Berna Akçinar Yayla

Associate Professor Berna Akçinar Yayla is a full-time faculty member in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Işık University, İstanbul. She completed her B.A. in Preschool Teaching at Boğaziçi University (2001-2006), followed by an M.Sc. in Developmental Psychology at Koç University (2006-2009) and a Ph.D. in Psychology at Koç University (2010-2015).

Her research spans developmental psychology, social and emotional development, parenting and family dynamics, father involvement, work-family conflict, and resilience. Dr. Yayla investigates how parental behaviors, cultural gender norms, and ecological stressors (e.g., COVID-19, earthquakes) shape children's socio-emotional outcomes across diverse Turkish samples. She employs longitudinal, cross-cultural, and mixed-methods designs to identify both risk and protective mechanisms.

Between 2018 and 2024 her peer-reviewed articles concentrate on psychological resilience, parenting under pandemic stress, work-family spillover effects, and health behavior cognitions. These studies collectively reveal how individual factors (emotion regulation, perfectionism, fear) interact with contextual variables (job stress, family support) to predict mental health outcomes in adults and children.

Scientific Awards & Honors

• Graduation Degree with High Honors – Boğaziçi University

Doctoral Advising & Funded Projects

Dr. Yayla currently supervises 20 doctoral dissertations at Işık University (2021-2025 cohorts) exploring topics such as resilience, attachment, parenting, social media addiction, and disaster-related interventions. She has been principal investigator or co-investigator on 17 national and international projects, including:

• UNICEF-funded programs on child marriage prevention and parenting interventions
• European Family Support Network initiatives
• TÜBİTAK and university grants examining work-family conflict, earthquake trauma, and COVID-19 mental health

She teaches Developmental Psychology, Research Methods, Measurement Techniques, and Culture, Family & Gender to both graduate and undergraduate students in English and Turkish.