About me:
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, I moved to the U.S. for Graduate School. After getting my M.A. in Marriage and Family therapy from Syracuse University, and my Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Florida State University, I was very happy to join the CalState LA family in Fall 2009.
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, teaching a variety of courses. In addition, I am the director of the Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute. For more information, please go to: /hhs/cafvi
Besides teaching and research, I am also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and I work with individuals and couples in private practice in Pasadena. For more information, you can check out: www.counselingpasadena.net
Teaching:
Some of my areas of expertise include development of intimate relationships, communication, relationship conflict and violence, sexuality, divorce, and remarriage. In addition, I am trained in PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) which is one of the most comprehensive and well respected divorce-prevention/marriage enhancing programs in the world.
Some of the classes I teach include:
CHDV 1200 Intimate Relationships in a Diverse Society
CHDV 1400 Child Development
CHDV 1410 Adult Development and Aging
CHDV 3420 Development of Sexuality across the Lifespan
CHDV 4120 Issues in Child Abuse, Interpersonal Violence
CHDV 4240 Effects of Family Transitions on Children
CHDV 4960 Senior Seminar
And other courses at the Child Development MA program.
Teaching style:
In my teaching, I tend to adopt a hands-on approach where I encourage students to relate to the material. This is often done by class discussions, in-class group activities, or assignments incorporating real life experiences. I try to create a safe and fun learning environment that promotes critical thinking where students can grow personally and professionally. I always incorporate issues of diversity in regards to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion etc.
Research:
My research focuses on various aspects of romantic relationships. In the past, I have examined the impact of interparental conflict on young adult romantic relationships. More recently, I have worked on several projects to understand how technology (i.e. cell phones, facebook) is used in initiating and dissolving romantic relationships among college students. Lastly, I have examined the different factors involved in sexting.
Some of my recent publications include:
- Weisskirch, R. S. , Drouin, M. & Delevi, R. (2016). Relational Anxiety and Sexting, The Journal of Sex Research, doi: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1181147
- Delevi, R., & Weisskirch, R. S. (2013). Personality factors as predictors of sexting. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2589-2594.
- Weisskirch, R. S., & Delevi, R. (2013). Attachment style and conflict resolution skills predicting technology use in relationship dissolution. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2530-2534.
- Delevi, R., & Bugay, A. (2013). Assessing reliability and validity of the 15-item short version of the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) among Turkish students. The Journal of International Women's Studies, 14, 263-272.
- Weisskirch, R. S., & Delevi, R. (2012). Its ovr b/n u n me: Technology use, attachment styles, and gender roles in relationship dissolution. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15, 486-490.
Recently, my study with my colleagues on "sexting: has been mentioned in social media:
- http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/29/health/sexting-relationships/index.html
- http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a62036/sexting-relationship/
Hobbies:
I am an avid traveler (50 countries and counting), speak 4 languages, and practice hot yoga daily.