Associate Professor (tenure-track)
Counseling Psychology
PhD (2010), University of Florida

Website: Chronopsychology: The Daily Life Research Lab

Research Interests

Our Chronopsychology: The Daily Life Research Lab examines daily processes that anchor well-being across adulthood. We focus on a variety of daily processes with specific emphasis on sleep, affect, health behaviors, and routines.

We approach the study of daily life from a positive and preventative perspective. Additionally, we are interested in developmental differences in daily lives (e.g., changes with age and across life transitions). Lastly, we are mindful that individuals are embedded in contexts that include their family, social, cultural, and political environments. As such we consider macro factors while focusing on micro events.

We are currently addressing the following research questions: (a) Does sleep mediate the association between experiences of discrimination and well-being across the adult lifespan? (b) How does intra-individual variability in daily health behaviors (e.g., light exposure, sleep, timing of meals, and activity levels) predict well-being across the lifespan? (c) What positive psychosocial factors promote healthy sleep and weight outcomes (e.g., positive affect, coping styles, and savoring)?

• Are experiences of discrimination associated with worse sleep at night?
• Day in, day out, how important are routines for our well-being?

Select Publications

Tighe, C. A., Shoji, K. D., Dautovich, N. D.,Lichstein, K. L., &Scogin, F. (2016). Affective mediators of the association between pleasant events and global sleep quality in community-dwelling adults. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 170-177. doi: 10.1007/s10865-015-9666-x

Dautovich, N. D., Shoji, K. D., McCrae, C. S. (2015). Variety is the spice of life: A microlongitudinal study examining age differences in intraindividual variability in daily activities in relation to sleep outcomes. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 70, 581-590.

Shoji, K., Tighe, C., Dautovich, N. D., & McCrae, C. S. (2015). Beyond mean values: Quantifying intraindividual variability in pre-sleep arousal and sleep in younger and older community-dwelling adults. Sleep Science, 8, 24-30.

Dautovich, N. D., Dzierzewski, J. M., & Gum, A. M. (2014). Older adults display concurrent but not delayed associations between life stressors and depressive symptoms: A microlongitudinal study. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 1131-1139.

Dautovich, N. D., Shoji, K. D., Stripling, A. M., & Dzierzewski, J. M. (2014). Clinical geropsychology: Treatment and research approaches with rural older adults. Clinical Gerontologist, 37, 37-41.

Recent Courses

• Introduction to Psychology, undergraduate level
• Contemporary Issues, Leadership, and Supervision in Counseling Psychology, graduate level

Recent Grants

Timing and Intensity of Light Exposure and Sleep: A Systematic Review. Principal Investigator. October 2015-December 2016. National Sleep Foundation. $2,500.

Sleep and Emotional Regulation Across the Adult Lifespan. Principal Investigator. September 2014. Alabama Research Institute on Aging, University of Alabama, Seed Grant.

A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Intervention for Persons with Restless Legs Syndrome. Principal Investigator (Co-Principal Investigators: Beverly Thorn and Norma Cuellar). May 2014. University of Alabama, Research Grants Committee.

Light Exposure as a Factor Influencing Intraindividual Cognitive Variability in Older Adults with Different Degrees of Cognitive Integrity. Principal Investigator. September 2013. Alabama Research Institute on Aging, University of Alabama, Seed Grant.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Light Exposure Scale in Older Adults. Principal Investigator (Co-Principal Investigator: Kelly Stanek). November 2012. University of Alabama College Academy for Research Scholarship and Creative Activity (CARSCA).

Awards

• Selected to participate (competitive application process) in the National Institute on Aging and the American Geriatrics Society U13 Bedside to Bench Conference, “Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Aging: New Avenues for Improving Brain Health, Physical Health and Functioning," Bethesda, MD, October 2015
• National Sleep Foundation (NSF) Environmental Scholar, November 2013 – October 2016
• Emerging Gerontological Research Scholar August 2013 - July 2015, Alabama Research Institute on Aging, University of Alabama
• Fellow, National Institute of Mental Health, July 2012 – Present, Summer Research Institute

News Feature

• Heller, Dautovich and Dzierzewski bring mental health support to firefighters