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Vaishali Raval, Assistant Professor
308 PSYC
513-529-6209
Education
PhD in Clinical /Developmental Psychology, University of Windsor, 2004
Pre-doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology, Children's Hospital, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 2004
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cultural Psychology and Human Development, University of Chicago, 2006
Theoretical Orientation
Developmental psychopathology is an overarching framework guiding my research and clinical practice. I particularly value this framework because psychopathology is defined in reference to normal development, and is considered a dynamic process rather than a static entity. In addition, contexts of development (family, community, and culture) are central in understanding psychopathology.
Recently Taught Undergraduate Courses
Psychology Across Cultures
Childhood Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities
Recently taught Graduate Courses
Culture and Mental Health Syllabus
Research Interests
We know a great deal about how a child develops, the parenting practices that promote healthy child development, and those that compromise children's well-being in Caucasian middle-class families in the US. However, we know very little about parenting, normal development, and psychopathology in other cultures. My research strives to address this gap. At the most fundamental level, I am interested in understanding how human behavior is shaped by ongoing transactions between the person and their culture. More specifically, I am interested in examining differences in global parenting styles, parental socialization of their children's emotions, and children's skills of regulating their emotions between families who live in India and Caucasian families in United States. I am also interested in identifying parenting styles and socialization practices that lead to healthy child outcomes and those that lead to pathological outcomes (i.e., various kinds of behavior problems) in Indian families. Although expressions of intense negative emotions are considered inappropriate by Caucasian middle-class groups in the West, emotional expression is generally viewed favorably. In contrast, Asian collectivist cultures value emotion control rather than expression. Emotions and emotional disorders are considered less acceptable than physical symptoms (Kirmayer, 2001). What do children in such cultures learn about emotions? Do children in these cultures who inhibit the expression of emotion end up with compromised health, or do they end up "just fine"? Such investigations of diverse cultural groups are important for the theoretical advancement of psychology, and they also inform mental health policy concerning the world's largest populations (i.e., India and China).
Specific research projects include: cross-cultural studies of emotion regulation and emotion socialization, examinations of interrelations among parenting style, emotion socialization and regulation, mental health, and academic achievement in India and United States, and assessment of school climate for diversity related issues. Please see my research website for further information on current research projects.
Opportunity for Graduate Students
I welcome graduate students to collaborate with me on my existing projects or to design their own research projects in the area of parenting, life-span development, and psychopathology in culturally diverse populations. Students will be encouraged to utilize both quantitative and qualitative approaches, conceptualize their research from an interdisciplinary perspective, and participate in professional development activities (i.e., conference presentations and publications).
Recent Publications
Raval, V. V., Martini, T. S., & Raval, P. (in press). Methods of, and reasons for, emotional expression and control in children with internalizing, externalizing, and somatic problems in urban India. Social Development.
Raval, V. V., & Martini, T. S. (in press). Maternal socialization of children's anger, sadness, and physical pain in two communities in Gujarat, India. International Journal of Behavioural Development.
Raval, V. V., Martini, T. S., & Raval, P. (2007). "Would others think it's okay to express my feeling?": Regulation of anger, sadness, and physical pain in Gujarati children in India. Social Development, 16 (1), 79-105.
Raval, V. V., & Kral, M. J., (2004). "Core versus periphery": Dynamics of personhood over the life-course for a Gujarati Hindu woman. Culture and Psychology, 10 (2), 162-194.