Monthly Archives: August 2012

Sharell Elam joins the PTG Lab

• We feel very fortunate to add Sharell to our team. Click here to view her introduction.

PTG Lab is looking for a new RA who can commit to 3 full semesters

• We are looking for one additional research assistant to begin in the Fall 2012 semester.  This new position is for someone who will not graduate until Fall 2013, will be able to dedicate 10 hours per week, and have effective communication skills. To view our advertisement, click here.

PTG Lab attends 120th annual American Psychological Association Convention 

• The 2012 APA convention was held in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Taku presented at a symposium as well as a poster presentation with her research assistants Valarie Pierson and Melissa Sawa. To view the reflection of the APA conference, click here.

Dr. Taku and her colleagues from UNC-Charlotte’s study has just been published

• In this study, they examined PTG in youth from a public Japanese junior high school (the mean age was 13.4 years old!!) To view this publication, click here.  

Dr. Taku, Dr. Tedeschi, and Dr. Kılıç’s symposium is featured in the Highlights section for the APA convention! 

• It is very exciting that their cross-cultural research on PTG has been featured as one of the program highlights for the entire APA convention! Congratulations!

Dr. Taku’s Curriculum Vitae has been updated

• Click here to access the most updated English and Japanese versions of Dr. Taku’s curriculum vitae.

The Posttraumatic Growth Lab presented a poster at the American Psychological Association convention this August in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Kanako Taku, along with Dr. Richard Tedeschi (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Dr. Cengiz Kılıç (Ankara, Turkey) presented their symposium on Cross-Cultural Differences in the Perceived Favorability of Posttraumatic Growth Experiences.

To find out more information about Dr. Taku’s presentation, please e-mail her at taku@oakland.edu.

In addition to the symposium, Dr. Taku presented research entitled “Subjective Definitions of Growth and Religions Correlate with Posttraumatic Growth” with her research assistants Valarie Pierson and Melissa Sawa. The poster for their presentation can be found here.

Valarie and Melissa, above, discussing Posttraumatic Growth with Dr. Kılıç. 

PTG researchers from around the world! Pictured above are Dr. Kanako Taku, Dr. Richard Tedeschi, Melissa Sawa, Dr. Cengiz Kılıç, and Valarie Pierson. 

Overall, the convention was a great experience. It was fantastic to be able to learn about what is new in current psychology research, especially with Posttraumatic Growth. We were all presented with the opportunity to network and enjoy the conference.

The Meeting of Minds journal is one specifically for undergraduate research. Students that presented at the Meeting of Minds conference at the University of Michigan-Dearborn became eligible to submit to the journal. To view the journal submissions, click on the following links:

The Effect of Disclosure on Relating to Others Domain of Posttraumatic Growth

Religious Strength and Posttraumatic Growth: Examining the Effect of Alcohol Consumption in College Students

The PTG lab has the pleasure of welcoming Sharell Elam to our team! Sharell is a high school Spanish Teacher with Detroit Public Schools. She is currently a continuing education student at Oakland University with an interest in Public Policy and Human Development. While working with the Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) Lab, she is looking forward to analyzing data, researching the impact of an individual’s environment on one’s PTG, and questioning high school students’ academic aspirations after a traumatic occurrence.