Erin E Wood, PhD
Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Wood is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory and Clinic (NRLC) working with Dr. Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak. Her work primarily focuses on social-environmental predictors of biological and behavioral outcomes. Her goal is to understand how social-environmental stressors can place youth on a path of risk or resilience to promote or prevent substance use disorder. Her current research at UTHSCSA is designed to ascertain how family structure and stress predict onset of substance use disorder in high-risk youth.
CONTACT INFO:
RESEARCH AREAS
- Adolescent development
- Social-environmental stressors
- Risky substance use behavior
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Wood received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Oklahoma State University in 2016. During her undergraduate studies, Dr. Wood was a member of the Oklahoma State University Honors College and began her independent research career by completing a senior honors thesis examining sex differences parenting and risky behavior under the advisement of Dr. Shelia Kennison. Dr. Wood went on to continue her education at Oklahoma State University where she completed her PhD in Experimental Psychology with concentrations in lifespan development and neurobiology under the co-advisement of Drs. Michael Criss and Jennifer Byrd-Craven. Here, Dr. Wood was able to explore the role of family and environmental stressors on health and development across the lifespan by conducting research with many at-risk families in both rural and urban Oklahoma. Her thesis focused on how salivary cortisol response to stressors influences the link between early family relationships and risky behaviors. Her dissertation focused on the direct and indirect effects on fathers on female risky behavior at both adolescence and emerging adulthood. As a T32 postdoctoral trainee, Dr. Wood looks forward to receiving specialized training in predictors of alcohol and substance use to inform future interventions to reduce and treat substance use disorders.
PUBLICATIONS
Criss MM, Cui L, Wood EE, & Morris AS (In Press). Association between Emotion Dysregulation and Adolescent Adjustment Difficulties: Moderating Effects of Parent and Peers. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-01972-w
Wood EE, Garza R, Kennison SM, & Byrd-Craven J (2021). Parenting, cortisol, and risky behaviors in emerging adulthood: Diverging patterns for males and females. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-021-00164-6
Wood EE, Kennison SM, & **Jackson G (2019). The role of parenting style of single parents in young children’s risk-taking. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00178-0
Wood E (2019). Single-mother families. In: T. Shackelford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. New York; NY: Springer.
Wood E, Kennison SM (2018). Birth Spacing and Birth Order. In: T. Shackleford & V. Weekes-Shackelford (eds). Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. New York; NY: Springer.
Wood EE, & Kennison SM (2017). Young Children’s Risk-Taking: Mothers’ Authoritarian Parenting Predicts Girls’ but Not Boys’ Risk-Taking. Child Development Research. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3719358
Kennison SM, Wood EE, Byrd-Craven J, & Downing M (2016). Financial and ethical risk-taking by young adults: A role for family dynamics during childhood. Cogent Economics & Finance, 4, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2016.1232225