Besangie Sellars White

LIFE Fellow from 2005 to 2008, University of Michigan

PhD

Dissertation completed in June 2008

A Longitudinal View of Sex Role Development: Demographic Differences and the Influence of Social Relations

(Advisor: Toni Antonucci)

Besangie Sellars received her PhD in Developmental Psychology with a focus on lifespan development from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research investigated the role of social support throughout development with regard to physical and psychological health and well-being. After completing her graduate studies, she spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in the Kellogg Health Scholars Program at the Center for Minority Health, University of Pittsburgh. She then worked as an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Services at Welseyan College in Georgia. Besangie has since transitioned from academia to become a full-time parent, homeschool teacher to her two young children, and author of a book entitled, “Postpartum Phunny: The Adventures and Musing of a Woman Learning How to Be a Mother.”

Selected Publications

Sellars, B., Garza, M., Fryer, C., & Thomas, S. B. (2010). Utilization of health care services and willingness to participate in future medical research: The role of race and social support. Journal of the National Medical Association, 102, 776–786.

Fuller-Iglesias, H., Sellars, B., & Antonucci, T. C. (2008). Resilience in old age: Social relations as a protective factor. Research in Human Development, 5, 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427600802274043

Jackson, J. S., Antonucci, T. C., Brown, E. E., Daatland, S. O., & Sellars, B. (2008). Race and ethnic influences on normative beliefs and attitudes toward provision of family care. In A. Booth, A. C. Coulter, S. Bianchi, & J. A. Seltzer (Eds.), Intergenerational caregiving (pp. 317–331). Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.