Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth

Courtesy Appointments

Department of Public Health, Center on Aging and the Life Course faculty affiliate

Areas of Expertise

• Work and family, military families, family stress and transition, and relationship quality and dynamics between intimate partners

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

• Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

Department of Human Development and Family Science Research Area(s)

• Health and Well-Being
• Interpersonal Relations
• Military Families

Biography

I’m very interested in understanding how the jobs that people do influence the quality of their family lives, and vice versa.  Military families are especially interesting because they regularly encounter a variety of stressors, but demonstrate great resilience.  Our team is currently conducting studies about how relationships between military members and their partners change after service members return from deployments, how parents’ stress affect parent-child relationships, and the long-term consequences of young children’s exposures to parental deployment.  I’ve also had opportunities to try to affect the policies, programs and practices that affect families by working with employers, policy makers, helping professionals and families themselves; this work has been very challenging but also very rewarding!  I’m honored to be a fellow of the National Council on Family Relations.

Accepting graduate student applications for the December 1, 2024 deadline.

Education

• Ph.D., 1990, Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
• M.B.A., 1988, Management, The Pennsylvania State University
• M.S., 1986, Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
• B.A.Sc., 1982, Family Studies, Child Studies, University of Guelph, Canada
• 2000-present, Certified Family Life Educator, National Council on Family Relations

Websites

• Military Family Research Institute
• Center for Families

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• ADVANCE-Purdue, Bias Awareness and Intervention, Equity NOW, Safe Zone, Horizons program

Current Courses

• HDFS 60200 - Advanced Family Studies

Selected Publications

• MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M., Lester, P., Topp, D., Stander, V., Christ S. L., Whiteman, S., & Knobloch, L. K. (2024). Long-term consequences of mothers’ and fathers’ wartime deployments: Protocol for a two-wave panel study. PloS One, 19(3), e0295007. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295007
• Nieforth,L. O., Leighton, S. C., Schwichtenberg, A. J., MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M., & O’Haire, M. E. (2024). A preliminary analysis of psychiatric service dog placements and sleep patterns of partners of veterans with PTSD. Anthrozoös, 37(1), 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2023.2268979
• Qin Y., Sneddon, D. A., MacDermid Wadsworth, S., Topp D., Sterrett, R. A., Newton, J. R., & Eicher-Miller, H. A. (2023). Grit but not help-seeking was associated with food insecurity among low income, at-risk rural veterans. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20(3):2500. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032500
• Knobloch, L. K., Monk, J. K., & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M. (2023). Relationship maintenance among military couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40(3), 734–772. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.purdue.edu/10.1177/02654075221105025
• Nieforth, L.O.,G Miller, E., MacDermid Wadsworth, & O’Haire, M.E. (2022). The effects of a service dog on the wellbeing of veteran families. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2022.2062997
• Nieforth, L.O.,G Abdul Wahab, A.H., Sabbaghi, A.H., MacDermid Wadsworth, S., Foti, D. & O’Haire, M.E. (2022). Quantifying the emotional experiences of partners of veterans with PTSD service dogs using ecological momentary assessment. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101590
• Inderstrodt, J. & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M. (2022). Comparing VA and Non-VA medical centers: Informing veteran health care choice at the MISSION Act watershed. Journal of Veterans Studies, 8(3), 93-101. DO:10.13140/RG.2.2.34347.46889
• Marceau, K., Kimiecik, C., Ruiz, Y., McCormick, C., Toombs, A., Elias, C., Lalani, N., & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. (2022). Families Together: Supporting family resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family Relations. 1– 15. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.purdue.edu/10.1111/fare.12781
• Southwell, K. H., Topp, D., McCall, C.,G Ludiker, K., Runco, L. & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. (2022). Focus Forward Fellowship: Evaluation of a program for women student service members and veterans. Evaluation and Program Planning, 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2022.102156
• Coppola, E. C.,G Christ, S. L., Topp, D., Southwell, K., Bailey, K.,G & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. (2022.) Trajectories of depression symptoms during the process of deployment in military couples. Military Psychology, 34(1), 110-129. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2021.1974807
• Marini, C. M., Basinger, E. D., Monk, J. K., McCall, C. E., & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M. (2022). Military couples' experiences in the aftermath of a cancelled deployment. Family Process, 61, 1577– 1592. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.purdue.edu/10.1111/famp.12747.
• Nieforth, L.O.,G Craig, E.A., Behmer, V., MacDermid Wadsworth, S. & O’Haire, M.E. (2021). PTSD service dogs foster resilience among veterans and military families. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01990-3
• MacDermid Wadsworth, S., Topp, D., Broniarczyk, K., Edwards, S. A., Riggs, D., & Hughes, H. (2021). Building community capacity to care for military and veteran families: The Star Behavioral Health Providers program. Advance online, Military Behavioral Health.
• McCall, C. E.G, Rodriguez, K. E., MacDermid Wadsworth, S. M., Meis, L. A., & O’Haire, M. E. (2020). “A part of our family”? Effects of psychiatric service dogs on quality of life and relationship functioning in military-connected couples. Military Behavioral Health, 8(4), 410-423.
• Ruiz, Y., MacDermid Wadsworth, S., Elias, C., Marceau, K., Purcell, M., Redick, T., Richards, E. A., & Schlesinger-Devlin, E. (2020). Ultra-rapid development and deployment of a family resilience program during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from Families Tackling Tough Times Together. Journal of Military, Veteran, and Family Health, 6 (S2), 35-43.
• Whiteman, S. D., Hamwey, M., Topp, D. & MacDermid Wadsworth, S. (2020). Youth’s sibling relationships across the course of a parent’s military deployment cycle: Trajectories and Implications. Child Development, 91(6), 1988-2000. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13367

Selected Honors/Awards

• National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Human Development/Family Relationships Award. 1st Place Central Region and 2nd Place National award for OneOp (MFLN) webinar Series - A Close Look at Relationships: Supporting Military Couples for which MacDermid Wadsworth served as a presenter. - 2023
• Corps of Engagement Award, given to a team of MFRI staff and faculty and community partners for Reaching Rural Veterans program. (I supervise the program and nominated the team for the award). - 2023
• Ernest W. Burgess Award, National Council on Family Relations, given in recognition of continuous and meritorious contributions to theory and research in the family field. - 2022
• Extraordinary Engagement Award in recognition of outstanding engagement in the community to improve the lives of older adults. The Center on Aging and the Life Course. - 2021
• Corps of Engagement Award, awarded to a team of faculty, staff, students, and/or community stakeholders for outstanding partnership and achievement in the scholarship of engagement for the Families Tackling Tough Times Together initiative. - 2021
• Presidential Citation, Society for Military Psychology, American Psychological Association Division 19. - 2019
• LuAnn Aday Award, Purdue University, recognizing recent achievement(s) of major scientific impact. - 2019
• Engagement Fellow Award, Purdue University, recognizing achievements in the scholarship of engagement. - 2019
• Horizons Faculty Mentor Champion Award, Horizons Student Support Services, Purdue University. - 2018
• Felix Berardo Scholarship Award for Mentoring, National Council on Family Relations. - 2018
• Named one of the top 10 ‘extraordinary contributors’ to work and family research in the world, based on empirical analyses conducted by Professor Jeffrey Hill. - 2018

Selected Grants

• Principal Investigator. Translating training into evidence-based practices. U.S. Department of the Army Military Medical Research and Development. #TP220099 $1,294,962. Period 2023 - 2027
• Principal Investigator. Sustaining support for military and veteran families. Lilly Endowment. (2023-0237) $3,500,000. Period 2023 - 2026
• Principal Investigator. Effects during adolescence of early childhood exposure to parental wartime deployment. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. R01 HD091373-01 $3,542,361. Period 2018 - 2025
• Principal Investigator. Evaluation of Indiana suicide prevention efforts. Indiana Dept. of Veterans Affairs, CONTRACT #000079390. $275,000. With K. Broniarczyk and M. Garrison. Period 2023 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. Star Behavioral Health Providers - Extension to Oregon, FY23, Y7. Subcontract from Henry Jackson Foundation, 67071, $64,000. Period 2023 - 2024
• Investigator. Subcontract from Policy Research Associates to support technical assistance for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Governors Challenge to Prevent Service Member, Veteran and Family Suicide. 1371-0001 $20,000. Period 2023 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. Extending the Reach of SBHP, FY 23, Y4 (NGB). National Guard Bureau via Henry Jackson Foundation, Grant Number: 13001227. $493,000. Period 2023 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. SAMHSA’s Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Technical Assistance Center (SMVF TA Center). Sponsor Award No.: 1371-0001. $20,000. Period 2023 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. Star Behavioral Health Providers - Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction. IN Family & Social Services Administration. $500,000. Period 2023 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. Long-term Consequences of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Wartime Deployments. Department of Defense. $1,467,673. Period 2020 - 2024
• Principal Investigator. Ohio SBHP Technical Services Agreement #1 - 2022-2023. SPC-1000007407/GR128842. $14,500. Period 2022 - 2023
• Investigator. Families Tackling Tough Times Together: Empowering Family Resilience in Indiana’s At Risk Families. Purdue College of Agriculture AG Seed Grant. $50,000 (Cezanne Elias, Principal Investigator). Period 2022 - 2023
• Principal Investigator. Mobilizing Rural Communities to Improve Quality of Life and Promote Opioid Prevention Among Low-Resource Veterans. U.S. Department of Agriculture. $350,000. Period 2021 - 2023
• Principal Investigator. Reaching Rural Veterans. Bob Woodruff Foundation. $97,563. Period 2021 - 2023
• Investigator. Star Behavioral Health Providers for community mental health clinics. Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addiction (#0000000000000000000046898). $1,000,000. (Kathy Broniarczyk, Principal Investigator). Period 2020 - 2022
• Principal Investigator. Reaching Rural Veterans in Illinois. McCormick Foundation. $50,000. Period 2020 - 2021