Vonnie C. McLoyd

My research investigates the role of parental behavior and family relations

• as paths through which economic conditions such as poverty, parental job loss, and parental work characteristics exert their influence on youth’s socioemotional adjustment
• as processes that protect youth from, or increase youth’s vulnerability to, the effects of experiences in peer and neighborhood contexts known to compromise socioemotional adjustment (e.g., neighborhood violence, peer victimization, racial discrimination)

A second interest centers on the predictors and correlates of adolescent employment and the paths through which race, social class, and experiences during adolescence shape the transition to adulthood.  My work draws from economic theories of the family emphasizing resource investment and from family stress models emphasizing the implications of parents’ psychological well-being for parenting behavior and youth socioemotional development.

Representative Publications

Yang, G., & McLoyd, V. C. (2015). Do parenting and family characteristics moderate the relation between bully victimization and antisocial behavior? A 5-year longitudinal study.  Social Development, 24(4), 748-765.

McLoyd, V. C., Purtell, K., & Hardaway, C. (in press). Social class, race, ethnicity and the transition to adulthood. In M. Lamb & R. Lerner (Sr. Editor), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (7th edition). Vol 3: Social, emotional and personality development. New York: Wiley.

Purtell, K., & McLoyd, V. C. (2013). Parents’ participation in a work-based anti-poverty program can enhance their children’s future orientation: Understanding pathways of influence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 777-791.

Hardaway, C., McLoyd, V. C., & Wood, D. (2012). Exposure to violence and socioemotional adjustment in low-income youth: An examination of protective factors. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49, 112-126.

Cooper, S. M., & McLoyd, V. C. (2011). Race-related socialization and the well-being of African American adolescents: The moderating role of mother-adolescent relationship quality. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 895-903.

McLoyd, V. C., Kaplan, R., & Purtell, K., & Huston, A. (2011). Assessing the effects of a work-based antipoverty program for parents on youth’s future orientation and employment experiences. Child Development, 82, 113-132.

Purtell, K., & McLoyd, V. C. (2011). A longitudinal investigation of employment among low-income youth: Patterns, predictors, and correlates. Youth and Society, 45, 243-264.

Hardaway, C., & McLoyd, V. C. (2009). Escaping poverty and securing middle class status: How race and socioeconomic status shape mobility prospects for African Americans. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 242-256.

McLoyd, V. C., Toyokawa, T., & Kaplan, R. (2008).  Maternal work demands and child adjustment in African American families: The mediating role of family routines. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 1247-1267.

Alternate Office

• McLoyd Lab – B267 East Hall