Robert D. Laird, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
rlaird@uno.edu
Research Interests
Dr. Laird’s research interests center on the contexts in which children develop social and behavioral competencies with an emphasis on parent-child and peer relationships. He conducts research designed to understand family and peer relationship contributions to the development of social skills and problem behaviors. Specifically, he is interested in what parents do to influence their children’s peer relationships (intentionally or unintentionally) and what influences parenting and peer relationships have on the development of children and adolescents. In addressing these issues, Dr. Laird takes the position that family and peer relationships are multi-dimensional and bi-directional, and that findings must be interpreted within the larger developmental context.
For more information about Dr. Laird’s research, please see his research lab website.
Selected Publications
Laird, R. D., Criss, M. M., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (in press). Parents’ monitoring knowledge attenuates the link between antisocial friends and adolescent delinquent behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
Laird, R. D., Criss, M. M., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (in press). Developmental trajectories and antecedents of distal parental supervision. Journal of Early Adolescence.
Pettit, G. S., Keiley, M. K., Laird, R. D., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (2007). Developmental changes in mother-reported monitoring across childhood and adolescence: Person-centered and variable-centered perspectives. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 206-217.
Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., , Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (2005). Peer relationship antecedents of delinquent behavior in late adolescence: Is there evidence of demographic group differences in developmental processes? Development and Psychopathology, 17, 127-144.
Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (2003). Parents’ monitoring-relevant knowledge and adolescents’ delinquent behavior: Evidence of correlated developmental changes and reciprocal influences. Child Development, 74, 752-768.
Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (2003). Change in parents’ monitoring knowledge: Links with parenting, relationship quality, adolescent beliefs, and antisocial behavior. Social Development, 12, 401-419.
Laird, R. D., Jordan, K. Y., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2001). Peer rejection in childhood, involvement with antisocial peers in early adolescence, and the development of externalizing behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 337-354.
Laird, R. D., Pettit, G. S., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (1999). Best friendships, group relationships, and antisocial behavior in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 412-437.
last modified 07/11/08
