Dr. Roxane Silver Presents Congress with Data on Coping Post-9/11

By Heather O’Beirne Kelly, PhD

 On May 15^th, Dr. Roxane Silver (University of California, Irvine) took a break from long-distance data analysis, press interviews, and other speaking engagements in Washington, DC to present her research to members of Congress and their staff on behalf of APA.  The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) hosted its annual Capitol Hill Exhibit and Reception in the Rayburn House Office Building that evening, inviting its active members to sponsor a researcher whose NSF-funded work showcases the excellence of the agency’s basic research portfolio.  Dr. Silver’s national, longitudinal study of coping in the wake of September 11 was profiled in PSA’s May/June 2002 issue, and her data were particularly powerful for legislators and directly relevant to current policy discussions on Capitol Hill and within the Bush Administration.

 Dr. Silver described her methodology and initial findings to a number of members of Congress at the reception, including Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC), Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), and Rep. David Price (D-NC).  Both North Carolina Congressmen, Reps. Etheridge (a former school principal) and Price (a former Duke professor) were particularly impressed with Dr. Silver’s study and requested that she keep their staff informed as each data collection point yields new results. 

PPO staff also set up meetings for Dr. Silver with her California delegation, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Republican Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA and head of the House Republican Policy Committee), as well as the Administration’s Office of Homeland Security.  In all of these meetings, Dr. Silver discussed real-world implications and applications of her research while highlighting the importance of continuing to support NSF’s basic research program.

View exhibit photos here

Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD

Dr. Silver has conducted research over the past two decades among numerous groups of people who have encountered traumatic life events.  Her work has been funded by NSF, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the U.S. Public Health Service (Bureau of Maternal and Child Health).  She has examined psychosocial reactions to permanent physical disability, loss of a spouse or a child, childhood sexual victimization, divorce, family violence, war, and natural disasters.  Recent NSF-funded projects include a study of coping among residents from communities devastated by the southern California firestorms and an investigation of acute responses to trauma among students and parents following the Columbine High School shootings.  Dr. silver is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, where she also is Associate Director of the Newkirk Center for Science and Society.

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