UROP Project
The Well-Being of Peer Support Workers for Sexual Violence Over Time: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study
Sexual Violence, Wellbeing, Professional Wellbeing, Stress
Research Mentor: Lauren Herod, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: College of Social Work, Social Work
Contact Email: Lherod@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: College of Social Work, Social Work
Contact Email: Lherod@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to All Majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to All Majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: No, the project is remote Remote or In-person: Fully Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 4:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/lherod - Day: Thursday, September 3
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 4:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/lherod
Project Description
This study seeks to understand how the personal and professional well-being of peer support workers for sexual violence differs within individuals over time and between individuals over time, and explore organizational resources that contribute to this well-being as either facilitators or barriers to their well-being. This study will use both quantitative and qualitative data collection and seeks to develop a model to understand the organizational impact on individuals who both serve as professionals for victims of sexual violence and identify as survivors themselves.Research Tasks: Literature review, data cleaning, data management, qualitative coding, participant outreach
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Professional communication skills (required), Microsoft Office Suite - including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (required), CITI certificate (required by start of project), literature abstraction and annotation (recommended), organizational skills (recommended), interviewing or qualitative coding interest (recommended)
Mentoring Philosophy
Mentorship starts with seeing the person, not just the researcher. Students come to me with lives and constraints and goals that reach past any project they happen to be working on, and I try to mentor them as people first. This is not about being soft on them. Working with survivors of sexual violence takes a steady hand, and people are steadier when they feel supported. From that footing I ask a lot. I give mentees real ownership of their work and expect them to stand behind the results, because that kind of responsibility prepares a student for professional life better than supervised busywork can. My job is to set things up so accountability teaches something, so a mistake becomes useful instead of a mark against them.Our work touches survivors directly, so I hold mentees to more than clean methods. Trauma-informed care, confidentiality, and respect for the people behind the data are not optional, and I try to show what that looks like before asking a student to do it. Being a doctoral student myself, I mentor from close range, and I think that makes honesty easier on both sides. I tell a student where their work actually stands, and I want the same bluntness back. That keeps hard feedback usable and gives them space to sit with difficult material. Underneath all of it is one habit: paying attention to who each student is and what they want, and building from their strengths toward it.