Research Interests
My research explores interpersonal and family communication at the intersection of work-life, particularly in applied or translational research contexts. I am particularly interested in studying communication processes such as sense and meaning making, communicative coping, and supportive communication as they relate to stress/difficulty, health, well-being. In order to understand these processes, I have studied communication in the context of job stress and coping of first responders and their families (EMT, firefighter, police, etc.), post-secondary helicopter teaching, helicopter parenting, student veterans and military-affiliated learners educational needs, and the links between family storytelling and well-being.
In other words, I write and teach about how people communicate to make sense of and navigate their personal relationships at home, at work, or at the intersection that can occur between the two in order to help people live meaningful, healthy, and happy lives.
Selected Publications
Kauer, T. (2022). Relational tree mapping: Close relationships as roots, branches, and roots. Communication Teacher, online. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2022.2069840
Kauer, T. (2021). Just counting the threads!. In M. Cundall & S. Kelly (Eds.), Therapeutic Cases in Health and Humor (1st ed.). IGI Global.
Farris, K., Houser, M., Kauer, T., & Carpenter, L. (2021). The road to hel(l)icopter teaching: How do instructors make sense of their helicopter teaching behaviors and student effects?. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. Online. https://doi.org/10.1080/17459435.2020.1853209
Segrin, C., Burke, T., & Kauer, T. (2020). Overparenting is associated with perfectionism in parents of young adults. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, online. doi:10.1037/cfp0000143
Kauer, T., & Keeley, M. (2019). Conversations about death from those who experience the most. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 20, 84-91. doi:10.1080/17459435.2019.1664622
Segrin, C., Kauer, T., Burke, T. (2019). Indirect effects of family cohesion on emerging adult perfectionism through anxious rearing and social expectations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 2280-2285. doi:10.1007/s10826-019-01444-2
Folwell, A., & Kauer, T. (2018). "You see a baby die and you're not fine": A case study of stress and coping strategies in volunteer EMTs. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 46, 723-743. doi:10.1080/00909882.2018.1549745
Selected Conference Presentations
Kauer, T. (2022, November). Whose Work/Life Is It Anyway?: A Meta-Synthesis of Family Communication in Work/Life Research. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Eighth National Communication Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Koenig Kellas, J., Hollist, C., Morgan, T., Taladay, C., Kauer, T., Neu, C. (2022, November). Narrative Connection during COVID-19: Testing the Effects of the Narrative Parenting Intervention on Parent Well-Being, Connection, and Parenting Self-Efficacy. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Eighth National Communication Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Kauer, T., & Burke, T. (2021, November). Family Communication Patterns and Social Control Influence: Exploring Adolescents' Weight-Related Outcomes. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Seventh National Communication Association Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kauer, T., & Austin, J. T. (2021, November). Relational Trees: Understanding Close Personal Relationships as Roots, Branches, and Roots. Paper presented in GIFTS Division at the One-Hundred-Seventh National Communication Association Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kauer, T., & Houser, M. (2021, November). Student-Veteran Academic Needs and Corresponding Implications for Instructional Communication Behaviors. Paper presented to the Military and Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Seventh National Communication Association Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kauer, T. (2020, November). First responders as fictive kin: Communicating support to create a "second family [Conference Presentation]. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Sixth National Communication Association Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
Kauer, T. (2018, November). First responder's intimate partner communication: Perceptions of job-related stress, relational support, and appraisals of stress [Conference Presentation]. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division at the One-Hundred-Fourth National Communication Association Conference, Salt Lake City, UT. Top Student Paper
Farris, K., Houser, M., Carpenter, L., Kauer, T., & Van Eynde, H. (2018, November). The road to hel(l)icopter teaching: An empirical examination of a new instructional communication construct [Conference Presentation]. Paper presented to the Instructional Development Division at the One-Hundred-Fourth National Communication Association Conference, Salt Lake City, UT. Division Top Paper
Kauer, T. (2017, April). Stress, coping strategies, & burnout in volunteer emergency medical technicians [Conference Presentation]. Paper presented at the Forty-First Northwest Communication Association Conference, Couer d'Alene, ID. All-Conference Top 3 Paper