Professor Dr. Teena Willoughby

Biography

Teena Willoughby is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University, specializing in adolescent development. Her research primarily focuses on adolescent health-risk behaviors, mental health, and brain development. She addresses critical questions about the predictors of individual differences in adolescents, such as health-risk behaviors and peer sensitivity. Her work also explores adolescence as a sensitive period for development, examining vulnerabilities to negative outcomes, including risk-taking and self-injury, as well as positive behaviors such as academic achievement. Willoughby employs diverse methodologies, including longitudinal questionnaires and physiological measurements like ERP and heart rate variability, to inform her research. Her contributions to the field have been significant, with a robust list of publications reflecting her expertise in developmental psychology.

Research Interests