Brianna Williams, 14'
Files
Cohort
2014
Biography
Brianna Williams was born in Washington, D.C. Growing up in a military family, she lived in Hawaii and Georgia for several years before she finally settled in Tampa, Florida at age 14 to start high school. She is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Minor in Writing & Rhetoric. Currently, Brianna is a research assistant at the UCF Marriage and Family Research Institute, tutors at the University Writing Center, and served as a peer mentor at the UCF Summer Research Academy. Her passion to improve couple and family relationships has led to her interest in examining the influences relationship education has on inmates, couples, and parents and adolescents. Brianna intends to obtain her doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy so that she can create her own institute in order to provide relationship education to parents and adolescents in low-income communities.
Undergraduate Major
Psychology
Future Plans
Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy
Disciplines
Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling
Recommended Citation
Williams, Brianna, "Brianna Williams, 14'" (2017). McNair Scholars. 40.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/mcnair_gallery/40
Research
Completing a Couples Relationship Education Intervention: Differences in Parental Alliance and Distress between Black and White Fathers. Conducted at the University of Central Florida Marriage and Family Research Institute as part of their federally funded grant project called Project T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. Mentor: Dr. Andrew P. Daire, Associate Dean of Research, Department Office of the Dean, University of Houston Abstract: With an overwhelming amount of repeat offenders in the United States, many studies report socio-economic status, educational level of the individual, visitation, and unemployment as contributors to recidivism (Bales & Mears, 2008; Cochran, 2012; Esperian, 2010; Wang, Mears, & Bales, 2010). Moreover, research found not only that family contact and social support influence recidivism (La Vigne, Naser, Brooks, & Castro, 2005; Martinez, 2009), but that positive family social support predicts lower recidivism (Spjeldnes, Jung, Maguire, & Yamatani, 2012). As such, research interest remains in decreasing recidivism through interventions to strengthen couple and family relationships as well as improve post-release employment outcomes for inmates (Einhorn, 2008). This poster presents projected results from a study between the University of Central Florida's Marriage and Family Research Institute (MFRI) and a local corrections department examining the pre- and post- effects of a brief relationship education (RE) and career planning services intervention on the recidivism rates of participating inmates. Utilizing a Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) curriculum, the goals of this study are not only to decrease recidivism in central Florida, but also to contribute to the limited research on relationship education and inmate recidivism. With an overwhelming amount of repeat offenders in the United States, many studies report socio-economic status, educational level of the individual, visitation, and unemployment as contributors to recidivism (Bales & Mears, 2008; Cochran, 2012; Esperian, 2010; Wang, Mears, & Bales, 2010). Moreover, research found not only that family contact and social support influence recidivism (La Vigne, Naser, Brooks, & Castro, 2005; Martinez, 2009), but that positive family social support predicts lower recidivism (Spjeldnes, Jung, Maguire, & Yamatani, 2012). As such, research interest remains in decreasing recidivism through interventions to strengthen couple and family relationships as well as improve post-release employment outcomes for inmates (Einhorn, 2008). This poster presents projected results from a study between the University of Central Florida's Marriage and Family Research Institute (MFRI) and a local corrections department examining the pre- and post- effects of a brief relationship education (RE) and career planning services intervention on the recidivism rates of participating inmates. Utilizing a Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) curriculum, the goals of this study are not only to decrease recidivism in central Florida, but also to contribute to the limited research on relationship education and inmate recidivism.