Jay Mancini


Jay A. Mancini, Ph.D.
Professor of Human Development

 

              E-Mail    mancini@vt.edu

Mailing Address   303 Wallace Hall (0416)
                             Blacksburg, VA 24061

               Phone    540-231-9816

                   Fax    540-231-7012

     Office Hours    By appointment

     Staff Contact    Ms. Geneva Watson (540-231-4795)

 

Biographical Note

     Jay A. Mancini is currently Professor of Human Development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1977. From 1989 to 1996 he was head of the department. He received his Ph.D. in 1977 from the Department of Child Development and Family Relations at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; his MS degree is from the Department of Family and Child Development at Kansas State University (1974). Dr. Mancini has received the Outstanding Educator Award from the Virginia Association on Aging, a curriculum development award from the National 4-H Association, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2002). He is a Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations.

     Dr. Mancini’s research earlier in his career focused on family gerontology, and on time-use and the quality of family life. His publications in those areas appear in periodicals such as Journal of Marriage and the Family, Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, and Journal of Leisure Research. For many years he has also conducted research and program development related to military families and family support systems. Publications in those areas appear in Family Relations, and in Journal of Community Practice. Since the early 1980’s he has had numerous funded projects focusing on program evaluation research, with publications appearing in Journal of Community Practice, and in Research Methods in Family Therapy. Since the mid-1990’s Dr. Mancini has been researching and theorizing on the sustainability of community based programs (published in Family Relations), and on relationships between families and communities (published in Family Relations, Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion, Journal of Community Practice, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma). He has also recently researched aspects of adolescent adjustment and risk behavior (published in Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and in Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal). He has received support for his research from AARP Andrus Foundation, Casey Foundation, National Institute on Aging, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk Initiative), Military Family Research Institute, and U.S. Department of the Army (Child and Youth Services). Over the years Dr. Mancini has taught courses on research methods, family studies, and adult development and aging. Currently he teaches evaluation research methods, and theory construction methods. Dr. Mancini’s complete vitae, as well as selected publications and presentations, are available for downloading as listed below. Copies of other publications and presentations should be requested directly from Dr. Mancini.

 

Vitae

Jay A. Mancini, Ph.D., Professor of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

 

Selected Publications

Mancini, J.A., Bowen, G.L., & Martin, J.A. (2005). Community social organization: A conceptual linchpin in examining families in the context of communities. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 54, 570-582.

 Mancini, J.A., Huebner, A.J., McCollum, E., & Marek, L.I. (2005). Evaluation science and family therapy. In D. Sprenkle & F. Piercy (Eds.), Research methods in family therapy. (pp. 272-293). NY: Guilford.

Mancini, J.A., & Huebner, A.J. (2004). Adolescent risk behavior patterns: Effects of structured time-use, interpersonal connections, self-system characteristics, and socio-demographic influences. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26, 647-668.

Mancini, J.A., Marek, L.I., Byrne, R., & Huebner, A.J. (2004). Community-based program research: Context, program readiness, and evaluation usefulness. Journal of Community Practice, 12, 7-21.

Mancini, J.A., & Marek, L.I. (2004). Sustaining community-based programs for families: Conceptualization and measurement. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 53, 339-347.

Mancini, J.A., Martin, J.A., & Bowen, G.L. (2003). Community capacity. In T. Gullotta & M. Bloom (Eds.), Encyclopedia of primary prevention and health promotion (pp. 319-331). NY: Plenum.

 
 
Selected Presentations and Research Project Reports

Mancini, J.A. (2004, May). Building community capacity to support military families. Research Lecture presented at the USDA Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.

Mancini, J.A., Bowen, G.L., Martin, J.A., & Ware, W.B. (2003, June). The community connections index: Measurement of community engagement and sense of community.  Paper presented at the Hawaii International Conference on the Social Sciences, Honolulu, HI.

Huebner, A.J., & Mancini, J.A. (2005). Adjustments among adolescents in military families when a parent is deployed. Final Report. West Lafayette, IN: Military Family Research Institute.