Associate Professor of Psychology & Chair of Psychology Department 

---

Ph.D., Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 2001

 

 

 

Dr. Madsen studies developmental psychology. She is particularly interested in how relationships with significant others impact child and adolescent development. Some of her current research focuses on the significance of teenage dating experiences for relationships in young adulthood and on how parents influence their adolescents’ romances.

Contact Dr. Madsen if you are interested in learning more about the courses she teaches or how to get involved in research. 

---

Courses

• Introduction to Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Development
• Adolescence
• The Transition to Adulthood: A First Year Seminar
• Controversies in Psychology: A Senior Capstone Seminar
• Development and Interpersonal Relationships: Honors Seminar

Research Collaboration with Students

Each semester, Dr. Madsen's research group focuses on the study of adolescents' and young adults' relationships with parents, romantic partners, and friends.  Students participate in all aspects of the research process, from conceptualizing studies to presenting results. These faculty-student collaborations have led to publications and conference presentations. For more information about Dr. Madsen's professional experience, publications, and awards, read her curriculum vitae.

• Madsen, S. D., Inverso, E.*, Gray, C.*, McGill, C.*, Mullineaux, M.*, & Maloney, K.* (2007, April). Parent regulation of adolescent dating activities. Poster to be presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Boston, MA.
• Madsen, S. D., Van Abbema, D. L., Schmidt, R. E.*, & Allen, C.* (2006). Questioning claims of baby genius: Students evaluate advertisements of infant stimulation products. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 134-137.
• Madsen, S. D., Schmidt, R.*, Allen, C.*, Gray, C.* & Inverso, E.* (2006, March). Aussie elders ask and Yankee youth yak: Parent-adolescent communication about dating in Australia and America. In S. D. Madsen (Chair), Is three a crowd?: Cultural variations in parental involvement in adolescent romantic relationships. Paper symposium conducted at the biennial meeting of the
  Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, CA.
• Madsen, S. D., Broderick, J.*, Jacobson, C.*, & Reid, M.* (2003, March). Parental rules about adolescent dating practices: Incidence, gender differences, and implications. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Baltimore, MD.

*Denotes student authors

Representative Publications

• Madsen, S. D. (in press). Parents' management of adolescents' romantic relationships through dating rules: Gender variations and correlates of relationship qualities. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.   Link to article.
• Madsen, S. D., & Collins, W. A. (in press). Brief report: Affective and collaborative relationship processes in observations of adolescents’ interactions with parents and romantic partners. Journal of Adolescence.
• Padilla-Walker, L. M., Nelson, L. J., Madsen, S. D., & Barry, C. M. (in press).  The role of perceived parental knowledge on emerging adults’ risk behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
• Kobak, R., & Madsen, S. D. (2008). The emotional dynamics of disruptions in attachment relationships: Implications for theory, research, and clinical intervention. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (eds.), Handbook of attachment. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Kobak, R., Rosenthal, N., Zajac, K., & Madsen, S. D. (2007). Adolescent attachment hierarchies and the search for an adult pair-bond. In O. Mayseless & M. Scharf (Eds.), New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 117, 57-72. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
• Madsen, S. D. (2007).  Adolescent behavior and issues. In T. Zirpoli (Ed.), Behavior management: Applications for teachers (5th ed., pp. 130-153). Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.
• Nelson, L. J., Padilla-Walker, L., Carroll, J. S., Madsen, S. D., Barry, C. M., & Badger, S. (in press). “If you want me to treat you like an adult, start acting like one!” Comparing the criteria that emerging adults and their parents have for adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology.
• Collins, W. A., & Madsen, S. D. (2006). Relationships in adolescence and young adulthood. In D. Perlman & A. Vangelisti (Ed.), Handbook of personal relationships (pp. 191-209). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Madsen, S. D., Van Abbema, D. L., Schmidt, R. E.*, & Allen, C.* (2006). Questioning claims of baby genius: Students evaluate advertisements of infant stimulation products. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 134-137.
• Collins, W. A., & Madsen, S. D.  (2002). Developmental change in parenting interactions.  In L. Kuczynski, (Ed.), Handbook of dynamics in parent-child relations (pp. 49-66). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Madsen, S. D., Roisman, G. I., & Collins, W. A. (2002). The intersection of adolescent development and intensive intervention: Age-related psychosocial correlates of treatment regimes in the Diabetes Control and Complication Trial. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27, 451-459.
• Collins, W. A., Madsen, S. D., & Susman-Stillman, A. (2001). Parenting in middle childhood.  In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (2nd ed., (pp. 73-101) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 
• Roisman, G. I., Madsen, S. D., Hennighausen, K. H., Sroufe, L. A., & Collins, W. A. (2001). The coherence of parent-child and romantic relationship experience as mediated by the internalized representation of experience. Attachment & Human Development, 3(2), 156-172.