Dr Melis Yavuz-Muren

My research interests are threefold, all centered on understanding how parenting influences children’s development.

1. I study how parenting is associated with social-emotional development, with a particular focus on empathy/sympathy, prosocial behaviours, and emotion regulation. In this line of research, I collaborate with researchers from different cultures to examine the role of culture in these mechanisms.
   
   
2. I examine the links between parenting, child temperament, and the development of childhood obesity. I am interested in understanding how parental behaviours influence child eating, physical activity/sedantary behaviors, and subsequent obesity in childhood and young adulthood.
   
   
3. I explore parenting processes in refugee contexts, with attention to the unique challenges and resilience of displaced families and focusing on parenting and child developmental interventions in refugee contexts.