Associate Professor
Department of Human Ecology
Human Development and Family Studies Program
University of California, Davis
Research Interests
Dr. Hibel received her doctorate from Penn State University in Biobehavioral Health and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies. Her research focuses on the implications of stressful family contexts for mother and child health and well-being. A core component of Dr. Hibel’s research agenda involves the integration of biological markers of stress physiology into studies of family relationships. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how stressors (e.g., poverty, violence) affect a mother’s behavior and physiology, and her ability to act as an external regulator of her child’s behavioral and physiological functioning.