Project Overview
Coping With Adversity: Insights From Narrative and Longitudinal Research
Department(s)
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Abstract
This summer I will be working with student researchers to investigate how people cope with significant suffering and life challenges. We will focus on two related projects that examine adjustment to adversity from different angles.
Project 1: Bereavement Narratives
We have collected rich, in-depth written narratives from 217 parents who have lost an adult child. These narratives include accounts of their grief experiences and an “imagined future chapter” describing how they see their lives going forward. You will help investigate how people make meaning after profound loss, with a particular focus on post-traumatic growth. Students will review the scientific literature on growth after adversity, help refine a coding manual, code the narratives for key themes, establish reliability as a team, and assist with preparing the dataset for analysis. This project will give you experience with qualitative methods, coding, and working with sensitive psychological data.
Project 2: Longitudinal Study of Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This study followed Colgate students across four waves—before the pandemic and then across 18 months of pandemic life. We measured intolerance of uncertainty, depression and anxiety symptoms, coping strategies, procrastination, social support, personality traits, and narrative identity. Although the dataset is exceptionally rich, it has not yet been fully cleaned or analyzed. Students will help build a clear and well-documented codebook, clean and organize each wave, merge the data into a single longitudinal file, and conduct initial descriptive and correlational analyses. This project will give you hands-on experience with real longitudinal data, data management, reproducible documentation, and introductory statistical modeling.
Across both projects, you will gain experience with real research practices: coding, data cleaning, teamwork, reliability checks, literature review, and the first steps of preparing a project for publication. Students will be closely mentored at the beginning of the summer and then work with increasing independence as they build confidence. These projects offer a strong introduction to both qualitative and quantitative research in clinical and personality psychology, especially for students interested in coping, meaning-making, mental health, and individual differences.
Student Qualifications
- Strong attention to detail
- Interest in personality, coping, or narrative identity
- Willingness to learn qualitative coding and quantitative data management
- RAs need to have taken PSYC 150. Prior coursework in psychological research methods or research experience preferred but not required
Number of Student Researchers
I would prefer to have 3 and am open to including students
Project Length
10 weeks
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