Dr. Julie Wojslawowicz Bowker
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Office: 224 Park Hall
Phone: (716) 645-3650 x. 355
E-mail (will open in a new window)

Summary of Research Interests:

My research program focuses on the roles that peer relationships, particularly friendships, play in social and emotional development during late childhood and early adolescence. I have been particularly drawn to the interface between individual differences in socioemotional behaviors (e.g., aggression, social withdrawal) and the protective “power” of friendships. Results from my recent research with colleagues at the University of Maryland have highlighted the unique significance of friendships for shy/withdrawn and aggressive children (Burgess, Wojslawowicz, Rubin, Rose-Krasnor, & Booth-LaForce, 2006). For instance, although withdrawn and aggressive children tend to think about socially difficult and ambiguous situations in characteristically negative ways (e.g., the Dodge scenarios), our findings have revealed that their thinking shows marked improvement in hypothetical social scenarios that involve their best friends. Specifically, aggressive children are less likely to endorse vengeful coping strategies, and shy/withdrawn children are less likely to make self-blaming attributions for situations involving a friend.

My current research also examines the associations between individual differences and the quality of children’s friendships, and the significance of temporal changes (e.g., friendship loss, friendship gain) in friendship involvement on psychological well-being. I am particularly interested in the self-system; consequently, my research explores the associations between peer relationships and internalizing problems, along with self-esteem, general self-worth, loneliness, and self-consciousness.

Representative Publications:

• Wojslawowicz Bowker, J.C., Rubin, K.H., Burgess, K.B., Booth-LaForce, C., & Rose-Krasnor, L.R. (2006). Behavioral characteristics associated with stable and fluid best friendship patterns in middle childhood. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52,4.
• Burgess, K.B., Wojslawowicz, J.C., Rubin, K.H., Rose-Krasnor, L.R., & Booth-LaForce, C. (2006). Social information processing and coping styles of shy/withdrawn and aggressive children: Does friendship matter? Child Development, 77,2, 371-383.
• Rubin, K.H., Wojslawowicz, J.C., Rose-Krasnor, L.R., Booth-LaForce, C., & Burgess, K.B. (2006). The Friendships of Shy/Withdrawn Children: Prevalence, stability, and relationship quality. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.
• Parker, J.G., Rubin, K.H., Erath, S., Wojslawowicz, J.C., & Buskirk, A. (2006). Peer relationships, child development, and adjustment: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental Psychopathology: Vol. 2: Risk, disorder, and adaptation. New York: Wiley.
• Rubin, K.H., Coplan, R., Chen, X., Buskirk, A., & Wojslawowicz, J.C. (2005). Peer relationships in childhood. In M. A. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental Psychology: An Advanced Textbook (5th edition). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.