Bruce Compas, Ph.D.
Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Psychology and Human Development; Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Psycho-Oncology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
VKC Member
Overview of Interests
Bruce Compas' research is focused on processes of coping and self-regulation in response to stress and adversity in children, adolescents, and adults. He is specifically interested in the relationships of coping and self-regulation with both physical health/illness and psychopathology, and the development of interventions to enhance the ways that individuals and families cope with stress. His research involves both laboratory methods to study basic behavioral and biological processes, and clinical research to understand coping and self-regulation in the context of psychopathology and physical illness. Current studies include (a)development and evaluation of the effects of a family cognitive-behavioral preventive intervention for children and adolescents coping with the effects of parental depression; (b) communication, coping and adjustment in pediatric cancer patients and their parents; (c) cognitive remediation to address neurocognitive effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in children with brain and central nervous system tumors; (d) neurocognitive deficits in children with sickle cell disease. His research is funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and generous gifts from Patricia and Rodes Hart and other anonymous donors.
Current research focuses on: