Publications by Thematic Research Areas
Human-Animal Interaction and Well-being/Health
- Identity-related stressors and human-animal bonds: Associations with nicotine and cannabis use among LGBTQ+ emerging adults (Human-Animal Interactions, 2025)
- Understanding associations between family rejection, human-animal interaction, and mental health among LGBTQ+ emerging adults (Pets, 2024)
- “A ray of light in the chaos”: Relationships between companion animals and LGBTQ+ emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic (Human-Animal Interaction, 2023)
- Pet ownership and harmful alcohol use among people with HIV (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2023)
- Pet ownership, social position, and allostatic load among older adults (SSM—Population Health, 2023)
- The moderating role of attachment to pets on the relationship between exposure to interpersonal microaggressions and depressive symptoms in an LGBTQ+ emerging adult sample (Journal of LGBTQ Youth, 2022)
- The impact of long-term pet ownership on cognitive health (Journal of Health & Aging, 2022)
- Relationships Between Emotional Comfort From Companion Animals and Victimization and Psychological Well-Being Among Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults (Journal for the Society of Social Work and Research, 2021)
- Love, fear, and the human-animal bond: On adversity and multispecies relationships (Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2021)
- Sexual and gender minority emerging adults’ perspectives on the benefits and risks of living with pets during the transition to adulthood (Emerging Adulthood, 2021)
- Thwarted belongingness, microaggressions, and mental health among LGBTQ+ emerging adults (Journal of Youth Studies, 2021)
- Minority stress, personal hardiness, and psychological stress: Examining indirect effects via human-animal interaction (Youth & Society, 2021)
- Human–animal interaction and perinatal mental health: A narrative review of selected literature and call for research (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021)
- Attachment to pets moderates transitions in latent patterns of mental health following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: Results of a survey of U.S. adults (Animals, 2021)
Healthcare Access, Social Inequities, and Pets
- Associations between social inequalities and latent profiles of access to healthcare and veterinary care in multispecies households (One Health, 2025)
- The impact of pet ownership in healthcare access and utilization among people with HIV (PLOS One, 2023)
- How pets factor into healthcare decisions for COVID-19: A One Health perspective (One Health, 2020)
Pets, Politics, and Society
- Pets and Politics: Associations between Pet Ownership, Political Views, and Voting Intentions (Human-Animal Interactions, 2025)
- “Childless cat ladies” and the 2024 US presidential election (Human-Animal Interactions, 2024)
Zoo Professionals, Conservation, and Grief
- Dynamics of Human-Ungulate Interactions in a High-Visitation Alpine Area (Human-Animal Interactions, 2025)
- Animal Loss and Grief in Zoos: Qualitative Insights to Inform Organizational Support for Zoo Professionals and Volunteers (Human-Animal Interactions, 2025)
- Zoo professionals and volunteers in the U.S.: Experiences and prevalence of burnout, mental health, and animal loss (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2024)
- Experiences of Animal Loss and Grief among Zoo Professionals and Volunteers: A Qualitative Study (Animals, 2024)
- Zoo-based teacher professional development: Facilitating learning through a conservation lens (Journal of Museum Education, 2024)
- Engaging internal and external audiences to develop and promote zoo-based conservation efforts (PLOS One, 2024)
Measurement and Scale Development
- Translation and validation of the German version of the Pet-Related Stress Scale (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2025)
- Development and validation of the Pet-Related Stress Scale (Pets, 2024)
- Development and validation of an index to measure and quantify pet-related barriers to healthcare access and utilization (Anthrozoös, 2024)
- Comparing factor models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with Somali refugee youth in Kenya: An item response theory analysis of the PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version (Traumatology, 2022)
- Assessment of attachment to pets among LGBTQ+ young adults: Evaluation of the Pet Attachment and Life Impact Scale (Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 2022)
- Testing competing models of the Comfort from Companion Animals Scale in a sample of LGBTQ+ young adults: A graded-response model (Anthrozöos, 2021)
- Evaluation of the parent-report version of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits: A multidimensional Rasch analysis (Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2018)
- Validity of the Children’s Treatment of Animals Questionnaire: A Rasch analysis (Anthrozoös, 2015)
COVID-19, Pets, and Society
- Social support and attachment to pets moderate the association between sexual and gender minority status and the likelihood of delaying or avoiding COVID-19 testing (Social Sciences, 2021)
- The Impact of Pets on Everyday Life for Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Frontiers in Public Health, 2021)
- Child and pet care-planning during COVID-19 (Family Relations, 2021)
- The concerns, difficulties, and hardships of caring for pets during COVID-19: Results from a large survey of U.S. pet owners (Animals, 2020)
Violence, Trauma, and the Human-Animal Bond
- Links between family violence and animal cruelty: A scoping review (Social Sciences, 2022)
- Children’s experiences of companion animal maltreatment in households characterized by intimate partner violence (Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2019)
- Exposure to intimate partner violence and internalizing symptoms: The moderating effects of positive relationships with pets and animal cruelty exposure (Child Abuse & Neglect, 2019)
- Positive Engagement with Pets Buffers the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Callous-Unemotional Traits in Children (Journal of Interpersonal Violence)
- Animal cruelty among children in violent households (Journal of Family Violence, 2018)
- Animal maltreatment experiences of IPV survivors (Violence Against Women, 2018)
- Intimate Partner Violence Survivors and Pets: Exploring Practitioners’ Experiences in Addressing Client Needs (Families in Society, 2018)
- Domestic violence perpetrators’ reports of animal cruelty (Anthrozoös, 2018)
- The relations among animal abuse, psychological disorders, and crime: Implications for forensic assessment (Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 2018)
- Concomitant Exposure to Animal Maltreatment and Socioemotional Adjustment among Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: a Mixed Methods Study (Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 2017)
Child and Adolescent Development, Adversity, and Health
- Racial and ethnic differences in childhood adversity and psychological adjustment among child welfare-involved youth: A systematic review (Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2024)
- Childhood adversity moderates psychological adjustment during COVID-19 (Social Sciences, 2023)
- Transgender and gender expansive emerging adults: The moderating role of thwarted belongingness on mental health (Psychology & Sexuality, 2022)
- Callous-unemotional traits, anger dysregulation, and aggression (Aggressive Behavior, 2019)
- Latina adolescents’ dating violence communication (Journal of Family Violence, 2018)
- Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and substance use among young adults: A latent class analysis (Addictive Behaviors, 2018)
- Children’s exposure to IPV: Latent profiles and correlates (Journal of Family Violence, 2016)
- Differential effects of family environment on children’s trauma and psychopathology (Child Abuse & Neglect, 2016)
- Patterns of adjustment among children exposed to IPV (Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 2016)
Broader Public Health and Health Disparities
- Mental health difficulties of incarcerated women: The influence of childhood and adulthood victimization (International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2020)
- Community-academic partnership promoting Latinx mental health (Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2020)
- Adverse childhood experiences, depressive disorders, and substance use in older adults (Aging and Mental Health, 2019)
- Body image perceptions, parental messages, and depressive symptoms among Latinx college students (Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 2019)
- Latinx youth identity development in a new destination community (Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 2017)
- Cultural stressors, cultural values, and Latina/o college students’ mental health (Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2017)
- Commercial drivers’ health: BMI, fatigue, and crash risk (Traffic Injury Prevention, 2009)
Book Chapters
- Human-Animal Interaction in LGBTQIA+ Populations (The Handbook on Human-Animal Interactions, Interventions and Anthrozoology, 2023)
- Intimate Partner Violence and Animal Abuse in the Family System (The Handbook on Human-Animal Interactions, Interventions and Anthrozoology, 2023)
- Psychopathy and Animal Cruelty Offenders (Psychopathy and Criminal Behavior: Current Trends and Challenges, 2021)
- Violence Against Family Pets (SAGE Handbook of Domestic Violence, 2020)
- The Role of Human-Animal Interaction in Child and Adolescent Development (Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health, 2020)
- Links Between Violence Against Humans and Nonhuman Animals (The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics, 2019)
- Animal Maltreatment in Households Experiencing Family Violence (International Handbook on Aggression, 2018)
- Mauvais traitements. (Révolutions animales: Comment les Animaux sont Devenus Intelligents, 2016)