Alicia McVarnock
Ph.D. Student
Alicia McVarnock is a Ph.D. student in Developmental Psychology. She studies social-emotional development, with a focus on experiences of solitude during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Alicia is specifically interested in looking beyond time alone to consider how the “what” (i.e., solitary activities), “why” (i.e., internal motivations), and “where” (i.e., environmental context) of solitude interact to predict well-being.
As a secondary line of research, Alicia studies how community-based interventions can be leveraged to enhance ecological resilience in violence-affected youth.
Keywords:
solitude, affinity for aloneness, social-emotional development, resilience