Laura Ferrer-Wreder , Ph.D.
Associate Professor
lwreder@mail.barry.edu
LIB 158
(305) 899-3273

Dr. Ferrer-Wreder is a developmental psychologist, who joined the faculty at Barry in 2005. Prior to coming to Barry, she was a member of the faculty at Penn State Capital College. Dr. Ferrer-Wreder earned her Bachelor’s degree at Barry University, a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Life Span Developmental Psychology at Florida International University (1998). Her undergraduate and graduate studies were supported by National Institutes of Health (MARC) training grants. As a post-doc, she received a National Science Foundation International Research Fellowship (Örebro University, Sweden). Her specialty areas are positive youth development and prevention science.

Dr. Ferrer-Wreder is presently an Associate Editor for the Journal: Child & Youth Care Forum: http://www.springer.com/psychology. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Society for the Study of Human Development: http://www.sshdonline.org/. Dr. Ferrer-Wreder has published widely including an authored book on the prevention and positive youth development field.  She has been involved as an evaluator on two nationally (US) and competitively funded research grants (i.e., Safe Schools/Healthy Students; approximate total budgets of these two grants is US$14 million). Other grants that Dr. Ferrer-Wreder has been involved in either as primary investigator, investigator, or fellow include three federally (US) funded training grants and four local or university based research grants (grants under $50,000).

Research Interests

• Adolescent and child development
• Identity development
• Transitions between developmental periods
• Research design, implementation, and evaluation of school and community supported interventions
• Culture, gender, and the development and dissemination of interventions
• Youth development programs
• Prevention of youth problem behaviors
• Parent and school influences on youth development and problem behaviors
  

Selected Publications/Presentations

Kurtines, W.M., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Berman, S. L., Lorente, C. C., Briones, E., Montgomery, M.J., Albrecht, R., Garcia, A., & Arrufat, O. (2008). Promoting positive youth development – The Miami Youth Development Project (YDP). Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(3), 256-267. 

Kurtines, W.M., Ferrer-Wreder, L., Berman, S. L., Lorente, C. C., Silverman, W. K., & Montgomery, M.J. (2008). Promoting positive youth development – New directions in developmental theory, methods, and research. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(3), 233-244.

Montgomery, M.J., Hernandez, L., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2008). Identity development and intervention studies: The right time for a marriage? Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 8(2), 173-182.

Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2007). Book review: Critical youth studies: A Canadian focus. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 716-719.

Ferrer-Wreder, L., Stattin, H., Lorente, C. C., Tubman, J., & Adamson, L. (2004). Successful prevention and youth development programs: Across borders. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

Ferrer-Wreder, L., Montgomery, M. J., & Lorente, C. C. (2003). Identity promotion, adolescence. In T. Gullotta & M. Bloom (Series Ed.) & G. R. Adams (Vol. Ed.), The encyclopedia of primary prevention and health promotion: Adolescent Volume (600-607). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

Ferrer-Wreder, L., Lorente, C. C., Kurtines, W., Briones, E., Bussell, J., Berman, S., & Arrufat, O. (2002). Promoting identity development in marginalized youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(2), 168-187.

Publications with Student Advisees

Ferrer-Wreder, L., Palchuk, A., Poyrazli, S., Small, M. L., & Domitrovich, C. E. (2008). Identity and adolescent adjustment. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 8(2), 95-105.

Ferrer-Wreder, L., Poyrazli, S., Bedard, B., Coatsworth, J. D., Meister, D., Forthun, L., & Grahame, K. M. (2007). Alternative school students' normative beliefs about aggression. Journal of Educational Alternatives, 3 (2), 66-87.

Conner, J., Poyrazli, S., Ferrer-Wreder, L., & Grahame, K. (2004). The relation of age, gender, ethnicity, and risk behaviors to self-esteem among students in nonmainstream schools. Adolescence, 39, 457-474.

Professional Memberships

• Society for Prevention Research
• Society for Research on Adolescence
• Society for Research on Identity Formation 
• Society for the Study of Human Development     
  

Undergraduate Courses

Developmental Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Introduction to Psychology
Personality Theory
Substance Abuse

Graduate Courses

Thesis Course