Biography
Dr. Mohr received her B.A. from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1991 and her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1999. Before coming to PSU, she was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Alcohol Research Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
Research
Dr. Mohr’s research concerns psychosocial influences on subjective well-being and physical health and in particular the processes by which positive and negative facets of interpersonal relationships and emotions exert effects on health. To examine these processes, many of Dr. Mohr’s research studies draw on daily process methodology, which are time-intensive investigations where people record experiences, thoughts, moods, and behaviors daily or multiple times a day, for periods ranging from a week to a month. Dr. Mohr has also drawn on dyadic designs and cross-cultural collaborations to examine the nature of interpersonal influence in her research work.
One area of particular focus to Dr. Mohr’s research work has been the area of negative emotional experiences and alcohol consumption, based on motivational models of alcohol consumption that specify the conditions under which people consume alcohol and motivations therein. She has examined the day-to-day fluctuations between positive and negative experiences and subsequent alcohol consumption, and how these relationships vary as a function of social context. Further, she has considered the potential for positive experiences to buffer the effects of negative experiences on drinking.
Dr. Mohr's current research projects include a focus on military family health and well-being. Specifically, Dr. Mohr has collaborated on three Department of Defense grants with Dr. Leslie Hammer in which randomized controlled trials have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of supportive supervisor interventions on reservists, separated and active-duty service members, including the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) Project, the Oregon Military Employee Sleep and Health Study (MESH), and the Readiness Supportive Leadership Training (RESULT) Study. Project investigators have documented numerous benefits of supportive supervisor/leader training on employee/service member work, health and well-being outcomes, as well as cross-over benefits for their families. As part of the SERVe study, Dr. Mohr directed the Daily Family Study comprised of a multi-wave daily dyadic diary study Daily Family Study (DFS) in which veterans participating in SERVe and their spouses/cohabiting partners completed brief daily online surveys regarding daily activities, work, family and social life.
Professor Mohr is currently Field Editor for Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Associate Editor for the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology and an editorial board member of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors and Occupational Health Science.
Please visit Dr. Mohr's DYADIC (Daily Affect, Drinking, and Interpersonal Context) research lab website to learn more.