Katie Hrapczynski, Ph.D.

Biography

Katie Hrapczynski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Science, College of Liberal Arts, at Towson University. She received her Ph.D. in family science and her masters in marriage and family therapy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Hrapczynski specializes in human services and clinical interventions aimed at fostering resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Her research currently focuses on two populations, transracial adoptive families and military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. An emphasis of this work has been developing the cultural competence of human service providers and community-based services to appreciate the experiences and strengths of these families and to address their unique needs.

As a couple and family therapist, she views her experience in private practice and in community agencies as crucially linked to her scholarly and teaching endeavors. Dr. Hrapczynski strives to facilitate a learning environment in which students actively participate in their learning, apply course material to the real world, and engage with the communities they wish to serve.

 

Selected Publications

Hrapczynski, K.M., Leslie, L.A., & Kim, H. (in press).  Family dynamics and racial socialization in transracial adoptive families.  Family Relations.

Hrapczynski, K.M. (2021) Book review - Open adoption and diverse families:  Complex relationships in the digital age.  Journal of Family Theory & Review, 13, 245-254.  doi: : 10.1111/jftr.12417

Farr, R.H., & Hrapczynski, K.M. (2020. Transracial adoption:  Psychology, law and policy.  In M.C. Stevenson, B.L. Bottoms, & K.C. Burke (Eds), The legacy of race for children:  Psychology, public policy, and law (pp. 91-109).  Oxford University Press.

Hrapczynski, K.M., & Leslie, L.A. (2019). Do preparation for bias and cultural socialization protect against discrimination for transracially adopted adolescents?  Adoption Quarterly, 22(2), 116-134. doi; 10.1080/10926755.2019.1579136

Willis Hepp, B., Hrapczynski, K., & Fortner-Wood, C. (2019)  Using symbolic interactionism to model transitions to adoptive parenthood.  Journal of Family Theory & Review, 11(2), 262-276.  doi: 10.1111.jftr.12326

Leslie, L., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Young, J.L. (2019)  Biracial families formed through adotpion.  In R.N. Roy & A. Rollins (Eds.), Biracial families - Crossing boundaries, blending cultures, and challenging racial ideologies (pp. 183-204). Springer Publishing.

Hrapczynski, K.M., & Lesie, L.A. (2018)  Engagement in racial socialization among transracial adoptive families with White parents.  Family Relations, 67(3) 354-367. doi: 10.1111/fare.12316

Koblinsky, S.A., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Leslie, L.A. (2015). Treating veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan: A state needs assessment of civilian physicians in internal and family medicine. Journal of General Practice, 3, 1-8.

Kobinsky, S.A., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Clark, J.E. (2015). Preparing future faculty and professionals for public health careers. American Journal of Public Health, 105, S125-S131.

Badawy, A., Schmitt, K.R.B., Kramer, S., Hrapczynski, K., Larsen, E. Andrew, A., Dougherty, M., Miller, M., Taylor, A., Robinson, B., Williams, A., & Benson, S. (2013). Student expectations from CS and other STEM courses: They aren’t like CS-majors! Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, 28, 100-108.

Schmitt, K.R.B., Larsen, E., Miller, M., Badawy, A., Dougherty, M., Sharma, A., Hrapczynski, K., Andrew, A., Robertson, B., Williams, A., Kramer, S., & Benson, S. (2013). A survey tool for assessing student expectations early in a semester. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 14, 255-257.

Leslie, L.A., Smith, J.R., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Riley, D. (2013). Racial socialization in transracial adoptive families: Does it help adolescents deal with discrimination stress? Family Relations, 62, 72-81.

Hofferth, S.L., Pleck, J.H., Goldscheider, F., Curtin, S., & Hrapczynski, K. (2013). Family structure and men’s motivation for parenthood in the United States. In N. J. Cabrera & C.S. Tamis-LeMonda (Eds.), Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (Second edition, pp. 57-80).  New York: Routledge.

Hrapczynski, K.M., Epstein, N.B., Werlinich, C.A., & LaTaillade, J.J. (2012). Changes in negative attributions during couple therapy for abusive behavior: Relations to changes in satisfaction and behavior. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38, No. s1, 117-132.

Licenses

Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist

Memberships/Affiliations

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

National Council on Family Relations

Middle Atlantic Division - American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Courses Taught

• FMST 301 - Family Relationships

• FMST 305 - Parent-Child Relationships Across the Lifespan 

• FMST 415 - Services to Children and Youth

• FMST 485 - Research Methods in Family Studies

• FMST 495 - Advanced Research Methods in Family Science