The Sport, Resilience, and Development Lab investigates how participation in sport and physical activity shapes children’s and adolescents’ mental health, wellbeing, and developmental outcomes.
2025-2026
Academic Year UpdatescA
Join our Team
DePaul Undergraduates: We are recruiting a limited number of students to join the team! Team meetings are Mondays from 9-10 am.
​
Doctoral Students: Dr. Carter and the team will be reviewing applications for clinical psychology doctoral students to join the team beginning in Autumn Quarter 2026. Applications are due December 1st, 2025.
​
Contact Dr. Carter for more information.
RESEARCH
Our research program examines how sports can promote resilience and healthy development in children and adolescents. We investigate the ways in which participation in youth sports fosters psychological strengths such as confidence, coping skills, and perseverance, with a special focus on the unique challenges faced by children with chronic medical conditions. A key component of our work involves developing and evaluating training programs for youth sports coaches, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to support not only athletic performance but also social and emotional growth. We also study the impact of sports-based mentoring, exploring how strong, supportive relationships between coaches, mentors, and young athletes can enhance well-being, motivation, and long-term adjustment. By combining insights from psychology, medicine, and sports science, our program seeks to create evidence-based strategies that make youth sports a powerful context for resilience and positive development.
​
Partners include: Team IMPACT, Little League International and the Center f,or Healing and Justice through Sport.
​
