Education
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Family Social Science, 2012
M.A., University of Minnesota, Family Social Science, 2009
B.A., University of Minnesota, Psychology, 2006
Research Interests
• Adolescence and young adulthood
• Alcohol and substance use
• Externalizing and internalizing behaviors and disorders
• Parenting, peer, sibling, romantic relationships
• Personality and temperament
• Risk, protective, and resilience factors
• Transdiagnostic factors (emotion regulation, impulsivity, disinhibition, negative affect)
Courses Taught
HDFS 2010 LIFESPAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN FAMILY CONTEXT
HDFS 3030 ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE FAMILY
HDFS 3980 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND STUDY
HDFS 4980 ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
HFDS 7010 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT
HDFS 7900 DIRECTED STUDIES
HDFS 7990 RESEARCH AND THESIS
HDFS 8990 RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION
Accomplishments
2024 Nominated for the Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, College of Human Sciences, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities
2020 Awarded the SGA Faculty Member of the Year for the College of Human Sciences, Auburn University
2018 Nominated for SGA Outstanding Faculty Member from the College of Human Sciences
2017 Accepted to participate in the competitive Early Career Reward program for the
Center of Scientific Review (NIH)
2016 Faculty Excellence Award, Department of Human Development and Family Science
2016 Outstanding Professional Paper/Publications Award by the Families and Health Section of the NCFR
2015 Outstanding New Professional Paper Award by the Families and Health Section of the NCFR
Research Projects
Identifying risk and protective factors for recurrent and potentially co-occurring mental health and problematic substance use at key developmental transitions: Addressing the unique needs of college students of color at a predominately white institution
Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station Seed Grant
Principal Investigator: Diana R. Samek
Description: The purpose of this study is to oversample first-year students of color via a cohort-sequential, longitudinal design (N = ~400, ~70% BIPOC, ~50% female, ~16% LGBTQ+) and further evaluate what is driving the increase in mental health symptoms among such adolescents as they transition through college.
College Experiences Leading to Chronic Alcohol Use Disorder and Depression
Auburn University Intramural Grants Program
Principal Investigator: Diana R. Samek
The purpose this study is to follow-up on the 209 original first and second year AU students (data collected in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years) when they are estimated to be in first year post-graduation (2019-2020 academic year). The proposed study is comprehensive in measurement and covers the gamut of risk and protective factors for AUD and depression, including assessments of personality, stress, and social-relational context, including, parent support, antisocial peer affiliation, and romantic relationship experiences. Outcomes of the proposed study include identification of what risk factors in the first and second year of college that predict chronic and comorbid AUD and depression one-year post-college.
Persistence of Alcohol Use Disorders: Person and Environment Effects
National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Principal Investigator: Diana R. Samek
The purpose of this study was to identify complex processes of individual-social context interplay as it relates to substance use disorder onset and course from adolescence through late young adulthood. The six-wave Minnesota Twin Family Study (N = 2,769) is used to address this, with comprehensive assessments of personality, substance use, and social context at each time point. More information about the MTFS and the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research can be
found here.
Selected Publications
Samek, D.R., *Crumly, B., *Akua, B.A., Dawson, M., & Duke-Marks, A. (2024). Microaggressions, perceptions of campus climate, mental health, and alcohol use among first-year students of color. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 34, 96-113.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12897
Samek, D.R. & *Akua, B.A. (2022). Predictors of stable alcohol use disorder and potentially co-occurring depressive symptoms: Insights from the longitudinal College Experiences Study. Journal of Adolescence, 94(6), 844-854.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12068
Samek, D.R., Hicks, B.M., Iacono, W.G., & McGue, M. (2020). Personality, romantic relationships, and alcohol use disorder symptoms in adolescence and young adulthood: An evaluation of personality x social context interplay. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 1097-1112. doi:10.1017/S0954579419001111
*Goodman, R.J.,
Samek, D.R., Wilson, S., Iacono, W.G., & McGue, M. (2019). Features of interpersonal relationship context and major depressive disorder symptoms: Exploring antecedent vs. consequence using a developmental cascade approach. Development and Psychopathology, 31, 1451-1465. doi: 10.1017/S0954579418001037
Samek, D.R., Hicks, B., Durbin, E. Hinnant, J.B., McGue, M., & Iacono, W.G. (2018). Co-development between key personality traits and alcohol use disorder from adolescence through young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 86, 261-282. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12311
Samek, D.R., Hicks, B., Keyes, M.A., McGue, M., & Iacono, W.G. (2017). Antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders: Evidence for gene x environment x development interaction. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 155-172. doi: 10.1017/S0954579416000109
Samek, D.R., *Goodman, R., Erath, S. McGue, M., & Iacono, W.G. (2016). Antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders in the transition from adolescent to young adulthood: Selection versus socialization effects. Developmental Psychology, 52, 813-823. doi: 10.1037/dev0000109
*indicates graduate student