ASU professor awarded international journal editorship, Fulbright grant

Ashley K. Randall, associate professor of counseling and counseling psychology at Arizona State University, is the new editor of Personal Relationships, one of the flagship journals of the International Association for Relationship Research.

Randall and editorial assistant TeKisha Rice, of the University of Illinois, began accepting new submissions this month.

The journal promotes the work of scholars who use a wide variety of methodologies and who are based in a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, philosophy, communication, anthropology, family studies, child development, social work and gerontology.

It publishes work focused on personal relationships of all kinds — including between romantic or intimate partners, spouses, parents and children, siblings, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and friends — at all stages of life and within social contexts like families, workplaces, historical periods and cultures. 

“As an active member of IARRInternational Association for Relationship Research, I’m thrilled to be in a position to foster use-inspired interdisciplinary relationship research that is both socially embedded and globally engaged,” Randall said. “My vision for the position is to adopt an open science framework, increase international collaboration and visibility, and increase submissions from early-career professionals. I’d also like to find more ways to bring research findings to the public.” 

Randall brings to the role her years of service on several editorial boards, including for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (the other journal of the IARR). Randall’s own research, in ASU’s Couples Coping with Stress Lab, looks at how stress impacts romantic relationships and how romantic partners can help cope with feelings of stress.

In Randall’s appointment letter, the chair of the IARR Publications Committee noted, "The committee and the board unanimously agreed that you will bring a valuable skill set to the position. You have ambitious plans for the journal, and the committee appreciated that your vision considers scientific excellence as well as the human investment in the publishing and review process. They also thought that your experience with international collaborations is a tremendous asset, which may allow the journal to increase its audience across borders."

Indeed, among Randall’s nearly 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and over 100 peer-reviewed conference presentations are many that reflect work with colleagues from around the world as well as research that considers psychological well-being in cross-cultural personal relationships in societies beyond the United States.

This spring, Randall and ASU counseling and counseling psychology graduate students Lauren Hocker and Kai Kline began a research study looking at COVID-19’s impact on romantic couples.  

“The project began in March as part of a larger cross-cultural project with colleagues in India, Israel, Italy, Kenya and Switzerland,” Randall said. “Within a week’s time we’d invited collaborators from around the world to join the project, and researchers from 30 nations are now participating."

The project is supported by funding from the American Psychological Association’s Office of International Affairs, awarded to Randall (principal investigator). 

“These rich data will yield insight into our understanding of stress and coping processes for individuals across the world, informing prevention and intervention practices to mitigate the negative effects of global stressors on individual and relational well-being,” she said

Fulbright specialist selection

Randall was also recently selected as a Fulbright specialist grant recipient, to engage in a collaboration with the faculty of psychology at the University of Indonesia.

Though Randall’s Fulbright experience, originally set for April, has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she will eventually work with faculty at the University of Indonesia onsite for two weeks.

“My responsibilities will include delivering workshops on research methodology and special topics with students and faculty, along with providing consultation on the development of a counseling curriculum, which will focus on service delivery for individuals, couples, and families,” Randall said.

Her involvement with Fulbright programs dates back to 2007-08, when Randall held a Fulbright fellowship at the Institute for Family Research and Counseling at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In 2016 she was selected to be on the Fulbright specialist roster for the Institute of International Education, Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

“I’ve been truly honored to have been selected for these Fulbright opportunities,” said Randall, who said the missions of Fulbright and ASU — promoting world peace through educational exchange, while serving our communities and engaging globally — connect deeply with her.   

Randall joined ASU's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts in 2013 after earning a doctorate in family studies and human development at the University of Arizona. She earned an MS in clinical psychology at North Dakota State University and a BS in psychology at Indiana University-Bloomington.