Her teaching and research are in the area of developmental psychology, and she is particularly interested in identifying how contextual factors are contributing to developmental wellbeing for adolescents. Her work has focused on understanding achievement and achievement motivation within unique gendered contexts (all girl classes within coed schools) and how high school experiences influence gendered patterns of occupational and educational aspirations. More recently, she has begun exploring the impact of what it means to grow up in an information age by examining the impact of internet use on social and cognitive development, including exploration of a gender-based digital divide.