Luca Mcdonnell

My name is Luca and I am a third year Psychology major. I’m interested in the intersection of developmental and clinical psychology, in particular with the hopes of getting a PhD in clinical psychology and studying developmental populations. This intersection interests me because I want to try and give back to the people who (with regards to age) are where I once was, at a time when I wish I received more support from the world. This relates to my research topic for URSP – examining the causal relationship between parent support, anxiety, and sleep quality within the population lens of the transition to college. I believe that higher parent support will relate to better sleep quality, and this relationship can be explained by anxiety. My interest in psychology is also reflected in my involvement with research labs at UCLA; I am a member of a developmental and a clinical psychology lab, and have learned a lot from both labs. I hope to continue being involved in both and learning the unique skills that lie within each domain, as well as making connections for the future.