2015 - Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
2018 - Postdoctoral Training, Developmental Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Booker is not currently recruiting grad students
My research focuses on multiple areas of social development. My developmental focus is with adolescents and young adults. I am broadly interested in forms of emotional, personality, and identity development. Further, I tend to use autobiographical storytelling as a major method of data collection, representing both family stories and personal narratives as reflections of emotions, personality, and identity.
PSYCH 2410 - Developmental Psychology
PSYCH 3880/BLSTU 3100 - African American Psychology
PSYCH 4960/7085 - Disability, Identity, and Autobiography
I completed my doctoral training in the Developmental Psychology program at Virginia Tech, working with Drs. Julie Dunsmore and Thomas Ollendick. Through projects and courses across training, I became more familiar with topics in emotion competence and parental emotion socialization against the backdrop of clinical treatment for children, particularly as parents engaged in storytelling about challenging events to guide and support children. In the latter stages of my doctoral training, I also built an interest in aspects of personality development and the importance of character in informing well-being and resilience. I began integrating these lines of research, beginning with my dissertation.
Following doctoral training, I completed three years of postdoctoral training with Dr. Robyn Fivush at Emory University, focusing on the importance of autobiographical reminiscing and narrative identity--the importance of life stories. In pursuing this area of research, I also placed a greater focus on identity development and continued integrating research inquiries across emotional, personality, and identity development. Much of my work addresses the implications of these facets of development for health and psychosocial functioning.
I continue to incorporate the major questions and methods that have driven my interest in developmental science as I continue to grow the Milestones Lab and benefit from enriching collaborative opportunities with students and colleagues at the University of Missouri and beyond.
* Indicates mentored student
Booker, J. A., *Ell, M., Fivush, R., Greenhoot, A. F., McLean, K. C., Wainryb, C., & Pasupathi, M. (2022). Early impacts of college, interrupted: Considering first-year students’ narratives about COVID and reports of adjustment during college shutdowns. Psychological Science. Advance online publication.
Booker, J. A., Brakke, K., & *Pierre, N. (2022). It’s time to make more goals so I can keep pushing: Hope, growth, and well-being among young Black women. Emerging Adulthood. Advance online publication.
Booker, J. A., Fivush, R., & Graci, M. E. (2022). Narrative identity informs psychological adjustment: Considering three themes captured across five time points and two event valences. Journal of Personality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12668
Booker, J. A., & *Perlin, J. P. (2022). Moving beyond redemptive magnitude: Examining redemptive forms and themes in young adults’ narratives of difficult life experiences. Identity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2021.1957896
Booker, J. A., & Graci, M. E. (2022). Between-and within-person differences in communion given gender and personality. Personality and Individual Differences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111117
Booker, J. A., Hernandez, E., *Talley, K. E., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2022). Connecting with others: Dispositional and situational relatedness during the college transition. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211034566
Booker, J. A., Brakke, K., Sales, J. M., & Fivush, R. (2022). Narrative identity across multiple autobiographical episodes: Considering means and variability with well-being. Self and Identity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2021.1895301
*Wesley, R. & Booker, J. A. (2021). Social support and psychological adjustment among college adults. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 40(1), 69–95.
Booker, J. A., Ispa, J. M., Im, J., Maiya, S., Roos, J., & Carlo, G. (2021). African American mothers talk to their preadolescents about honesty and lying. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 27(3), 521-530. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000396
Booker, J. A., *Wesley, R., & *Pierre, N. (2021). Agency, well-being, and identity development among Midwestern college adults. Journal of College Student Development, 62(4), 488-493. doi: 10.1353/csd.2021.0049
Booker, J. A., & *Johnson, K. (2021). Religious affiliation, identity development, and well-being among emerging adults. Emerging Adulthood, 272, 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.04.009
Booker, J. A., & *Perlin, J. (2021). Using multiple character strengths to inform young adults’ self-compassion: The potential of hope and forgiveness. Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(3), 379-389. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1716048
Booker, J. A., *Capriola-Hall, N. N., Greene, R. W., & Ollendick, T. H. (2020). The parent-child relationship and post-treatment child outcomes across two treatments for oppositional defiant disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49, 405-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1555761
Booker, J. A., Fivush, R., Graci, M. E., Heitz, H., Hudak, L. A., Jovanovic, T., Rothbaum, B. O., & Stevens, J. (2020). Longitudinal changes in trauma narratives over the first year and associations with coping and mental health. Journal of Affective Disorders, 272, 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.04.009
Booker, J. A., & Dunsmore, J. D. (2019). Testing direct and indirect ties of self-compassion with subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20, 1563-1585. doi: 10.1007/s10902-018-0011-2
Booker, J.A., Capriola-Hall, N. N., Greene, R. W., & Ollendick, T. H. (2018). The parent-relationship and post-treatment child outcomes across two treatments for oppositional defiant disorder. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1555761
Merrill, N., Booker, J. A., & Fivush, R. (2018). Frequency and function of intergenerational narratives told by young people. Manuscript in press at Topics in Cognitive Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12356
Fivush, R., Booker, J. A., & Graci, M. E. (2017). Ongoing narrative meaning-making within events and across the lifespan. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 37, 127-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276236617733824
Booker, J. A., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2016). Affective social competence in adolescence: Current findings and future directions.Social Development, 26, 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12193