Transforming the future of psychology together
Thanks to the generosity of donors, APF provided more than $800,000 last year in grants and scholarships to talented students and psychologists working to find solutions to some of society's most pressing needs.
Donors have already committed more than $5.3 million to APF's $6.5 million Campaign to Transform the Future. The campaign increases APF's capacity to fund groundbreaking proposals from early career psychologists, such as research on preventing violence, linking behavior to health, and eradicating stigma and prejudice.
"Right now, APF has to turn away 90 percent of the proposals it receives," says APF President Dorothy W. Cantor, PsyD. "The campaign will help ensure that we don't have to leave an excellent proposal on the table."
Cantor points out that APF provides a multitude of ways for psychologists to give. "A donor can make a gift of cash, an online gift through our website, a gift of stock or a bequest."
APA members can even choose to give on their APA dues statements. A gift to the foundation is also a meaningful way to pay tribute to colleagues, mentors and loved ones.
Every gift made now will help transform the future.
For more information on making a gift to APF and ensuring the field of psychology remains vibrant and strong, visit APF or call Rachael Lipsetts at (202) 336-5622.
Stress among people in same-sex relationships
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people face many challenges in forming, defining and maintaining families. APF has given Hongjian Cao a $12,000 Royce Scrivner Memorial Grant to study the romantic relationship experiences of lesbians and gay men.
Cao, a PhD student in the department of human development and family science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, hopes to foster a deeper understanding of the stresses same-sex couples face and their coping strategies. The goal of his research is to inform interventions that promote LGBT people's individual, relational and familial well-being. Cao's study may also help inform ongoing social, political and judicial dialogues on same-sex relationships.
The Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Grant goes to Casanova
Latina/o students have become the most segregated group in the western United States, largely due to neighborhood segregation, structural inequities, and restrictive language and immigration policies.
APF has awarded Saskias Casanova, PhD, with the 2014 Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Grant to investigate why Arizona Latina/o students have lower math proficiency than their non-minority peers. With her research, Casanova, assistant professor in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University, plans to develop workshops for parents and educators and draft recommendations for helping these students overcome the achievement gap.
The Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Fund supports research and projects that promote the understanding of the relationship between self-identity and academic achievement with an emphasis on children in grade levels K–8.
Grantee Spotlight: Early intervention for children with autism
In 2011, when she was a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, APF gave Allison Jobin, PhD, a $25,000 Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Fellowship to evaluate the relative efficacy of discrete trial training and pivotal response training for teaching young children with autism receptive and expressive language, play and imitation skills.
Results of the APF-funded study confirmed that children respond in unique ways to the two interventions and suggested that an individualized treatment approach for children with or at risk for autism spectrum disorders may be the most effective. This research also found that early response patterns to treatment may predict longer-term responsivity. Overall, the study results confirmed the importance of tailoring treatments to a child's specific needs and suggested specific methods for such efforts.
By supporting Jobin's project, the Koppitz Fellowship advanced foundational research in how to best individualize treatment plans.
"The APF grant had a significant impact on my career and on this research," says Jobin, now a PhD behavior specialist at the Autism Discovery Institute at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. "It allowed me to more fully commit my time towards completing the proposed research project and to complete the project with improved integrity."
The Koppitz Fellowship also facilitated Jobin's career in applied research: "At the Autism Discovery Institute, I am well positioned to obtain outside funding and continue this line of research in a promising clinical research career combined with clinical practice."
In particular, she adds, the research results will serve as pilot data for an NIH early career grant to conduct further individualization of treatment research for children with autism spectrum disorders.
