Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Professor Michelle Demaray Research Lab

My research program is focused on three broad areas:

(a) social support, (b) bullying and victimization in schools, and (c) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Social Support

My research on social support has focused on the measurement of social support and how social support relates to a broad range of outcomes for children and adolescents.

The Measurement of Social Support

I have been involved in developing a measure of social support that is theoretically-based and intended for both applied and research applications. This research has been conducted in collaboration with Professor Christine Malecki and has resulted in the development of the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, and Elliott, 2000). The development of this measure and the research surrounding it is based on Tardy’s (1985) theoretical model of social support. We share this measure with the research community and have obtained numerous requests for the measure for both research and applied purposes. For example, we have obtained 327 requests from 42 countries to obtain a copy of the CASSS. The majority of these requests are from students completing their masters project or dissertation (n = 188) and professors conducting research (n = 56). If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the CASSS.

Social Support and Youth Outcomes

My research on social support and youth outcomes is based on two broad theories about how social support functions for children and adolescents. Some of this research has focused on the main effect model, which posits that social support benefits all students, regardless of their at-risk status. Additionally, I have investigated the stress-buffering role of social support; that proposes that social support only benefits students that are at-risk. I have investigate social support in a wide variety of populations, for example, I have collected social support data for students in special education, students with behavior disorders, children with ADHD, children living in poverty, and children who are overweight. I have also investigated a wide variety of outcomes including academic outcomes (e..g, grades, standardized test scores, academic enablers, etc.) and social-emotional outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-esteem, etc.).

Bullying and Victimization

My research in bullying and victimization is focused on two areas, social support and bullying/victimization, and further understanding the constructs of bullying and peer victimization, including the role of bystanders, and cyber victimization and bullying. I am interested in the relations among social support and bullying and victimization. I have worked on two basic questions:

(a) Are there differing levels of social support among students in the various roles of bullying (e.g., victim, bully, bully-victim, bystander), and (b) Does social support buffer victims of bullying from negative outcomes?

As part of this work I have investigated social support both as a mediator and a moderator in the relation between bullying and various outcomes.

More recently, I have conducted work in the area of bullying and victimization to further understanding the construct of bullying, bystanders involved in bullying, and cyber victimization I worked with a graduate student to develop a measure of bystander behavior in the bullying process. In addition, I have worked with another graduate student to develop a measure of cyber bullying and victimization.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

My research on ADHD is focused on two main areas:

(a) the social and academic functioning of children with ADHD, and (b) the assessment of ADHD by school psychologists.