My training at The University of Arizona (M.S. and Ph.D.) in Family Studies and Human Development, with a minor in Sociology (Criminology), was interdisciplinary in nature. My exposure included psychology, sociology (criminology), family studies and human development, and public health. Therefore, my professional persona is best characterized as one of a multidisciplinary social scientist.

Substantively, my work continues to focus on the etiology (e.g., individual differences, parenting, and family processes) of adolescent problem behaviors, deviance, violence, and health compromising behaviors (e.g., risky sexual behaviors), again drawing from multiple disciplines. It examines these questions in  large and representative population-based samples of "normal" adolescents. This includes cross-national as well as cross-cultural comparative work in the United States (African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, and White youth).