Tanya L.  Tompkins - Associate Professor (Chair)

Pioneer 111
503-883-2684
tatompki@linfield.edu

http://www.tanyatompkins.com/

Education:

• B.A., 1994, University of Colorado - Boulder. Phi Beta Kappa, Summa cum laude
• M.A., 1995, University of California, Los Angeles
• Ph.D., 2002, University of California, Los Angeles, Major: Clinical Psychology, Minor: Measurement & Psychometrics
• Clinical Internship, 2000, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital (NPIH)

Academic Interests: My principle research interests lie in the areas of child clinical psychology and developmental psychopathology. My dissertation examined child functioning, parenting, and disclosure of diagnostic status in families affected by maternal HIV infection. However, my past work and future interests are more broadly characterized by an interest in the interplay between parenting, family stress, coping, and child psychosocial difficulties.

Recently, I have been engaged with students in several new lines of investigation:
1. Families and Adolescents Coping with Stress (FACS) Project: seeks to understand the unique and common pathways through which individual (e.g., coping), family (e.g., parenting, parentification, attachment, communication), and broader contextual (e.g., economic strain, delinquent peer involvement) factors influence youth adaptation to stress and whether exposure to specific types of family stress (divorce, parental job loss) influence these trajectories.
2. Suicide Prevention Project: evaluating a suicide prevention training program in the Yamhill County Schools, as well as Linfield and other neighboring colleges.
3. Friendships in U.S. and Ecuadorian Students (FUSES): Cross-cultural study of depressogenic cognitions and interpersonal processes in college students.
4. Fitness Project: Interdisciplinary project whose overall goal is to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of a fitness club model in the high school setting. My interests lie in exploring associations between psychological functioning and physical activity.

I am very interested in supporting students' independent and/or collaborative research pursuits in these and other areas of clinical psychology. Please visit my personal webpage for more information.

Publications:

Tompkins, T. L., Witt, J. , & Abraibesh, N. (2009). Does a gatekeeper suicide prevention program work in a school setting? Evaluating training outcome and moderators of effectiveness. Suicide & Life Threatening Behavior, 39(6), 671-681. Tompkins, T. L., & Witt, J. (2009). The short-term effectiveness of a suicide prevention gatekeeper training program in a college setting with residence life advisers. Journal of Primary Prevention, 30, 131-149. Tompkins, T. L. & Wyatt, G. (2008). Child psychosocial adjustment and parenting in families affected by maternal HIV/AIDS. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17, 823-838. Tompkins, T. L. (2007). Disclosure of maternal HIV status to children: To tell or not to tell… that is the question. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 773-788. Tompkins, T. L. (2007). Parentification and maternal HIV infection: Beneficial role or pathological burden? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 108-118. Tompkins, T. L., Henker, B., Whalen, C. K., Axelrod, J., & Comer, L. K. (1999). Motherhood in the context of HIV infection: Reading between the numbers. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 5(3), 197-208.

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Abnormal Psychology
• Seminar in Abnormal Psychology
• Research in Abnormal Psychology
• Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Introduction to Psychological Assessment
• Design and Analysis
• Survey of Psychology
• Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
• Internships & Community Service

Biographical Information

My "loves" aside from teaching and research include:

• Enjoying every moment with my family... husband, Salvador; 4 1/2-year-old daughter, Isabella; and our dogs, Sahara and Gypsy
• Reading (especially nail-biting mysteries)
• Long-distance running (when I can find the time!)