APPLICATION FOR RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITIONS
Dr. Abela is currently accepting applications for volunteer research assistant positions in his lab during the 2010-2011 academic year.Applications are welcomed from students (returning or graduating) at any level and majoring in any discipline.
Research assistants will have the opportunity to gain extensive clinical experience including (1) conducting semi-structured clinical interviews assessing psychological disorders (e.g., depression, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, etc.) in children, adolescents, and their parents and (2) running cognitive-behavioral and positive psychology interventions with youth.
Research assistants will have the opportunity to gain extensive research experience through involvement in all phases of research currently being conducted in the lab including data management, data analysis, and manuscript preparation and presentation.
Research assistants will attend a weekly seminar on research and theory pertaining to the causes, treatment, and prevention of depression and related disorders. Students will receive course credit each semester (PSYCH 495 or 496) for their work in the lab.
Current studies being conducted include (1) a six-year, multi-wave, longitudinal study of 400 6th – 8th graders examining the emergence of sex differences in depression during the transition from early to middle adolescence as well as the surge in depression rates during the transition from middle to late adolescence, (2) a three-year, multi-wave longitudinal study of 750 3rd, 6th, and 9th graders examining genetic, cognitive, and interpersonal vulnerability to depression throughout childhood and adolescence, (3) a three-year multi-wave longitudinal study of 900 10th graders in both urban and rural China examining the relationship between cultural beliefs, cognitive vulnerability factors, interpersonal protective factors, stress, and depressive symptoms/episodes, and (4) a one-year multi-wave, longitudinal study of 1,000 2nd and 3rd graders in Changsha, China and Milan, Italy, examining cognitive vulnerability to depression in childhood.
In selecting research assistants for the lab, we are primarily interested in you as a person. The application for the lab gives you many opportunities to let us know more about who you are – we encourage you to take advantage of those opportunities when completing the application.
Completed applications may be returned to Dr. Abela’s mailbox, located in the Undergraduate Psychology Office (Room 101, Tillett Hall, Livingston Campus).
To be considered, applications must be returned to Dr. Abela by: Friday, March 5th, 2010.
APPLICATION FOR RESEARCH ASSISTANT POSITION (2010-2011)
Dr. John R. Z. Abela
Name:______
Year (circle one):Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
Phone:______
E-Mail:______
Major:______
Overall GPA:______
Psychology GPA:______
Note:A = 4.00B = 3.00C = 2.00 A- = 3.67 B- = 2.67 D = 1.00
B+ = 3.33C+ = 2.33F = 0.00
1.List names (not course number) of all psychology courses taken and grades received:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Continued on Next Page
1.Names (not course number) of all psychology courses taken and grades received (Continued):
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
2.When are you available to volunteer as a RA (circle as many as apply)?
Training (April 2010 – May 2010)
Summer 2010 (June 2010 – August 2010)
Fall 2010 (September 2010 – December 2010)
Spring 2011 (January 2011 – May 2011)
3.Volunteers typically commit 10 hours per week to the work being conducted in the lab. Are you willing to commit 10 hours per week?
YesNo
4.Volunteers typically conduct a three-hour assessment every week. In addition, they
conduct multiple assessments over one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) every six
weeks. Are you available to conduct assessments on weekends?
YesNo
5.Are you fluent in Mandarin?Are you fluent in Cantonese?
Yes NoYesNo
6.Research Experience:
7.Clinical Experience or Experience Working with Children/Adolescents. Note that any experiences related to working with children/adolescents qualify:
8.Why do you want to volunteer as a research assistant in our lab?
9.Looking back on your entire life, what is the achievement you are most proud of and why?
(Note: If you would like to do so, you may also attach a copy of your CV/Résumé or any other information you think tells us something about who you are. Doing so, however, is not required)