The Psi Chi National Honor Society for psychology recently recognized three Misericordia University student research teams that worked with Professor Alicia Nordstrom, Ph.D. One team received a special research award. Students at Misericordia University who are taking part psychology research studies with Professor Alicia Nordstrom, Ph.D., are shown, (front row, seated, from left) Courtney Gregas, Girardville, Pa.; Andrea Fondots, Conshohocken, Pa.; Kellyann Gough, Washingtonville, N.Y.; and Alyssa Lieberman, Hillsborough (standing) Kara Slack, Scranton, Pa.; Kellyn Swanson, Hackettstown; Alicia Nordstrom, Ph.D., professor of psychology; Samantha Hare, Milton, Pa.; Tim Huxta, Shamokin, Pa.; Haley Zimmerman, Dallas, Pa.; David Chacke, Plymouth, Pa.; and Rachel Cordasco, East Brunswick.(courtesy photo) Warren Reporter 

The Psi Chi National Honor Society for psychology recently recognized three Misericordia University student research teams that worked with Professor Alicia Nordstrom, Ph.D. One team received a special research award.

The team of Rachel Cordasco, East Brunswick and Kellyn Swanson, Hackettstown, worked with Dr. Nordstrom on a study examining graduate student adjustment to their academic program. Their project, "Can You Handle It?: Coping and Satisfaction Among Health Sciences Graduate Students," evaluated different methods of coping with stress used by students in Misericordia University's health and medical sciences graduate programs – Master of Occupational Therapy, Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Master of Speech-Language Pathology. The project earned them the Psi Chi Eastern Regional Research Award 2014-15, which was presented to Cordasco, as the first author listed, at the Eastern Psychological Association Conference in Philadelphia.

Psi Chi had a record number of applicants for the Eastern Regional gathering and the award process was very selective, according to Deborah Harris O'Brien, Ph.D., vice president of Psi Chi Eastern Region. As award winners, the Cordasco-Swanson-Nordstrom team will be listed on Psi Chi's website and in an upcoming issue of "Eye on Psi Chi" newsletter.

The Cordasco-Swanson team was one of three of Dr. Nordstrom's research teams selected to present their abstracts at the prestigious conference. Each of the projects expanded upon research and used data from Dr. Nordstrom's on-going project examining mental and physical health and stress in health and medical sciences graduate students. The project extends Dr. Nordstrom's previous research on college adjustment, academic performance and retention during the first-semester transition of undergraduate students that was conducted in 2005. A total of 11 Misericordia University students have worked on the graduate student research project with Dr. Nordstrom.

Cordasco and Swanson are members of Dr. Nordstrom's fall semester research team. Also on the fall team are Tim Huxta, Shamokin, Pa., who earned his undergraduate degree in psychology in December 2014; and Kara Slack, Scranton, Pa., who with Dr. Nordstrom co-authored and presented their research, "A Cross-Gender Examination of Family Stress, Physical and Mental Health," at the conference.

Also presenting their research were Alyssa Lieberman, Hillsborough, who earned her undergraduate degree in psychology in 2014 and is now enrolled in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Misericordia University; and Kellyann Gough, Washingtonville, N.Y. Lieberman and Gough collaborated with Dr. Nordstrom on the presentation, "I Have No Idea What I Am Doing?!: Study Strategies, Coping Styles and GPA among Health Science Graduate Students."

Dr. Nordstrom's spring semester research team includes David Chacke, Plymouth, Pa.; Courtney Gregas, Girardville, Pa.; Haley Zimmerman, Dallas, Pa.; Andrea Fondots, Conshohocken, Pa.; and Samantha Hare, Milton, Pa.

Dr. Nordstrom praised both research teams for their motivation and creativity in using the data from her project to examine important questions related to how health sciences graduate students experience their programs. She developed the idea for the study with Dr. Scott Massey, the former Physician Assistant Studies director, in order to understand what factors help, hinder, and predict success in these rigorous graduate programs.

Cordasco says she never imagined that as a junior in college she would have the opportunity to present research at a major conference. "It was a terrific learning experience for me. I got to learn about the different fields of psychology and the research being done in other areas. It wasn't until I got there and started talking to people, who told me what a big deal it really is to be able to present in front of other researchers," she said. Cordasco will earn her bachelor's degree in psychology in December 2015 and will continue in the Misericordia Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She expects to earn her DPT degree in December of 2018.

"The opportunity to work with Dr. Nordstrom showed me that I really like doing research," adds Swanson, a senior majoring in psychology. "Our results showed that there are differences in the ways that graduate students in the four graduate programs cope with stress and that positive coping strategies do result in better academic performance." Swanson will receive her Bachelor of Science in psychology with a specialization in mental health interventions in May. She plans to attend graduate school and hopes to eventually establish her own counseling practice.

A resident of the Hazleton area, Dr. Nordstrom is a clinical child psychologist who joined the Misericordia University faculty in 2004. She obtained her master's degree from Purdue University and her doctorate in psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Nordstrom's clinical specialization is working with children, adolescents, parents, and families. She completed her predoctoral internship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She has also worked as a mental health consultant for Headstart and the ARC, and as an outpatient individual and group therapist for youth and adults. She has conducted research on how parent-child relationships affect parenting and child development and has on-going research investigating social anxiety and stereotypes/prejudice in first semester college students.

For more information about Misericordia University Psychology Program, call 570-674-6400 or log on to www.misericordia.edu.

Founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County's first four-year college and offers 34 degree programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats.