Laura McKeeAssociate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies | Ecology of Human Well-being (EcoWell) Faculty Fellowshe/her/hers

My research program is guided by the aspiration to help to make the world a safer and happier place for families and children. I have sought to do so by (1) engaging in rigorous clinical science to understand individual, familial, and contextual factors implicated in youth psychopathology and wellness within a developmental psychopathology framework, (2) translating those research findings into evidence-based programming, and (3) testing the impact of interventions on youth and family health and well-being. I am focused on parenting style and behaviors, especially parent emotion socialization and mindful parenting as they relate to child, adolescent, and emerging adult outcomes in diverse families. Over the last 20 years, I have contributed to interventions ranging from a family depression prevention program with Drs. Bruce Compas (Vanderbilt University) and Rex Forehand (University of Vermont, Emerita) to a photography-based intervention with Dr. Sara Algoe (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) designed to enhance gratitude and daily experiences of positive emotion in adolescents and young adults. I am currently testing a parent-mediated intervention targeting positive empathy in young children entitled SHAPE JOY with Dr. Erin Tully (Georgia State University) and conducting research with Drs. Bruce Compas and Deborah Jones (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) to inform programming regarding how parents talk with their children about gun violence in schools. Finally, I am collaborating with colleagues in Ireland including Drs. Elizabeth Nixon (Trinity College, Dublin), Ciara Byrne, and the Board of the National Infertility Support and Information Group (NISIG, Ireland) to understand how parents disclose their child’s origin story in cases when donor gametes and/or surrogacy were part of family creation. My approach to research is collaborative and applied, and I thoroughly enjoy working with undergraduate and graduate students, in addition to colleagues and community members, to help support youth and families.

Selected Publications

McKee, L. G., Yang, Y., Highlander, A., McCall, M., & Jones, D. D. (2023). Conceptualizing the role of parent and child emotion regulation in the treatment of early-onset behavior disorders: Theory, research, and future directions. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 26, 272-301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-022-00419-y

Ciriegio, A. E., Pine, A. E., Cole, D. A., McKee, L. G., Forehand, R., & Compas, B. E. (2025). Mediators of a randomized controlled trial of a preventive intervention for youth of parents with depressive disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 93(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000928

Goyer, M.*, McKee, L. G., & Parent, J. (2022). Positive and negative interpretation biases in the relationship between trait mindfulness and depressive symptoms in primarily white emerging adults. Mindfulness, 13, 1258-1270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01873-z

McKee, L. G., DiMarzio, K., Parent, J., Dale, C., Acosta, J., & O’Leary, J. L.* (2022). Profiles of emotion socialization across development and longitudinal associations with youth psychopathology. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 50, 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00829-6

For a full list of publications, see McKee’s CV.