Crystal Park

Professor

Psychological Sciences

Dr. Crystal Park is a Professor in the Psychological Sciences department. Dr. Park’s research focuses on multiple aspects of coping with stressful events, including the roles of religious beliefs and religious coping, the phenomenon of stress-related growth, and the making of meaning in the context of traumatic events and life-threatening illnesses, particularly with cancer survivors, congestive heart failure patients, and military veterans.  In recent years, Dr. Park has also been investigating mind-body relationships, particularly the science of yoga.

Dr. Park is currently co-principal investigator (PI) (with Michelle Williams) of an NIH-funded study of self-regulation and academic success in UConn students.  She is also currently PI or Co-PI of NIH-funded studies of yoga for stress-management and the development of a tool to measure essential properties of yoga

Research Interests:

• Stress, coping, and health
• Meaning making
• Psychology of religion and spirituality
• Trauma
• Cancer survivorship
• Yoga