Faculty Profile 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-regulationSocialization 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
- 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
- Thibodeau-Nielsen, R. B., Palermo, F., White, R. E., Wilson, A., & Dier, S. E. (2021). Child Adjustment During COVID-19: The Role of Economic Hardship, Caregiver Stress, and Pandemic Play. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716651
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
- 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) Fellowship, Texas State University, $6000. (Submitted: July 2024, Funded: September 2024 - May 2025). Grant.