Annette M. La Greca, Ph.D.
Professor
Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics
Cooper Fellow and Provost Scholar
I am a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics. I received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University after completing a clinical internship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. I then joined the faculty at the University of Miami, where I directed and led the development of graduate program tracks in clinical-child and pediatric health psychology. I also directed the department’s APA-accredited program in Clinical Psychology for many years.
Throughout my career, my research has focused on “risk and resilience” in youths’ physical and mental health. This work is exemplified by my research on the impact of adolescents’ peer relations (including peer and cyber victimization) on their feelings of social anxiety and depression, and on the impact of natural disasters on children’s and families’ psychological and physical health. For example, I was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to develop a school-based preventive intervention (UTalk) for adolescents who experience interpersonal peer victimization and also report elevated symptoms of depression or social anxiety. In the trauma area, I have studied children’s risk and resilience following Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Charley (2004), Ike (2008), and Irma (2017), and I am the lead author on After the Storm: A Guide to Help Children Cope in the Aftermath of Hurricanes. During the COVID pandemic, I also wrote Helping Children Cope with COVID-19 to promote child and family mental health during the pandemic. Overall, I’ve published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and written or edited 17 books. My work has been supported by the NIMH, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and foundations such as BellSouth and the United Way.
I also am a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) (Divisions 12, 38, 53, and 54) and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. I served as Editor-in-Chief of key journals in my areas of interest, namely the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. I also have been fortunate to receive multiple research and mentoring awards, including the Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award and the Martin Levin Mentoring Award (from APA’s Society of Pediatric Psychology), the International Scholar Award from the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund, the 2013 Distinguished Women Scholars Award from my alma mater, Purdue University, and the 2014 Distinguished Career Award from the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (APA, Division 53). I also received an APA Presidential Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Science, Practice, and Education Within the Fields of Clinical-Child and Pediatric Psychology.
Over the years, I have been active in multiple governance activities for APA. For example, I served as Chair of the APA Publications and Communication Board and also served on an APA scientific panel to develop practice guidelines for treating PTSD. In 2020, I serve as President APA’s Division 12 – the Society of Clinical Psychology – for which I am currently Past-President.
Education
| B.S. Psychology and Mathematics, Fordham University, Bronx, New York. Degree Awarded Summa cum laude. | |
| M.S. Clinical Psychology., Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. | |
| Ph.D. Clinical Psychology - APA Accredited Program. Related Area: Cognitive - Developmental. Special Concentration: Quantitative Methods., Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. |
Professional Experience
| 2013 - | Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics , University of Miami |
| 2000 - 2022 | Director of Clinical Training , Department of Psychology, University of Miami |
| 1982 - 2000 | Director, Clinical-Child/Pediatric Health Programs , Department of Psychology, University of Miami |
| 1987 - 2000 | Director, Child Division , Department of Psychology, University of Miami |
| 1986 - | Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics, University of Miami |
| 1984 - 1986 | Director of Clinical Psychology, Mailman Center for Child Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami |
| 1982 - 1986 | Associate Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics Coordinator of Clinical-Child/Pediatric Training , Department of Psychology, University of Miami |
| 1978 - 1982 | Assistant Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics , Department of Psychology, University of Miami |
Honors & Acknowledgements
2014 Distinguished Career Award, Society Clinical Child and Adolescent Psych, (APA Division 53)
2013 Purdue Distinguished Women Scholar, Purdue University
2013 Distinguished Professor of Psychology (Endowed Professorship), University of Miami
2012 Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, Academy of Behavioral Medicine
2008 APA Presidential Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Science, Practice, and Education Within the Fields of Clinical-Child and Pediatric Psychology
2007-2009 Cooper Fellow, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Award, University of Miami
2007 International Scholar Award, Australian Rotary Health Research Fund
2006 Provost’s Scholarly Activity Award, University of Miami
2004 Charles Spielberger EMPathy Award, APA, Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology)
2003 Martin P. Levin Mentoring Award, APA, Division 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology)
2002 Special Acknowledgement, Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, for Professional Contributions in Response to the Terrorist Events of Sept. 11, 2001
2002 Charter Fellow, APA, Division 53 (Society of Clinical Child Psychology)
2001 Charter Fellow, APA, Division 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology)
1997 Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award, Society of Pediatric Psychology, APA Division 54
1994 Nominated by University of Miami for the Carnegie Foundation, Professor of the Year
1993 Excellence in Teaching, Graduate Advisory Group, University of Miami
1991 Lee Salk Distinguished Service Award, Society of Pediatric Psychology, APA Division 54
1991 Fellow, American Psychological Association (APA), Divisions 12 and 38
Current Research
My research interests focus on adolescents' peer relations (including peer and cyber victimization), friendships, and romantic relationships, as they pertain to psychological and physical health, and on the impact of trauma, especially natural disasters (hurricanes), on the psychological and physical functioning of youth and parents. Within these areas, I adopt a “risk and resilience” perspective, and am keenly interested in translating research findings into preventive interventions. My recent work also reflects an interest in developmental issues that affect the conceptualization of posttraumatic stress disorder in youth.
Research Projects
Quick Links to My Research
Many of my publications are available on my ResearchGate page.
You may also be interested in visiting the FACEBOOK page for the UM Peers Lab.
Manuals available for download include: Helping Children Cope with COVID-19, Helping America Cope, and After the Storm. For additional manuals go to www.7-dippity.com.
Other Links
Self Report Measures
Dating Anxiety
The Dating Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (DAS-A; Glickman & La Greca, 2004) assesses adolescents' anxiety in heterosocial and dating situations. For more information on this measure, consult the following articles:
- Adolescents' Anxiety in Dating Situations: The Role of Other-Sex Friends, Close Friends, and Romantic Partners. (La Greca & Mackey, 2007). [download pdf]
- The Dating Anxiety Scale for Adolescents: Scale Development and Associations with Adolescent Functioning. (Glickman & La Greca 2004). [download pdf]
Diabetes Social Support
The Diabetes Social Support Questionnaire (DSSQ) is a self-report measure with two parallel versions. The DSSQ Friends [pdf] is a measure of friend's support for diabetes care. The DSSQ Family [pdf] is a measure of family support for diabetes care. For more information on this measure, consult Bearman & La Greca, 2002, Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
Peer Crowds
The Peer Crowds Questionnaire [pdf] (PCQ; La Greca, Prinstein & Fetter, 2001) was designed to assess the extent to which adolescents identify with a variety of common peer crowd affiliations. For more information regarding this questionnaire, please consult the following articles:
- Adolescent Peer Crowd Affiliation: Linkages With Health-Risk Behaviors and Close Friendships. (La Greca, Prinstein & Fetter, 2001) [download pdf]
- Adolescents' Eating, Exercise, and Weight Control Behaviors: Does Peer Crowd Affiliation Play a Role? (Mackey & La Greca, 2007). [download pdf]
Self-Care Inventory
The Self-Care Inventory is a self-report measure designed to assess a patient's level of adherence to diabetes self-care recommendations over the previous 1 - 2 months. The SCI Manual can be downloaded [here]. A revised copy of the Self-Care Inventory (SCI-R) can be downloaded [here]. For information on the psychometric analyses of the SCI-R, please consult this article: Measuring Diabetes Self-Care [download pdf].
*PLEASE NOTE: The SCI and SCI-R are COPYRIGHTED materials. They are copyrighted by Annette M. La Greca, and may be used only with the written permission of the author. The author does not grant permission for publishing norms, alterations, or translations of the instrument without her written permission or collaboration in such efforts.
Social Anxiety Scales
The Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R) and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A) are self-report measures designed to assess youths' levels of social anxiety. The SASC-R is appropriate for children ages 7 to 13 years (elementary school) and the SAS-A is appropriate for adolescents (middle school and high school). Each measure has 18 items (plus 4 filler items) that evaluates three aspects of social anxiety: Fear of Negative Evaluation from peers (FNE = 8 items), Social Avoidance and Distress around New Peers or in New Situations (SAD-New = 6 items), and Generalized Social Avoidance and Distress (SAD-General = 4 items). Items are rated on 5-point Likert scales and summed across relevant items to obtain scores for SAS total and each of the three subscales. Substantial data supports the reliability and validity of these instruments.
The SASC-R and SAS-A are COPYRIGHTED materials. They are copyrighted by Annette M. La Greca and may be used only with her written permission. The author does not grant permission for publishing norms, alterations, or translations of the instrument without her written permission or collaboration in such efforts. The Manual for the Social Anxiety Scales contains detailed psychometric and normative information, information on translations, and copies of the scales and their scoring.
If you are interested in using the Social Anxiety Scales, OR to obtain the manual, please complete the request form at https://lumiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5cJd5hCh3wLqia2 :
