Department of Human & Community Development, University of Illinois

Angela Wiley

 

Education

Ph.D. 1993, Clark University, Developmental Psychology

M.A. 1991, Clark University, Developmental Psychology

B.A. 1988, Miami University, Ohio, Psychology and Women's Studies (minor)

 

Research Interests

My research program has provided a basis for my teaching and outreach emphases on promoting resilience among diverse families and individuals in stressful contexts. An increasingly diverse society mandates that effective outreach to parents in the U.S. be built on research that explores a wide range of normal family processes. Additionally, over the tenure of their childrearing, most parents will face one or more challenges including sporadic financial strain, chronic poverty, racism, disruptions in residence and social support, and conflicts between work and personal life. My research has addressed

1. factors related to resilience among diverse families in a variety of contexts and
2. evaluation of programs designed to support resilience.

Students and I are working with families to help identify challenges and strengths related to parenting and parent-child relationships. I have a special interest in parenting in immigrant and ethnic minority populations where issues such as parenting acculturation and economic stress are important. In one project, we collected and analyzed survey and mealtime observation data with Chinese immigrant families with toddlers. In another project, colleagues and I are interested in the mental health of Korean immigrant and Korean American parents and their adolescent children. In both projects, one goal is to design culturally appropriate and effective psycho-educational materials to increase resilience in parents.

One particular challenge that faces a majority of American families is managing the demands and rewards of working with the demands and rewards of family life. With the assistance of HCD graduate students and University of Illinois Extension staff, I have developed a new research-based program to help people manage their work and their personal lives called Intentional Harmony: Managing Work and Life. In contrast to many work-life balance interventions, Intentional Harmony is firmly based in family theory and interdisciplinary research, and it addresses the needs of working individuals systematically across multiple ecological domains. We are engaged in intensive program evaluation of the curriculum. Preliminary analyses of the “Managing Work and Children” unit clearly show that parents report better work-life management in the parenting domain four weeks after the workshop. Another version of the curriculum addresses stress and coping for law enforcement officers and their families. On-going evaluations will allow us to refine the curriculum based on what we learn.

 

Selected Publications

Branscomb, K., Wiley, A. R., & Larson, R. W. (in press). Family meals across time and discipline. In Larson, R. W., Wiley, A. R. & Branscomb, K. (Eds.) Family Mealtime as a Context of Development and Socialization, In Larson, R. W. (Series Editor) New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development.

Wiley, A., Bogg, T., & Ho, M. H. (in press). Parents as resources for youth success in farm families. Journal of Research in Rural Education.

Ball, A., & Wiley, A. (2005). The aspirations of farm parents and pre-adolescent children for generational succession of the family farm. Journal of Agricultural Education, 46 (2), 36-46.

Wiley, A. & Ebata, A. (2004). Reaching “The American Family”: Making Diversity Real in Family Life Education. Family Relations, 53, 273-281.

Wiley, A., Mbassa, A. & Zwilling, A. (2004). An Evaluation of Illinois Extension's Readiness to Address Children, Youth and Families at Risk. Journal of Extension, 42 (4). http://www.joe.org/joe/2004august/rb3.shtml

Umaña-Taylor, A. T. & Wiley, A. R. (2004). Family diversity in the classroom: A review of existing strategies. Journal of Teaching in Marriage and Family, 4 (1), 127-146.

Wiley, A., Warren, H. & Montanelli, D. S. (2002). Shelter in a time of storm: Parenting in two poor, rural African American communities. Family Relations, 51, 265-273.

Wiley, A. & Rappaport, J. (2000). Empowerment and wellness. In. D. Cicchetti, J. Rappaport, I. Sandler & R. Weissberg, (Eds.), The Promotion of Wellness in Children and Adolescents: Vol. 2. The concept of wellness: Conceptual and methodological issues. Washington, DC: CWLA Press.

Bibace, R., DineYoung, S., Rupert Herrenkohl, L. & Wiley, A. (1999). An Introduction to Partnership in Research: Changing the Researcher-Participant Relationship. In I. Sigel, (Series Editor) & R. Bibace, J. Dillon & B. Noel Dowds (Vol. Eds.), Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology: Partnerships in Research, Clinical and Educational Settings.

Wiley, A., Rose, A., Burger, L. & Miller, P. (1998). Constructing autonomous selves through narrative practices: A comparative study of working-class and middle-class families. Child Development, 69, 833-847.

Miller, P., Wiley, A., Fung, H. & Liang, C. (1997). Personal storytelling as a medium of socialization in Chinese and American families. Child Development, 68, 557-568.

Wiley, A. (1997). Religious affiliation as a source of variation in childrearing values an parental regulation of young children. Mind, Culture and Activity, 4, 86-107.

Kloos, B., McCoy, J., Stewart, E., Thomas, E., Wiley, A., Good, T., Hunt, G., Moore, T.,& Rappaport, J. (1997). Parent involvement and organizational structure: An ecological, open-systems model for school consultation. Journal of Educational and Consulting Psychology, 8, 175-196.

Good, T., Wiley, A., Thomas, E., Stewart, E., McCoy. J., Kloos, B., Hunt, G., Moore, T. & Rappaport, J. (1997). Community organizing for parent and citizen involvement. Journal of Educational and Consulting Psychology, 8, 277-2.

 

Awards and Honors

2004 National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Florence Hall Award (for Intentional Harmony: Managing Work and Life )

2003 Illinois Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Program of Excellence Award (for Intentional Harmony: Managing Work and Life )

2000 & 2002 University of Illinois Incomplete List of Instructors Rated as Excellent

1993-95 National Institutes for Mental Health Post-doctoral Traineeship, competitive award, University of Illinois, Psychology Department

 

Courses Taught

HDFS 522: Topics in Family Studies