Andrea Buhler-WassmannAssistant Professor of Human Development & Family Studies | Shannon Faculty Fellowshe/they/ella

I study how Latine caregivers nurture their children’s early development and learning through everyday practices in their home environments, with the goal of identifying culturally relevant ways to support caregivers and create environments that promote family and child well-being. My scholarship is organized around two central themes: (1) how caregivers navigate stressful contexts and the intrinsic, relational, and systemic factors that promote healthy socioemotional and psychobiological development, and (2) highlighting cultural strengths in caregiver-child interactions.

My focus on Latine families stems from my personal connection to these communities as a Latina scholar and my conviction to promote social justice through developmental science. I am dedicated to working in partnership with community organizations that serve Latine families, as well as students from ethnoculturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Selected Publications

Buhler-Wassmann, A. C., Villanueva, A., Navarro Chavez, J., Melzi, G., Callanan, M. A., & Haden, C. A. (2026). How Venezuelan mothers and their young children use storytelling to process immigration journeys. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 4, 1910152.

Buhler-Wassmann, A. C., Villanueva, A., Acosta, D. A., Haden, C. A., Callanan, M., & Melzi, G. (2026). Narrating science, shaping selves: Oral stories Latine caregivers share with their preschoolers as pathways to science learning and identity. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 40(4), e70247.

Buhler-Wassmann, A. C., & Hibel, L. C. (2026). Toddlers’ emotion socialization in context: Associations with Mexican heritage cultural values. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 14(3), 231–247.

Buhler-Wassmann, A. C., & Hibel, L. C. (2021). Studying caregiver-infant co-regulation in dynamic, diverse cultural contexts: A call to action. Infant Behavior and Development, 64, 101586.

Buhler-Wassmann, A. C., Hibel, L. C., Fondren, K., & Valentino, K. (2021). Child diurnal cortisol differs based on profiles of maternal emotion socialization in high risk, low income, and racially diverse families. Developmental Psychobiology, 63(3), 538–555.

For a full list of publications, see Buhler-Wassmann’s CV.