Grants and opportunities

Join APF at APA’s convention

APF will offer numerous convention lectures on topics such as giftedness, teaching and health equity at APA’s 2010 Annual Convention Aug. 12–15 in San Diego. They are:

• Spielberger Empathy Symposium: “The Limbic-Motor Interface and the Motivation of Goal-Directed Action,” Bernard M. Balleine, PhD. “Pursuing Approach vs. Avoidance Sex Goals: Adaptive Outcomes Across Relationship Contexts and Time,” M. Lynne Cooper, PhD. “Emotion and the Process of Change,” Leslie Greenberg, PhD. Aug. 13, 11–11:50 a.m.

• Esther Katz Rosen Lecture on Gifted Children/Adolescents: “Giftedness: Endowment, Context, Timing, Development or Performance? Does it Matter?” Frank Worrell, PhD. Aug. 13, noon–12:50 p.m.

• William Bevan Lecture on Psychology and Public Policy: “Advancing Health Equity: Building Stronger Communities for Better Health,” Brian D. Smedley, PhD. Aug. 13, 1–1:50 p.m.

• Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award Address: “Psychological Metaphors in the Life of a Psychology Teacher,” Bernard Beins, PhD. Aug. 14, 2–2:50 p.m.

• Arthur W. Staats Lecture on Unifying Psychology: “The End of Psychology,” Douglas K. Candland, PhD. Aug. 14, 3–3:50 p.m.

• Grants and Scholarships Discussion: Elisabeth Straus and Kim Palmer Rowsome. Aug. 14, 4–4:50 p.m.

• Lynn Stuart Weiss Lecture on the Psychological Study of Social Issues: “Moral Competence: A New Paradigm for Promoting Global Democracy and Peace,” Georg Lind, PhD. Aug. 14, 4–4:50 p.m.

• Dr. Rosalee G. Weiss Lecture for Outstanding Leaders in Psychology: “Racism among the Well-Intentioned: Implications of Unconscious Racism for Social Relations, Interventions and Psychological Practice,” John Dovidio, PhD. Aug. 14, 5–5:50 p.m.

Fostering healthy relationships for new parents

Many couples who seek to become parents experience distress over the course of pregnancy and following their children’s birth — anxiety that can have a negative effect on infant health and development. Low-income couples in particular may experience even greater stress. Katherine J. Williams-Baucom, a psychology doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles was awarded APF’s 2010 Randy Gerson Memorial Scholarship to examine whether preventative intervention can alleviate distress in low-income couples as they transition to parenthood. She will test whether participating in a six-session couple therapy group has immediate and long-term effects on relationship satisfaction.

The Randy Gerson Memorial Scholarship is awarded to predoctoral students for their work in family and/or couple dynamics, and/or multi-generational processes. The grant is made possible through the support of Sylvia Shellenberger, PhD, in honor of her late husband, Randy Gerson, PhD.

APF supports international travel

APF has awarded Sajida Naz with the 2010 Frances M. Culbertson Award to attend the International Conference of the Association of Psychology and Psychiatry for Adults and Children. Naz, a doctoral student at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England, is researching the effects that traumatic events have on police personnel. She hopes her results will guide policies on conducting accurate psychological assessment.

The APF Frances M. Culbertson Grant provides travel funds to women from developing countries to attend international and regional conferences.

Recognizing talented early career psychologists

APF and Div. 29 (Psychotherapy) have awarded Tami Jo De Coteau, PhD, with the Div. 29 Early Career Award for her work providing culturally competent practice techniques for Native American patients and for developing training programs in rural, underserved areas, particularly in treating anxiety disorders.

De Coteau is the training director of the Psychology Internship Training Program at the Standing Rock Service Unit of the Indian Health Service. As an APA regional coordinator for federal education advocacy, she has been an effective advocate for congressional funding for programs to train Native Americans.

Div. 29 fosters collegial relations among psychologists interested in psychotherapy, stimulates the exchange of information about psychotherapy, encourages the evaluation and development of the practice of psychotherapy, and educates the public regarding the service of psychotherapists.

Apply for a child injury prevention grant

APF seeks applications for the $5,000 Lizette Peterson Homer Grant, which supports research into psychological and behavioral aspects of the prevention of intentional and non-intentional injuries in children and adolescents, as reflected in the activities and interests within pediatric psychology of the late Lizette Peterson Homer, PhD and her commitment to improving the status of children in the face of the most significant threats to their health and development. This grant is open to students and faculty to support research related to the prevention of injuries in children and adolescents. Students and faculty are eligible to apply. The deadline is Oct. 1. For more information, visit Lizette Peterson-Homer Injury Prevention Grant Award.

Honor an early career psychologist

Nominate your colleagues for the $5,000 Theodore Blau Early Career Award, which honors a clinical psychologist for professional accomplishments in clinical psychology.

Achievements may include promoting the practice of clinical psychology through professional service, innovation in service delivery, novel application of applied research methodologies to professional practice or having a positive impact on health-delivery systems.

Nominees should be no more than seven years postdoctoral degree. Self-nominations are welcome. Submit nominations by Nov. 1. For more information, visit Theodore Blau Early Career Award for Outstanding Contribution to Professional Clinical Psychology.

Apply for a personality psychology award

The $1,000 Theodore Millon Award in personality psychology honors an outstanding psychologist who is advancing the science of personality psychology in such areas of personology, personality theory, personality disorders and personality measurement. Apply by Nov. 1. For more information, visit Theodore Millon Award in Personality Psychology.

Support your LGBT research

APF seeks nominations for the Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant, which supports empirical and applied research on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family psychology and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family therapy. APF offers one grant of up to $12,000 for research by a graduate student with strong preference given to dissertation candidates. Apply by Nov. 1. For more information, visit Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grants.

Fund your public policy dissertation

The APF Annette Urso Rickel Foundation Dissertation Award for Public Policy supports dissertation research on public policy that has the potential to improve services for children and families facing psychosocial issues.

Examples of eligible topics include, but are not limited to, issues with at-risk populations, prevention of child abuse, services for youth in the criminal justice system, effectiveness of school programs for children with psychological issues, using psychology in public policy to improve math and science education, and promoting healthy parenting. Apply by Nov. 1.

APF’s Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz grants advance child psychology

Although children are born with certain traits and abilities, their interaction with their environment can have a distinct effect on their development. APF awarded five talented psychology students with $2,000 APF Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Grant in February to further research on child development and psychology. The award recipients are:

• Lindsey Bell, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for her study “Growth of Executive Function in Children: Contributions of Schooling and Culture.”

• Diane Chen, Temple University, for her study: “Longitudinal Associations among Aggressive-Disruptive Behavior and Peer Processes.”

• Melissa George, University of Notre Dame, for her study “The Development of Attachment Insecurity in the Parent-Child Relationship as a Potent Risk Factor for the Development of Psychopathology.”

• Cara Kiff, University of Washington, for her study, “Bidirectional Relations of Emotionality and Parenting to Child Psychopathology.”

• Katherine Lingras, University of Minnesota, for her study, “Associations between Aggression and School Outcomes: The Role of Executive Function in Reducing Risks for Young Homeless Children.”