic (’20) who is receiving the University of Illinois’ Bronze Tablet, a recognition of students who have graduated in the top 3% of their class!! Way to go, Jordan!
Congratulations to Lauren Broderick (’20) who is being recognized and inducted into the Senior 100 Honorary, a University of Illinois Alumni Association program acknowledging students who have made notable contributions and achievements during their time at UIUC.
Three students, Tess O’Brien (’19), Jordan Halic (’20), and Lauren Broderick (’20) are currently working on their James Scholars Research Projects that have been submitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium for Spring 2020. One project is investigating educational and family structure factors that contribute to mothers’ autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors. Another project is investigating the most common types of interpersonal stressors, and associated coping responses, during adolescence, as well as exploring potential gender differences in rates of interpersonal stressors and types of coping strategies employed.
We are excited to have an IGNITE student working with us in the lab this year, welcome Chloe Graham (’23)! The goal of the IGNITE Undergraduate Research Program is to provide incoming ACES undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in research. More information can be found in the link above. Chloe will learn about the research process and gain hands-on experience in working with observational, interview, and survey data as well as working with other lab members to translate empirical research findings for families.
2018-2019
Four students, Brett Cohen (’19), Kelsie Olsen (’20), Samantha Scheck (’19), and Shayne Snyder (’19) are working on two research projects that will be submitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2019. One project focuses on how youths’ worries about middle school predict parents’ behavior over time. This project will also explore youths’ actual middle school challenges. The second project focuses on how youths’ behaviors during mother-adolescent interactions about social stress are related to their symptoms of depression and coping strategies.
We are excited to have an IGNITE student working with us in the lab this year, welcome Saira Gonzalez (’22)! The goal of the IGNITE Undergraduate Research Program is to provide incoming ACES undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in research. More information can be found in the link above. Saira will learn about the research process and gain hands-on experience in working with observational and survey data as well as working with other lab members to translate research findings for families.
2017-2018
Congratulations to Fan Xia (’18) on receiving a Research Support Grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research this Fall to fund her research project, The Bidirectional Associations between Maternal and Adolescent Emotionality and Behaviors during Mother-Adolescent Interactions about Adolescent Social Problems. She has submitted this project for presentation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium for Spring 2018. Fan was also awarded a travel scholarship to attend the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in Minneapolis, MN in April. She will be attending Harvard University in Fall 2018 to begin her graduate studies in the Human Development and Psychology program!
2016-2017
Hannah Levitz (’17) completed a project titled, My Child, the Bully: How Do Parents React? She examined how parenting styles and child characteristics may be associated with parents’ reactions to their children’s bullying behavior. She presented her research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2017.
Emily Wilensky (’17) completed a project titled, Mean Behind the Screen: Parental Advice about Cyberbullying. She examined how parents’ advice about how to deal with cyberbullying may be linked with children’s mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) and behavioral outcomes. She presented her research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in Spring 2017.