The proposed summer internship research program is designed to (a) facilitate the professional development of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in becoming mental health researchers and (b) generally increase the representation of minorities in psychology science. The training model outlined in this grant application is based on the Summer Research Opportunities Program at the University of Utah, which has been successfully training underrepresented students to become mental health researchers since 1992. Eight promising undergraduates and four pre-masters graduate students from underrepresented populations will participate in a nine-week research education program. Interns will attend a seminar on research skills and professional development issues, a seminar on GRE preparation, and participate directly in research activities under the close supervision of faculty mentors. During the final week of the program, interns will present their research at a poster session, provide a formal oral presentation of their project, and submit an APA-style paper on their findings. Interns will live in a campus residence hall and engage in various social and recreational activities aimed at building group cohesion and facilitating the development of a professional support network. The specific objectives of the training program are to: 1) provide intensive, supervised, hands-on experience in mental health research; 2) develop general research skills; 3) develop skills in the written and oral communication of research; 4) increase interns' self-confidence in their scholarly abilities; 5) expose students to a wide range of research opportunities in psychology; 6) increase interns' preparation for graduate school and research/academic careers; 7) help interns acquire the credentials necessary for entrance into the graduate program and job position of their choice; 8) encourage interns to pursue research and academic careers in the field of mental health research. An evaluation plan will be employed to assess the short and long term effectiveness of the program with respect to these goals.
| Berg, Cynthia A; Schindler, Ines; Maharajh, Shannon (2008) Adolescents'and mothers'perceptions of the cognitive and relational functions of collaboration and adjustment in dealing with type 1 diabetes. J Fam Psychol 22:865-74 |
