Nora Dunbar, PhD  

Instructor
PhD Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, 2003
MS Developmental Psychology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1997
BA Psychology, Sonoma State University, 1992
E-mail: nora.dunbar@nau.edu  

Professional Interests

Dr. Dunbar's research interests are family relations and close relationships, adoption and adoptive families, identity (personal, ethnic gender, sexual), Adolescent and emerging adulthood development, and qualitative and qualitative research methods.

Recent publications 

• Grotevant, H.D., Dunbar, N., Kohler, J.K., & Esau, A.L. (2007). Adoptive identity: How contexts within and beyond the family shape developmental pathways. In R.A. Javier, A.L. Baden, R.A. Biafora, & A. Comacho-Gingerich (Eds.), Handbook of adoption. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 
• Dunbar, N., van Dulmen, M.H.M., Ayers-Lopez, S., Berge, J.M., Christian, C., Gossman, G., Henney, S.M., Mendenhall, T.J., Grotevant, H.D., & McRoy, R.G. (2006). Processes linked to contact changes in adoptive kinship networks. Family Process, 45, 449-464.
• Grotevant, H.D., van Dulmen, M., Dunbar, N., Nelson-Christinedaughter, J., Christensen, M., Fan, X., & Miller, B.C. (2006). Antisocial Behavior of Adoptees and Nonadoptees: Prediction from Early History and Adolescent Relationships. Journal of Research on Adolescence 16(1), 105-131.
• Denner, J., Cooper, C., Dunbar, N., & Lopez, E. (2005). Access to opportunity: How Latino students in a college outreach program think about obstacles and resources. Journal of Latinos and Education, 4(1), 21-41.
• Dunbar, N., & Grotevant, H.D. (2004). Adoption narratives: The construction of adoptive identity during adolescence. In M.W. Pratt & B.H. Fiese (Eds.), Family stories and the life course: Across time and generations. (pp. 135 - 161). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 
• Denner, J., & Dunbar, N. (2004). Negotiating femininity: Power and strategies of Mexican American girls. Sex Roles, 50(5-6), 301-314.
• Fan, X., Miller, B.C., Christensen, M., Bayley, B., Park, K., Grotevant, H.D., van Dulmen, M.H.M, & Dunbar, N. (2002). Questionnaire and interview inconsistencies exaggerated differences between adopted and non-adopted adolescents in a national sample. Adoption Quarterly, 6(2), 7-27.
• Van Dulmen, M.H.M., Grotevant, H.D., Dunbar, N., Miller, B.C., Bailey, B., Christensen, M, Fan, X. (2002). Connecting national survey data with DSM-IV criteria. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31 (6), 475 - 481. 
• Miller, B.C., Fan, X., Bayley, B., Christensen, M., Coyle, D., Grotevant, H.D., van Dulmen, M., & Dunbar, N. (2001). Who is adopted: Measuring adoption status using national survey data. Adoption Quarterly, 5 (1), 23-44.
• Grotevant, H.G., Dunbar, N., Kohler, J.K., & Esau, A.L. (2000). Adoptive identity: How contexts within and beyond the family shape developmental pathways. Family Relations, 49, 379-387.
• Denner, J., Cooper, C.R., Lopez, E.M., & Dunbar, N. (1999). Beyond “Giving Science Away”: How University Partnerships Inform Youth Programs, Research, and Policy. Social Policy Report: Society for Research in Child Development, XIII, 1.

Courses