APPLETON, WIS. — Developmental psychologist Colleen Conley returns to her alma mater to discuss her recent research on the factors that contribute to the different rates of depression in adolescent males and females in a Lawrence University Science Hall Colloquium.
Conley, assistant professor of psychology at Knox College and a 1997 Lawrence graduate, presents “The Emerging Sex Difference in Adolescent Depression: Interacting Contributions of Puberty and Peer Stress” Monday, Feb. 26 at 3:15 p.m. in Science Hall Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.
Females, both in adolescence and as adults, tend to experience higher incidences of depression. Conley will examine when those different rates between boys and girls first begin to emerge. She also will discuss the factors that trigger that response, such as the quality of, and stress levels within, peer relationships.
A member of the Knox faculty since 2005, Conley’s research focuses on the characteristics, contexts and mechanisms that place adolescent girls and young women at elevated risk for internalizing problems, including depression, anxiety, self-injurious behavior, body image and eating disorders.
After earning a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in psychology and Spanish from Lawrence, Conley earned a master’s and a doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Illinois.
