Research Interests
At the broadest level, I am an interdisciplinary researcher interested in well-being during adolescence and the transition to adulthood. My specific area of research considers how young people make strides in core developmental tasks, such as making sense of who they are (identity), where they are going in life (purpose), and what it means to be here (meaning). Toward these ends, my research tends to address one of three questions:
- How do young people reconcile identity, purpose, and meaning, and how do these psychological assets interface with mental health and well-being?
- How can environments, like colleges and out-of-school time programs, support young people in the cultivation of identity, purpose, and meaning?
- What challenges do young people face in contemporary transitions to adulthood?
More information about my research can be found on the Self and Psychological Well-being (SAP) Lab website.
I have 0% appointments in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies (HDFS) and the Department of Psychology (Personality Area). This means I can collaborate with faculty and serve on graduate student committees in these departments with ease. I act as chair/primary advisor for graduate students applying to the Department of Educational Psychology, where I serve Developmental Sciences and Counseling Psychology.
Education
Ph.D., Human Development, Cornell University
- Major: Developmental Psychology
- Specializations: Social and Personality Development, Developmental Psychopathology, Applied Statistics
M.A., Clinical Psychology, University of Central Florida
B.S., Psychology (Honors), University of Central Florida
A.A., Psychology, Daytona State College
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology
Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Recent Publications
Burrow, A. L., & Ratner, K. (2026). Within-person variability in daily purpose moderates the association between trait purpose and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 36(1), Article e70153. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70153
Ratner, K. (2025). How Institutions of Higher Education Support and Thwart Students’ Negotiations of Identity and Self-Direction: Exploring Derailment in the College Context. In Purpose in Life as Ancient But Nascent: Perspectives from Psychology, Philosophy, and Human Development (pp. 130-157). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009407427.007
Ratner, K., Budesheim, E. F., Alexander, C. S., Klein, R. C., Leinenweber, S., Zhang, L., Zhao, T. Y., Garcia Romero, O., & Napolitano, C. M. (2025). Hurry up and wait: Developmental anxiety during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 17(3), 483-505. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12621
Ratner, K., Xie, H., Zhu, G., Estevez, M., & Burrow, A. L. (2025). Trajectories and predictors of adolescent purpose development in self-driven learning. Child development, 96(2), 691-704. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14201
Rule, P. D., Ratner, K., Willroth, E. C., & Hill, P. L. (2025). Development and Validation of the Physical Disability Identity Scale: A Multistudy Quantitative Investigation With Participant Feedback. Rehabilitation Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000606