This month, we are delighted to introduce Dr. Aya Shigeto (as1959@nova.edu), as our member in the spotlight. Dr. Shigeto is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University.
Please write a couple sentences on some aspect of your career development.
My Ph.D. training was primarily in family sciences, although my degree was in developmental psychology. In my early academic career, I focused on research with families and young children, but my teaching-intensive position limited my ability to continue this line of research. Currently, my research centers around sexuality of emerging adults attending college. I’ve recently begun merging my family science background with this new focus by interviewing and surveying emerging adults about perceived influences of family relationships on sexual decision-making. Although I don’t have specific projects on individuals of Asian descent at this moment, I teach multicultural psychology and incorporate cultural perspectives into my research whenever possible
Please write a short paragraph describing a particular recent finding, current study, or recent publication and what makes you excited about it.
I explore various topics related to sexuality among emerging adults, including college sex education, sexual health, sexual violence, and sexual communication with family and peers. Currently, in one of the projects, I’m examining how family influences sexual decision-making among college-attending emerging adults. There is limited research on emerging adults’ sexuality from a family science perspective, so I’m excited to contribute to this area. I am also excited about involving undergraduate research assistants in designing studies to better understand sexuality-related terms and practices “trending” in social media
Please share your reflections on your interactions with the Asian Caucus .
I have not yet had the pleasure of directly working with the Asian Caucus, but as a member, I always enjoy learning about and feel inspired by other Asian and Asian American researchers doing great work in their fields. Growing up in Japan, I had never really considered (or had to consider) what it meant to be Japanese or “Asian” in general. Now, after over two decades in the US, I cherish being part of a community where we share and take pride in our Asian heritage.
Any upcoming talks or presentations we should know about?
In addition to being a member of the Asian Caucus, I also serve as the chair of the SRCD Teaching Committee. We’ve organized some excellent webinars over the past year, and we have an exciting one coming up on Tuesday, June 15th at 11 AM EDT about career paths outside academia. We look forward to seeing many of you there. Please visit this SRCD webpage for details and registration!