Hello! I am Dr. Debrielle Jacques, an Assistant Professor of Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Washington. Research-wise, I am broadly interested in a) the developmental effects of parent psychopathology and b) childhood risk, resilience, developmental psychopathology, and general child development in adverse family environments. Specifically, I am interested in studying how and why addiction (especially among mothers) impacts parenting - including parent social cognition, parenting attributions,  parenting behavior, and parent-child interactions - and consequently, child development, including the development of psychological problems. In studying children of mothers with substance use disorders, I am also interested in better understanding the underlying function of the strategies children use to navigate these family environments, including a) how children calibrate and adjust these strategies to environmental changes over time (e.g. increasing levels of domestic violence in the home), and b) understanding when, why, and how these strategies become maladaptive and harmful to children's long-term psychological development. Questions I hope to further explore include:

 Please visit my other pages for cool and interesting content and to learn more about my research (including current projects), teaching, and service work!

NOTE FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS TO MY LAB: Thank you for your interest in working with me. To clarify, I plan to review applications and may admit a student for matriculation in the 2023-24 academic year (feel free to email me but please do not feel compelled to email me before applying). While I love meeting prospective applicants and discussing research interests,I cannot feasibly accommodate requests for individual pre-application meetings. I also want to acknowledge the continued impact of many structural and systemic barriers within the application process that disproportionately and unjustly impact many applicants, especially those from marginalized and first-generation backgrounds. While meeting with prospective applicants from such backgrounds can help deconstruct barriers, in some ways, it also perpetuates inequities more broadly. Therefore, to help inform your decision to apply, I will respond to emails inquiring about current and on-going projects, those seeking clarification on my/the lab's research direction or research fit/alignment, and general/broad questions about the lab/program/dept. If you are emailing, brief descriptions of your research interests - what you want to study during your PhD - are helpful. However, I cannot and will not provide feedback or assistance in identifying or refining your research interests or on any application materials prior to the application deadline. Doing so unjustly advantages prospective applicants who sought and subsequently obtained my feedback. Nonetheless, to partially rectify inequitable access to mentors and knowledge about the inner workings of the application process (also known as the "hidden curriculum"), please see below for a brief list of resources to use while  preparing your application materials to psychology PhD programs more broadly.

Demystifying the Graduate School Application Process:
- https://ecoevorxiv.org/repository/view/3666/

Writing a Research Statement:
- https://psychology.cas.lehigh.edu/content/writing-research-statement
- https://gradschool.cornell.edu/career-and-professional-development/pathways-to-success/prepare-for-your-career/take-action/research-statement/

Broad/General Information on Applications:
- https://www.psychresearchlist.com/grad-school-resources.html (note that some of this site's spreadsheets may be continually updated; do your own research to confirm this information, such as a list of schools or potential advisors who are admitting students and current admissions criteria)

This is a non-exhaustive, hastily assembled list of resources you might find helpful. I plan to add more and create a dedicated page on this site to further demystify the application process and graduate education more broadly. As always, please consult with mentors/advisors (and those most familiar with your interests, needs, goals, etc. as they can provide appropriate and informed guidance to help you navigate this process), peers both in and beyond your discipline, and administrators at your programs/departments of interests (e.g., ask academic coordinators about the availability of and process through which you can receive application fee waivers, how letters of recommendation can/should be submitted, etc.). Lean into these resources and sources of support first, if possible, and consider these external resources as supplemental areas of support.