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Carolyn Cutrona

Carolyn Cutrona

Carolyn Cutrona and Daniel Russell, with a multi-million dollar grant from the federal government, are conducting a large-scale longitudinal study of vulnerability and resilience among African American parents who are striving to raise their children in rural settings. The mental health of parents is critically important because distressed parents and those suffering from psychiatric disorders show significant impairment in parenting functions which, in turn, renders their children vulnerable to disorder. Participants in the study are geographically diverse and will be drawn from communities that show a high level of economic disadvantage. The study will investigate the following: (1) the effects of community characteristics on interpersonal relationships, personal outlook, chronic and acute stressors, and symptoms and syndromes of psychiatric disorder, (2) the contribution of personality and problem-solving skills to success with which parents deal with these stressors, and (3) the contribution of relationships with intimate partner and members of the social network to success with which parents deal with these stressors.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Close Relationships
  • Health Psychology
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Personality, Individual Differences

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Journal Articles:

  • Cutrona, C. E., Hessling, R. M., Bacon, P. L., & Russell, D. W. (1998). Predictors and correlates of continuing involvement with the baby’s father among adolescent mothers. The Journal of Family Psychology, 12, 369-387.
  • Cutrona, C. E., Hessling, R. M., & Suhr, J. A. (1997). The influence of husband and wife personality on marital social support interactions. Personal Relationships , 4, 379-393.
  • Cutrona, C. E., Russell, D. W., Abraham, W. T., Gardner, K. A., Melby, J. N., Bryant, C., & Conger, R. D. (in revision). Neighborhood context and financial strain as predictors of marital interaction and marital quality in African American couples. Personal Relationships.
  • Cutrona, C. E., Russell, D. W., Hessling, R. M., & Brown, P. A. (2000). Direct and moderating effects of community context on the psychological well being of African American women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 1088-1101
  • Ge, X., Kim, I. J., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., Gibbons, F. X., & Cutrona, C. E. (in press). It’s about timing and change: Pubertal transition effects on symptoms of major depression among African American youths. Developmental Psychology.
  • Murry, V. M., Brown, P. A., Brody, G. H., Cutrona, C. E., & Simons, R. L. (2001). Racial discrimination as a moderator of the links among stress, maternal psychological functioning, and family relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 915-926.
  • Simons, R. L., Murry, V., McLoyd, V., Lin, K. H., Cutrona, C. E., & Conger, R. D. (2002). Discrimination, crime, ethnic identity, and parenting as correlates of depressive symptoms of depressive symptoms among African American children: A multilevel analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 371-393.

Other Publications:

  • Cutrona, C. E. (1996). Social support as a determinant of marital quality: The interplay of negative and supportive behaviors in marriage. In G. Pierce, B. Sarason, & I. Sarason (Eds.), Handbook of social support and the family (pp. 173-194). New York, NY: Plenum.
  • Cutrona, C. E., & Cole, V. (2000). Optimizing support in the natural network. In L. G. Underwood, S. Cohen, & B. H. Gottlieb (Eds.) Social support measurement and Interventions: A guide for health and social scientists. Oxford University press.
  • Cutrona, C. E., & Suhr, J. A. (1994). Social support communication in the context of marriage: An analysis of couples' supportive interactions. In B. Burleson, T. Albrecht, & I. Sarason (Eds.), The communication of social support: Messages, interactions, relationships, and community. (pp. 113 - 135) Newbury, CA: Sage
  • Gardner, K. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (in press). Social support communication in families. In A. Vangelisti (Ed.) Handbook of Family Communication. Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Suhr, J. A., Cutrona, C. E., Krebs, K. K., & Jensen, S. L. (in press). The Social Support Behavior Code. In P. K. Kerig & D. Baucom (Eds.). Couple observational coding systems. Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.

Courses Taught:

Carolyn Cutrona
Department of Psychology
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-3180
United States of America

  • Phone: (515) 294-9400
  • Fax: (515) 294-6424

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