Research Interests
At the broadest level, I am an interdisciplinary researcher interested in well-being during adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Most of my research addresses one of three related questions:
- How do young people make strides in adult development? I am particularly interested in how they reconcile core developmental tasks, like making sense of who they are (identity), where they are going in life (purpose), and what it means to be here (meaning).
- How do identity, purpose, and meaning 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?
More information about my research can be found on the Self and Psychological Well-being (SAP) Lab website. Within the department, I advise graduate students across both the Developmental Sciences and Counseling Psychology divisions.
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
Recent Publications
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
Xie, H., Ratner, K., Fegley, S. G., & Nakkula, M. J. (2025). Heterogeneity in the Developmental Trajectories of Chinese Youth Educational Aspirations: Identifying Predictors and Outcomes. Child development, 96(3), 1220-1235. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14234
Ratner, K., Zhu, G., Li, Q., Rice, M., Estevez, M., & Burrow, A. L. (2024). Derailment in adolescence: Factor analytic structure and correlates. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 34(3), 1099-1106. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12954