Faculty Profile for Dr. Shannon Elizabeth Dier

profile photo for Dr. Shannon Elizabeth Dier
Dr. Shannon Elizabeth Dier
Assistant Professor — School of Family & Consumer Sciences
Family and Consumer Sciences FCS 114

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Dr. Dier is a Certified Child Life Specialist with over 10 years of clinical experience in pediatric healthcare settings. Her research focuses broadly on coping and resilience in healthcare contexts, including an emphasis on child life practice and training.

Research Interests

Play, medical play, and self-regulation
Socialization of healthcare understanding and coping
Coping with chronic health conditions
Empathetic distress and professional resilience for child life specialists

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Scruggs, X., Dier, S. E., Schlaupitz, C. A., Karayianis, K. A., Lukowski, A. F., & Bohanek, J. G. (2024). “What Does This Mean for Our Future?” Uncertainty Management in Mothers’ Narratives about the Diagnosis and Birth of Their Child with Down Syndrome. PLOS One, 19(11), e0313195. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313195
  • Dier, S. E., & Ravert, R. D. (2024). Disclosure Experiences of College Students With Chronic Medical Conditions. Emerging Adulthood, 12(5), 939–945. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968241261102
  • Dier, S. E., Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B., Palermo, F., Dooley, A., Rueda-Posada, M. F., & White, R. E. (n.d.). Parent conversations with young children: Implications for child well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001851
  • Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B., Rueda-Posada, M. F., Dier, S. E., Dooley, A. W., Nadler, D. R., & Coxon, S. (n.d.). Exploring Playful Opportunities for STEM Learning in Early Elementary School. Early Education and Development. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2025.2478653
  • Rueda-Posada, M. F., Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B., Dier, S. E., Wilson-Dooley, A., Palermo, F., White, R. E., & Chung, C. (2023). Pandemic play moderates the relation between caregiver stress and child emotional distress in contexts of economic adversity. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1155617

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding College Teaching Graduate Student Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Missouri. April 2024
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Graduate Student Travel Award, Society for Research on Child Development. 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: RCAF Health Sciences 1st prize poster presentation, Graduate Professional Council, University of Missouri. 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Mary Elizabeth Gutermuth Award for Community Engagement, Graduate School, University of Missouri. April 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Research Development Award, Graduate Professional Council, University of Missouri. 2021

Selected Grants

  • Dier, Shannon Elizabeth (Principal), Goble, Priscilla Maria (Co-Principal). Child Life Specialist Relationships and Hospitalized Children’s Coping and Behavior, Texas State University, $15976. (Submitted: October 2024, Funded: February 2025 - May 2026). Grant.
  • Shen, Yishan (Principal), Goble, Priscilla Maria (Co-Principal), Alfaro, Edna C (Co-Principal), Behnke, Andrew Owen (Co-Principal), Dier, Shannon Elizabeth (Co-Principal), Seo, Eunjin (Co-Principal), Weimer, Amy Ann (Co-Principal). Opportunities for Undergraduate Research in Human Development and Family Sciences (OUR HDFS): A Two-Track Training Program, Texas State University, $6000. (Submitted: July 2024, Funded: September 2024 - May 2025). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Editor
ACLP Bulletin
June 2020-May 2024
Member
Child Life Committee
2024-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Journal of Child Life
2020-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Association of Child Life Professionals Annual Conference
September 2024-October 2024
Member
HDFS Faculty Search Committee
2022-2023