Kristen Demertzis, a Syosset resident and recent graduate of Hofstra University, will be departing for Greece in September thanks to her Fulbright grant for the 2000-2001 academic year. The Fulbright Program, America's Flagship educational exchange program, is sponsored by the U.S. Information Agency, an independent foreign affairs agency within the executive branch of the U.S. government. During its 53 years, the Fulbright Program has exchanged more than 83,000 Americans who have studied or done research abroad and more than 142,000 people from other countries who have engaged in academic activities in the United States.

Demertzis, who has Greek ancestry, graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University in May with a degree in psychology and will carry out original research in Greece. She will depart in September and return in June, spending the entire academic year doing research on her project entitled Changing Interaction Patterns in Greek Families: Anger, Aggressions and Problem Solving. Her project focuses on the improvement of interpersonal relations and communication patterns within Greek families through the examination and application of the effects of urbanization and the experience and expression of anger and aggression within Greek society.

Although the occurrence rate of domestic violence in Greece is similar to that of the United States, the awareness and publicity on this topic is much lower in Greece. The first empirical study on domestic violence in Greece was only published in Jan. 1999.

"Often, at times, a mother may serve as a mediator between the father and child because the father yells at the child or does not explain things well and does not use a rational, democratic approach to parenting," explained Demertzis. "Many times things are hidden from that father. I am basically targeting the father in this project because most of the time males are the perpetrators of violence of physical and verbal abuse. I am really looking at how the communication patterns within the family are conducive to domestic violence being prevalent in Greek households."

Demertzis' has done extensive background research on this topic although a majority of the research will be done when she gets to Greece. "I have books and articles and I have written a lot of information that will be helpful to me almost like a literature review," said Demertzis. "I have really worked on the literature and design aspects of the project, not the actual battery and data collection. The administration will take place in Greece."

During her time in Greece, Demertzis will develop and administer a test battery in Greek, focusing on three key concepts: anger, aggression and urbanization. The data will help to identify existing familial roles and interaction styles within Greek families in both urban and rural regions.

"I had worked on cross-cultural at Hofstra University and I had already been in the mind-set that I wanted to do something in Greece," said Demertzis. "I worked a lot on anger, individualism and collectivism and I just expanded on that with a little sociology twist with the familiar roles. I took a course on marriage and family at Hofstra and I just formulated in my own mind where my interests lie and what was needed in Greece at the time."

Demertzis, a dean's list student, graduated from Hofstra with a degree in psychology. She was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Psi Chi National Honor Society, the Golden Key Honor Society, the American Psychological Association and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

Demertzis is currently sending applications to various graduate schools for when she returns from Greece and she plans to focus her doctoral research on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). "Hopefully I will get into a nice doctoral program in clinical psychology specializing in OCD," she said. "I would really like to research and teach. I also would like to have a practice for OCD patients where they would get behavioral therapy and medication. Maybe I will try and have a joint practice with a psychiatrist." Her senior honors thesis and independent study at Hofstra sparked her interest in OCD and provided her with great background information.

Dr. Strati Demertzis, Kristen's father, is the director of Social Studies for the Mineola Public School District. He is also an adjunct professor of Modern Greek and history at Hofstra University. Her mother, Hope, is a psychotherapist in private practice and the president of Communication Skills Development and Design, Ltd, a corporation specializing in executive coaching and on-site corporate training and management development.