Amanda L. Roy, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies
Community and Applied Developmental Psychology
Contact
Building & Room:
1050C BSB
Address:
1007 W Harrison Street
Office Phone:
Email:
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About
As someone who grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I am a Yooper. I am also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who did community development and health education work in Cameroon. Together these experiences opened my eyes to social inequality, gave me a passion for psychological research, and inspired a commitment to effect social change. I found a home for these goals and desires in the field of Community Psychology.
I received my PhD in Community Psychology with an emphasis in Developmental Psychology and Quantitative Methods from New York University in 2010. I started as a faculty member in the UIC’s Psychology Department in 2014 and am currently an Associate Professor in the Community and Applied Developmental Psychology program.
My research focuses on two lines of inquiry. The first examines how the neighborhoods that people inhabit can influence individual health and well-being. In this work I have considered how exposure to neighborhood characteristics such as poverty, racial/ethnic composition, crime, and organizational resources (e.g., health care services) can shape the lives of children and adults. My second area of work explores the ways that sociopolitical beliefs and engagement influence youth development. I am examining how young adults employ Transformative Social and Emotional Competencies (T-SECs) as they make decisions about higher education and employment.