Education
Ph.D from University of Minnesota, 2013

Research Interests

I am interested in the contributions of experiences across multiple contexts in different developmental periods to developmentally salient outcomes and individual's psychosocial and physical well-being across development, particularly in adolescence and young adulthood. My work focuses on how experiences/factors in different contexts (family, peer, close relationships, extra-familial) and genetic influence contribute to the development of alcohol use and misuse and related behavioral and mental health outcomes, and how they have implications for effective functioning in salient life tasks. The broader goal of this work is to understand pathways to healthy youth development and adjustment and identify factors to disrupt potentially harmful developmental trajectories.

Selected Publications
Sung, S., Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Kuo, S. I., Schlomer, G. L., & Belsky, J. (2016). Secure infant-mother attachment buffers the effect of early-life stress on age of menarche. Psychological science, 27(5), 667-674.

Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Rodríguez De Jesús, S. A., McHale, S. M., Feinberg, M. F., & Kuo, S. I. (2016). Family-focused prevention with Latinos: What about sisters and brothers?. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(5), 633.

Kuo, S. I., Updegraff, K. A., Zeiders, K. H., McHale, S. M., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & De Jesús, S. A. R. (2015). Mexican American adolescents’ sleep patterns: Contextual correlates and implications for health and adjustment in young adulthood. Journal of youth and adolescence, 44(2), 346-361.

Simpson, J. A., Griskevicius, V., Kuo, S. I., Sung, S., & Collins, W. A. (2012). Evolution, stress, and sensitive periods: The influence of unpredictability in early versus late childhood on sex and risky behavior. Developmental Psychology, 48, 674-686

Englund, M. M., Kuo, S. I., Puig, J., & Collins, W. A. (2011).  Early roots of adult competence: The significance of close relationships from infancy to early adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 490-496.  

Salvatore, J. E., Kuo, S. I., Steele, R. D., Simpson, J. A., & Collins, W. A. (2011). Recovering from conflict in romantic relationships: A developmental perspective. Psychological Science, 22, 376-383. 

Masten, A. S., Desjardins, C. D., McCormick, C. M., Kuo, S. I., & Long, J. D. (2010). The significance of childhood competence and problems for adult success in work: A development cascade analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 679-694.