Laura Padilla-Walker

Laura M Padilla-Walker is an American developmental psychologist and academic administrator. She is a professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. She was an associate dean for the BYU College of Family, Home and Social Sciences from 2017-2021 until she became the dean in July 2021.

Early life, education, and career Padilla-Walker received her bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 1999, and both her master's (2001) and PhD. (2005) in developmental psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her thesis was " Perceived appropriateness and accurate perception of parental messages as predictors of adolescents' internalization of values and behaviors".

Publications Books Padilla-Walker, Laura M., and Gustavo Carlo., editors. Prosocial Development: A Multidimensional Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2016. ISBN 9780199964772

Most cited journal articles Padilla-Walker LM, Nelson LJ. Black hawk down?: Establishing helicopter parenting as a distinct construct from other forms of parental control during emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescence. 2012 Oct 1;35(5):1177-90. (Cited 500 times, according to Google Scholar ) ' Carroll JS, Padilla-Walker LM, Nelson LJ, Olson CD, McNamara Barry C, Madsen SD. Generation XXX: Pornography acceptance and use among emerging adults. Journal of adolescent research. 2008 Jan;23(1):6-30. (Cited 775 times, according to Google Scholar.

Awards and achievements In 2010, Padilla-Walker received the Camilla Eyring Kimball Professorship from 2019 to 2024