Griffith University

BA (Mathematics), PhD

Professor, School of Psychology

Contact details for Prof Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck

Research expertise

• Published over 60 monographs / books, research articles and edited books
• Directs the Family Interaction Research Program, which has intervention programs that build family supports for children aged 1 to 7
• Research on parent-infant attachment, stress and other important family issues
• Adolescent development as associated with couple (dating), peer and family relationships
• Adolescent sexual behaviour and sexuality
• The development of emotional, cognitive and behavioural regulation (e.g. emotional regulation, stress and coping)
• The development, evaluation and dissemination of innovative programs for children, adolescent and families
• Parenting
• Attachment, emotion regulation, coping and stress reactivity
• Interpersonal rejection and sensitivity to rejection
  

Current teaching areas

• Prof Zimmer-Gembeck teaches in the areas of developmental psychology and research methods/statistics
• She has convened Life-span Developmental Psychology, Adolescent Development, Research Workshop, Applied Social Psychology, Contemporary Issues in Life-span Development, and Advanced topics in psychology.
  
• Contributes to first year introductory courses.

Selected Publications

2012

• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J & Pronk, R. (2011). Relation of depression and anxiety to self- and peer-reported relational aggression, Aggressive Behavior, 37, 1-15.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2012). Adolescent sexual behavior. To appear in R. J. R. Levesque (Ed.). Encyclopedia of adolescence. New York: Springer.
  

2011

• Boislard-P., M., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Sexual subjectivity, relationship status and quality, and same-sex sexual 3xperience among emerging adult females. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 1, 54-64.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Ducat, W., & Boislard-P., M. (2011). A prospective study of young females’ sexual subjectivity: Associations with age, sexual behavior, and dating. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 927-938.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Lees, D, & Skinner, E. A. (2011). Children’s emotions and coping with interpersonal stress as correlates of social competence, Australian Journal of Psychology, 63, 131-141.
• Mathieson, L. C., Murray-Close, D., Crick, N. R., Woods, K. E., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Geiger, T. C., & Morales, J. R. (2011). Hostile intent attributions and relational aggression: The moderating roles of emotional sensitivity, gender, and victimization. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 977-987.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Madsen, S. D., & Hanisch, M. (2011). Connecting the intrapersonal and the interpersonal: Autonomy, voice and relationships with parents and romantic partners during late adolescence. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 8, 509-525.
• Scholes, M., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Thomas, R. (2011). Can caregiver depression keep a good parenting intervention down? The case of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. In H. D. Friedman & P. K. Revera (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Abnormal Psychology (chapter 5), New York: NOVA Science Publishers, Inc.
• Kopp, L., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2011). Resisting the thin ideal and access to autonomy support: Women’s global self-determination, body dissatisfaction and eating, Eating Behaviors, 2, 222-224.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Skinner, E. A. (2011). The development of coping across childhood and adolescence: An integrative review and critique of research, International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35, 1-17.
• Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2011). Accumulating evidence for best practice: The case of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and child maltreatment. Child Development: Special Issue on Raising Healthy Children, 82, 177-192. 
• Aldwin, C. A., Skinner, E. A., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Taylor, R. (2011). Coping and self-regulation across the lifespan. In K. Fingerman, C. Berg, T. Antonucci, J. Smith, & T. Antonucci (Eds.), Handbook of lifespan development (pp. 563-590). New York: Springer. 
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J, Ducat, W., & Collins, W. A. (2011). Autonomy development during adolescence. In B. B. Brown & M. Prinstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 66-76). New York: Academic Press. Recipient of the 2011 PROSE award for the best multivolume reference in humanities or social science. 
• Skinner-E. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2011). Perceived control and the development of coping. In S. Folkman (Ed.) & P. E. Nathan (Series Editor), The Oxford handbook of health, stress and coping (pp. 35-62). New York: Oxford University Press.

2010

• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Thomas, R. (2010). Parents, parenting and toddler functioning: Evidence from a National Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Infant Behavior and Development, 33, 518-529.
• McLachlan, J., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & McGregor, L. (2010). Rejection sensitivity in childhood and early adolescence: Peer rejection and protective effects of parents and friends. Journal of Relationships Research. 1, 31-40.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J, & Kindermann, T. A. (2010). Introduction: Capturing the peer context. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 783-786. “A” ranked journal. IF=1.81.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Ducat, W. (2010). Positive and negative romantic relationship quality: Age, familiarity, attachment and well-being as correlates of couple agreement and projection. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 879-890. 
• Kindermann, T. A., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Duffy, A. (2010). Capturing the peer context: Common themes and necessary synergies. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 891-895. 
• Ducat, W. H., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2010). Romantic partner behaviours as social context: Measuring six dimensions of relationships, Journal of Relationships Research, 1, 1-16. 
• Wright, M., Creed, P. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2010). The development and initial validation of a brief daily hassles scale suitable for use with adolescents, European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26, 217-223.
• Pronk, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2010). It’s “mean”, but what does it mean to adolescents?: Aggressors’ and victims’ understanding of relational aggression. Journal of Adolescent Research, 25, 175-204.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Waters, A. M., & Kindermann, T. (2010). A social relations analysis of liking for and by peers: Associations with gender, depression, peer perception, and worry. Journal of Adolescence, 33, 69-81.

• Skinner, E. A., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (Eds.). (2009). Coping and the development of regulation. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development (Issue 124). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Lees, D., Bradley, G., & Skinner, E. A. (2009). Use of an analogue method to examine children's appraisals of threat and emotion in response to stressful events. Motivation and Emotion, 33, 136-149.
• Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Hunter, T. A., Waters, A. M., & Pronk, R. (2009). Depression as a longitudinal outcome and antecedent of young adolescents' peers relationships and peer-relevant cognition. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 555-577.
  

Current Grants ($4,062,363)

• 2012-2014 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Scheme National Competitive Grant. The Future of Childhood Anxiety Treatment: Translating Cognitive-Neuroscience Insights into Clinical Practice, $250,000. (Waters, Zimmer-Gembeck, Pine, Craske, Mogg, Bradley).

• 2012-2013 Griffith Health Institite grant. Suicide risk and resilience in carers of people with with dementia: A pilot study. $11,362.85 (Dwyer, Moyle, Zimmer-Gembeck, De Leo)

• 2012-2013 Area of Strategies Investment, Innovations Grant, Griffith University. Enhancing outcomes for children with anxiety disorders: An interdisciplinary approach to innovative treatments, $98,000 (Waters, Farrell, Hattingh, McConnell, Zimmer-Gembeck, Donovan, Ollendick).

• 2011-2012 Griffith University Industry Collaborative Grant, Evaluating the effectiveness of a protective behaviours program in Australian primary schools, $40,000 (Shanley, Zimmer-Gembeck, ACT for Kids).

• 2011-2012 Griffith Health Institute grant. Cognitive and emotional development in early childhood, $20,000 (Andrews, Ford, Shum, Zimmer-Gembeck).

• 2010-2012 Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery Scheme National Competitive grant. Rejection Sensitivity in Children and Adolescents: Antecedents, Consequences, and the Promotion of Rejection Resilience. $200,000 (CI1 Nesdale, CI2 Zimmer-Gembeck, AI Downey).

• 2012 Griffith University Research Infrastructure Award. Using eye-movements to measure neural and psychological processes, $75,000 equipment grant.

• May 2003-June 2013, CI1 Zimmer-Gembeck (single investigator grant), The Family Interaction Research Program, Queensland Department of Child Safety: Future Directions Prevention and Early Intervention Trial, 3 years extended for 9 additional years, total funding committed to date $3,368,000.