Department of Communication Professor Wins Prestigious National Award for Outstanding Article

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Lindsey S. Aloia, left, with her article co-author, Denise Solomon, of Pennsylvania State University.

Lindsey S. Aloia, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has received the Franklin H. Knower Article Award from the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association.

This distinguished award recognizes scholarship that "made a significant contribution to the field of interpersonal communication within the past five years." Generally, Aloia's research examines the causes and consequences of conflict and verbal aggression in interpersonal associations.

Her award-winning monograph titled "Conflict Intensity, Family History, and Physiological Stress Reactions to Conflict within Romantic Relationships" was co-written with Denise Solomon of Pennsylvania State University, and explored how exposure to family verbal aggression in childhood shapes the physiological reactions to conflict with romantic partners in adulthood.

As Andrew High of University of Iowa pointed out in his letter of nomination, "The results of this study provide initial evidence that childhood exposure to verbal aggression is associated with the amplitude of stress responses to romantic conflicts in adulthood. In doing so, this work sheds light on the deleterious effects of exposure to aggression. By locating desensitization at the core of the theoretical framework, this monograph highlights how early life experiences calibrate reactions to adversity later in life. This article contributes to efforts to understand variability in reactions to conflicts in adult romantic relationships, as well as how childhood interactions are manifest within consequential adult interactions."

The article was published in the prestigious journal Human Communication Research in July 2015. Aloia was formally presented with the award at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association in Dallas, Texas in November 2017.

Regarding the recognition of her monograph, Aloia thanked her co-author, Denise Solomon, and said "this award affirms the importance of understanding how foundational childhood communicative experiences are imprinted on our physiology."

Robert M. Brady, chair of the Department of Communication, said the award is well-deserved and praised Aloia's research and teaching.

"Let me join NCA and the University of Arkansas in congratulating Dr. Aloia on this most prestigious award," he said. "Ever since she joined our department, she has been a rising star in terms of her research as honored here, her teaching, and her continuous outreach on behalf of our community."

About the National Communication Association: The National Communication Association advances communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. The association serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, the National Communication Association promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems. For more information, visit natcom.org.