Laura Pittman

Laura Pittman, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Northern Illinois University. She co-directs the Clinical Training program and leads the Family and Development in Context Lab, which examines how family processes and contextual factors influence child and adolescent development.

• Research Focus: Developmental psychopathology, family dynamics, pandemic stress, disaster recovery, and cultural contexts in child psychology.
• Students: Mentors graduate researchers including Chynna Dubuclet, Jessica Philip, Natalia Zielinski, Lauren Hauck, and Sophie Zolinski.
• Key Contributions: Investigates grandparent involvement, parenting stress, racial socialization, and trauma resilience mechanisms.

The lab engages in interdisciplinary research linking family systems to mental health outcomes and trains future psychologists in clinical and developmental domains.