Alex Kaeppler headshot
Alex Kaeppler
Ph.D. Student, HDFS

 

Education
M.S. Marriage and Family Therapy, Auburn University, 2020
M.S. Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University, 2016
B.S. Psychology, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 2014

Research interests
• Psychophysiology
• Coping with social stress
• Peer and family relationships
• Parent-child communication
Clinical interests
• Stress, trauma, anxiety, and depressive symptoms
• Addictions and substance use disorders
• Experiential and emotion-focused therapies
Publications/Posters/Papers
Troop-Gordon, W., Kaeppler, A. K., & Corbitt-Hall, D. J. (2021). Youth’s expectations for their teacher’s handling of peer victimization and their socioemotional development. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 41(1), 13–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431620931192

Curtis, D. S., Fuller-Rowell, T. E., Hinnant, J. B., Kaeppler, A. K., & Doan, S. N. (2017). Resting high-frequency heart rate variability moderates the association between early-life adversity and body adiposity. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(7), 953–963. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317739964

Baker, J. K., Fenning, R. M., Erath, S. A., Baucom, B. R., Messinger, D. S., Moffitt, J., Kaeppler, A. K.., & Bailey, A. (2020). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 24(1), 109–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319848525

Fenning, R. M., Erath, S. A., Baker, J. K., Messinger, D. S., Moffitt, J., Baucom, B. R., & Kaeppler, A. K. (2019). Sympathetic-parasympathetic interaction and externalizing problems in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 12(12), 1805–1816. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2187

Erath, S. A., Kaeppler, A. K., & Tu, K. M. (2019). Coping with peer stress predicts peer adjustment across the transition to middle school. Social Development, 28(1), 22–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12330

Kaeppler, A. K., & Erath, S. A. (2017) Linking social anxiety with social competence in early adolescence: Physiological and coping moderators. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45(2), 371-384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0173-5

Manuscripts under review

Kaeppler, A. K., Erath, S. A., El-Sheikh, M., & Hinnant, B. (invited revision submitted). Coping with family stress as a moderator of the longitudinal association between childhood anxiety and adolescent depressive symptoms. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

Kaeppler, A. K., & Erath, S. A. (under review). Psychophysiology of social anxiety in early adolescence: Within- and cross-system interactions between measures of autonomic nervous system reactivity to social stress. Developmental Psychobiology.

Altinoz, Z. S., Erath, S. A., Pettit, G. S., Laird, R. D., & Kaeppler, A. K. (under review). Variability in adolescent reception of parental support: A test of the domain-matching hypothesis. Journal of Family Psychology.

Selected presentations

Kaeppler, A. K., & Erath, S. A. (2023). Sympathetic nervous system hyper-reactivity to peer evaluative stress predicts elevated levels of real-time social anxiety among early adolescents. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.

Kaeppler, A. K., McConnell, L. Z., & Erath, S. A. (2020). The interactive effects of peer stress and involuntary responses to peer stress predict voluntary coping responses. Poster accepted for presentation at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence. https://mailchi.mp/98c12135e590/scholars-2479169. (Conference cancelled due to COVID-19).

Kaeppler, A. K., Erath, S. A., Troop-Gordon, W., & McConnell, L. Z. (2020). Children’s expectations for their teacher’s handling of peer victimization and their socioemotional development. Paper accepted as part of the symposium, “Multi-method research on coping with peer victimization in early adolescence” (W. Troop-Gordon, Chair) at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence. https://mailchi.mp/98c12135e590/scholars-2479169. (Conference cancelled due to COVID-19).

Kaeppler, A. K.. & Erath, S. (2018). Autonomic physiology of social anxiety in early adolescence: Non-reciprocal parasympathetic and sympathetic reactivity to social stress. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Quebec City, Canada.

Kaeppler, A., Erath, S., Tu, K. (2017) Coping with peer victimization predicts peer adjustment across the transition to middle school. Poster presented at the annual conference for the Society of Research in Child Development, Austin, TX.

Kaeppler, A. K., Hinten, B., McConnell, L., Kimmel, L., & Hinnant, B. (2017) The influence of anxiety and depression on adolescent risky decision-making: An fMRI pilot study. Poster presented at the annual Southeastern Symposium on Child and Human Development, Auburn, AL.

Kaeppler, A. K. & Erath, S. (2016) Linking social anxiety and autonomic responses to social stress in preadolescence. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Minneapolis, MN.
Courses taught
HDFS 2000 - Marriage and Family in a Global Context
HDFS 2030 - Professional Development and Ethics
HDFS 3030 - Adolescent Development
HDFS 3060 - Patterns of Family Interaction
HDFS 4950 - Trauma and Toxic Stress

Research projects
Graduate Research Assistant - Parent-Adolescent Communication Study, Dr. Stephen Erath (PI), Funded by the Auburn University Research Support Program and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (2021-2023)

Graduate Research Assistant - Parent Responses to Peer Victimization Study, Dr. Wendy Troop-Gordon (PI), Funded by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (2019-2020)

Graduate Research Assistant - Family Focus Group Therapy, Dr. Margaret Keiley (PI), Funded by Mt. Miegs Correctional Institute (2018-2020)

Graduate Research Assistant - Increasing Children’s Defending Behaviors: Using Deviance Regulation Theory to Combat Bullying, Dr. Wendy Troop-Gordon (PI), Funded by NICHD R15 HD089044-01A (2018-2019)

Graduate Research Assistant - Context Effects on Adolescent Decision Making: Neuroimaging Pilot Studies, Dr. Ben Hinnant (PI), Funded by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn University Intramural Grants Program (2015-2018)

Graduate Research Assistant - Emotional Experiences of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Communication Situations, Dr. Stephen Erath (PI), Funded by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn University Intramural Grants Program (2014-2018)
Fun Facts
Hobbies/hidden talents?Soccer, playing with my pets, and collecting creative, artistic, and informative figures from research articles

Favorite quotes/sayings "One of the deepest, one of the most general functions of living organisms is to look ahead, to produce future" - French biologist Francois Jacob

"The best training for being a professor isn't from your stats classes or reading articles. It is watching air traffic controllers." - Dr. Wendy Troop-Gordon

What advice would you offer to someone thinking about graduate school? SFind a school, department, and advisor/major professor who truly value you as a person and are invested in your growth. In addition, be flexible, patient, and open to new ideas and trajectories for your career.