Michale Sferra
  • Lecturer
Research Areas
  • Clinical

Biography

Office Hours: Fridays 11:00a-12:15p & by appointment

Accepting Students for 2024-2025?: No

Research Interests

“Broadly speaking, my research interests lie in examining the role of the quality of the parent-child relationship on family functioning.  I am also interested in the influence of parenting styles on child functioning and the application of various therapeutic techniques aimed at improving family functioning.  Additionally, I also have some interest in examining the role that technology plays in influencing a person’s quality of life, for better or for worse.  Specifically, I am interested in how to incorporate technology into a healthy lifestyle without being swept away by it.”

Selected Publications

    • Hahn, H.A., You, D.S., Sferra, M. et al. Is it Too Soon to Meet? Examining Differences in Geosocial Networking App Use and Sexual Risk Behavior of Emerging Adults. Sexuality & Culture 22, 1–21 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-017-9449-3

    • Vermillion, S. D., Malak, R. J., Smallman, R., Becker, B., Sferra, M., & Fields, S. (2017). An investigation on using serious gaming to study human decision-making in engineering contexts. Design Science, 3, e15.

    • Huffhines, L., Zale, E., Thamotharan, S., Sferra, M., Lange, K. L., Ditre, J., & Fields, S. (2014). Intimate partner violence, childhood sexual abuse, and cigarette smoking risk in adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 7 (3), 175-183.

    • Lange, K., Thamotharan, S., Sferra, M., Ramos, A., & Fields, S. (2014). Effects of weight and gender on a task of inattention. Eating behaviors, 15 (4), 574-577.