Anna K. Hochgraf, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Human Development and Family Science
Purdue University
My Research
Selected Papers
Hochgraf, A. K., Barry, M., Lanza, S. T., Jacobsen, M., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2025). Constellations of family qualities and links with psychological and behavioral health in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-025-03154-4
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Hochgraf, A. K., Fosco, G. M., Lanza, S. T., & McHale, S. M. (2021). Developmental timing of parent-youth intimacy as a protective factor for adolescent adjustment problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 35(7), 916–926. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000864.
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Hochgraf, A. K., McHale, S. M., & Fosco, G. M. (2019). Interparental conflict and gender moderate the prospective link between parents’ perceptions of adolescents’ weight and weight concerns. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 52, 904-913. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23093
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Development of Youth Adjustment Problems
​The aims of my first line of research are to identify risk and protective factors for the development of youth adjustment problems, including how individual and contextual factors intersect to shape risk, and the developmental timing and course of adjustment problems. Most of my work in this area centers on the development of body image concerns during adolescence, with attention to the roles of family processes, relationships, and larger sociocultural contexts.
Selected Papers
Hochgraf, A. K., Fosco, G. M., & Lanza, S. T. (2023). Age-varying associations between attempts to lose weight and nicotine vaping across adolescence: Results from a nationally representative sample. Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.009
Hochgraf, A. K. & McHale, S. M. (2020). Honey, do I look fat? Perceptions of spouses’ weight and weight concerns predict marital relationship quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37, 865-884. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407519880961
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Hochgraf, A. K., Lanza, S. T., Fosco, G. M., & McHale, S. M. (2021). The developmental course of the link between weight concerns and cigarette use across adolescence: Differences by gender. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54, 1793-1799. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23586
Consequences of Psychological Adjustment Problems
My second line of research is centered on the consequences of psychological and behavioral adjustment problems for individual and family well-being. For example, I am interested in elucidating how body image concerns enhance vulnerability for health risk behaviors such as substance use. The overarching goal of this line of research is to identify opportunities to mitigate the detrimental effects of body image concerns and related adjustment problems on individuals' psychological, physical, and social health.
