Faculty / Staff Resources Student Resources
University of Southern California
University of Southern California
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
X/Twitter Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube
People
People

Bethany A. Gruskin OTR/L(she/her)

Faculty Mentor: Mary Lawlor ScD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Research Lab: Sensory Integration, Engagement, and Family Life
Year of Entry: 2021

Bethany Gruskin

To provide a brief background of my research experience, I joined the Back 2 Baby Basics (B2BB) research lab as an undergraduate research assistant. With a focus on early childhood temperament, my roles within this project included interacting directly with participants to collect data, coding videos for specific behaviors, entering and correcting information in datasets, and training new undergraduate research assistants. Upon graduation, I joined another Penn State project — the Study of Infant Emergent Sleep TrAjectories Family Foundations (SIESTA-FF) — as a full-time Human Research Technologist I. As a member of this National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded clinical trial, I worked collaboratively to create operating procedures, ensure efficient protocols for data collection and entry, and recruit couples who were first-time parents. I also worked directly with families through each stage of the project, including informed consent and data collection. As a project based in human development and family studies the terminology diverged, but ultimately, we were looking at occupations, co-occupations, roles, and routines within the emerging family unit. With this foundation, I pursued my Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at the University of New England and graduated in May 2021.

I am currently enrolled as an Occupational Science PhD student at the University of Southern California, immersed in Dr. Lawlor’s research lab. As a member of Dr. Lawlor’s research lab, I am excited to collaborate and engage in ethnographic qualitative methodology while considering stories of participation and access from individuals with complex intersecting identities. My research interests are focused on the experiences of nesting as a type of place-making for first-time parents. Specifically, I am hoping to explore gendered differences in parental engagement surrounding the activities required to prepare a physical, social, and material space for the arrival of a baby. I am also curious about the meaning is ascribed to these activities and how they help with the transition into parenting roles. My long-term research goal is to consider other factors that impact nesting behaviors, such as power, privilege, and cultural contexts.

Education

Selected Publications

Awards

In Chan News