Anthony J. Ferraro
Associate School Director;
Associate Professor
Contact Information
312 Justin Hall
785-532-5510
aferraro@k-state.edu
Education
- Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science, Florida State University (2017)
- Graduate Certificate in Measurement & Statistics, Florida State University (2017)
- B.S. in Legal Studies, University of Central Florida (2012)
Area(s) of Specialization
- Divorce & Stepfamilies
- Fathering & Father Involvement
- Stress, Coping, & Trauma
- Family Structure
- Coparenting
- Identity Development
- Military Families
- Program Evaluation
- Measurement Development & Assessment
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Endeavors
Dr. Ferraro's research program emphasizes family experiences and parenting, during periods of transition. He places an emphasis on translational research, trying to better understand what family supports and processes best aid families experiencing structural or developmental transitions. This work often takes the form of evaluation of parent and relationship education programs. He also does extensive work on father identity development across complex contexts, with work largely focused on better understanding how to get fathers involved in the lives of their children and keep them involved. Anthony currently serves as one of the directors for the Divorce Education Assessment Collaborative, is the Co-Chair of the Coparenting/Divorce Education Focus Group of the National Council on Family Relations, and leads the Association for Family and Conciliation Court’s Task Force on Parent Education. He is on the editorial board for Family Court Review and is the Co-Editor-In-Chief for the Family Transitions. Anthony’s work in mentoring students has been recognized by the Advancing Family Science section of the National Council on Family Relations with their Emerging Mentor/Teacher Award for 2020, by the College of Health and Human Sciences at Kansas State University with the Hulsing Mentoring Award for 2022, and by the Board on Human Sciences of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities with the Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for 2022. Recent publications include:
Ferraro, A. J., Reed-Fitzke, K., Petren, R. E., Oehme, K., Perko, A. (2025). Long-reaching impacts of childhood trauma: A person-centered approach to understanding parents participating in divorce education. Family Relations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.70016
Guyette, E., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., Ferraro, A. J., Markham, M. S., Beckmeyer, J. J., & Brimhall, A. S. (2025). Bridging Parental Conflict: Findings from a parent education course developed by family therapists working with high-conflict coparents. Contemporary Family Therapy, 47, 38-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-024-09698-9
Reed-Fitzke, K., Wojciak, A. S., Ferraro, A. J., Watters, E. R., & Wilkins-Clark, R. (2025). The moderating role of resilience for at-risk U.S. Army soldiers-in-training: An expansion of a person-centered approach to adverse childhood experiences. Traumatology, 31(1), 169-180. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000499
Ferraro, A. J., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., Beckmeyer, J. J., Russell, L. T., Brimhall, A. S., & Markham, M. S. (2024). Rethinking utility in divorce education: Use of multi-program evaluation data to uncover markers of post-divorce adjustment. Family Court Review, 62(3), 493-511. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12807
Petren, R. E., & Ferraro, A. J. (2024). Fathers’ status and role identities and involvement shortly after divorce. Family Relations, 73(2), 1401-1422. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12921
Personal Information
Anthony and his wife Melissa are proud parents of three boys: Phillip, Merritt, and Ford. They love being active, and you will most likely find them out on the pitch, the diamond, the gridiron, or the trail! When the sun goes down or the game is rained out, you might find them at the local theater or cinema or consuming an unsightly amount of donuts at Varsity Donuts. They always find something fun and exciting to do in the Little Apple!