HDFS Faculty and Staff : College of Education and Human Ecology : The Ohio State University

Human Development and Family Science - Faculty/Staff Profile

Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan

Scholarly Interests

coparenting, father-child relationships, child influences on family relationships

Research

My research examines family influences on young children’s socioemotional development. Specifically, I have three central areas of interest: (1) coparenting relationships – how effectively adults within the family system coordinate their roles as parents – and the implications of the quality of coparenting relationships for child and family functioning; (2) the roles of fathers in the family system, particularly the roles of fathers within coparenting relationships; and (3) the effects of children's characteristics and behavior on family relationships.

I have three current projects:

New Parents Project

My newest project, which will begin data collection in Summer 2008, is a short-term longitudinal study of 170 dual-earner couples expecting their first child. Expectant parents will be surveyed, interviewed, and observed interacting together during the third trimester of pregnancy, and surveyed, interviewed, and observed again when their new infants are age 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. This project, supported by the National Science Foundation, will look to answer questions regarding the roles of mothers and fathers in the early development of father-infant relationships.

Parents and Preschoolers Study

This project is a two-wave longitudinal study of the relative and interactive contributions of coparenting relationship quality and father involvement to preschoolers' emotional and behavioral adjustment. Participants were 100 two-parent families with a preschool-aged child, and data collected included reports from parents, children, and children's teachers/child care providers, as well as observations of family interaction. With support from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, data collection was completed in Spring 2007, and data analysis is ongoing.

Family Development Project

I am also affiliated with an ongoing longitudinal study of early family development conducted at the University of Illinois, in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Mangelsdorf, Dr. Margaret Szewczyk Sokolowski, and Geoffrey Brown. The goals of this investigation are to examine prebirth predictors of the quality of developing coparenting relationships, as well as examining the associations among multiple developing relationships within the family system. At the inception of this study, 100 expectant couples were interviewed about their family relationships and expectations about parenthood, and observed interacting together. When the families' new infants were 3.5 months old, parents were surveyed about family relationships and infant characteristics, and families were observed interacting together. Data analysis for this project is ongoing, and my collaborators at Illinois have continued to follow-up these children and their families through the toddler and preschool years.

Recent Publications

Cannon, E. A., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Brown, G. L., & Szewczyk Sokolowski, M. (in press). Parent characteristics as antecedents of maternal gatekeeping and fathering behavior. Family Process.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Brown, G. L., Cannon, E. A., Mangelsdorf, S. C., & Szewczyk Sokolowski, M. (2008). Maternal gatekeeping, coparenting quality, and fathering behavior in families with infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 389-398.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Schermerhorn, A. C., & Cummings, E. M. (2007). Marital conflict and children’s adjustment: Evaluation of the parenting process model. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 1118-1134.

Futris, T. G., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2007). Mothers' perceptions of barriers, parenting alliance, and adolescent fathers' engagement with their children. Family Relations, 56, 258-269.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Brown, G. L., & Szewczyk Sokolowski, M. (2007). Goodness-of-fit in family context: Infant temperament, marital quality, and early coparenting behavior. Infant Behavior and Development, 30, 82-96.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Haight, W. L., Black, J. E., Szewczyk Sokolowski, M., Giorgio, G., & Tata, L. (2007). Maternal discourse, attachment-related risk, and current risk factors: Associations with maternal parenting behavior during foster care visits. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28, 149-165.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Diener, M. L., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Brown, G. L., McHale, J. L., & Frosch, C. A. (2006). Attachment and sensitivity in family context: The roles of parent and infant gender. Infant and Child Development, 15, 367-385.

Professional Service

2006
Reviewer of submissions, 2007 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting

2005 - 2006
Editorial Board, Journal of Marriage and Family (Volume 68)

June 2005 - present
Advisory Board, Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research and Practice about Men as Fathers

Ad-Hoc Reviewer: Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Family Psychology, Psychological Assessment

Honors/Awards

2008
Siddens Award for Distinguished Faculty Advising of Graduate Students, Ohio State University

2008
Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, Ohio State University

2008-2013
National Science Foundation CAREER Award

2006
Dean's Award for Research, College of Human Ecology, Ohio State University

2004, 2005
Ohio Council on Family Relations Professional NCFR Presentation Award

2002 – 2003
Dissertation Completion Fellowship, University of Illinois

2002
Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction by a Graduate Student, University of Illinois

2001-02
Dissertation Travel Grant, University of Illinois

2001
Dissertation Research Grant, University of Illinois

1992-96
National Merit Scholarship, Northwestern University

1995
Phi Beta Kappa, Northwestern University

Grants

Kamp Dush, C. M. (Co-PI), Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (Co-PI), & Sayer, L. C. (Co-I). The relationship contexts of fathering behavior across the transition to parenthood in cohabiting and married couples. Sub-project of the Initiative in Population Research’s Population Research Center Grant awarded to The Ohio State University, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dates: 7/1/08 – 6/30/09. Amount: $74,139. 1 R21 HD047943-01.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (PI). CAREER: Maternal gatekeeping and fathering behavior across the transition to parenthood. National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences. Dates: 3/1/08 – 2/28/13. Amount: $399,999. Award Number 0746548.

Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (PI). Father involvement, coparenting, and child functioning. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dates: 7/1/05 – 6/30/08. Amount: $130,147. 1 R03 HD050235.

The Ohio State University

www.osu.edu

Position

Education

Professional Experience