Couple and Family Research Lab

About the Lab

The Couple and Family Research (CFR) lab at William Paterson University aims to understand the contextual factors that influence couple and family functioning over the lifecourse. Scientific findings are used to provide solutions to complex social challenges such as violence, racism, justice involvement, family separation, and instability.   

The co-directors of the CFR lab are Drs. Corinne Datchi and Gihane Jérémie-Brink. Dr. Datchi’s research has focused on justice-involved populations, incarceration and reentry, problem solving justice, and gender. She has expertise in qualitative research methods and the evaluation of community-based family-focused programs for justice-involved youth and adults. Dr. Jérémie-Brink’s research and clinical scholarship examines racial and ethnic socialization and other racial-ethnic protective factors via a family systems lens and aims to better understand their mechanisms and their interplay with racism-related stressors for Black individuals and their families.

Clinical Interests and Research Areas

Current CFR projects center on the following research topics:

  • Telemental health with couples and families
  • Telecommunication technologies and the formation of couple relationships
  • Family programming for returning citizens
  • Family functioning, socialization processes, and the family environment’s association to Black psychological well-being and identity development.
  • Incorporation of culturally-informed interventions that advance an understanding of protective strategies for BIPOC communities.

 Students will learn and engage in:

  • Innovative qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches, and concrete strategies for conducting research.
  • Research is grounded in multicultural, intersectionality, and social justice frameworks that will sharpen student’s research skills and advance their professional development.

Our Team

The CFR team members include graduate and advanced undergraduate students who are interested in studying the psychology of couple and family relationships in relation to social justice. To join the CFR team, interested students should email Dr. Datchi at datchic@wpunj.edu.

Meet The Lab