Dr. Miller-Ott studies different areas of interpersonal and family communication. Her research explores the negotiation of cell phone communication in personal relationships; the presentation and negotiation of identity in interpersonal relationships. She has studied these interests in a variety of contexts (e.g. romantic relationships, friendships, post-divorce relationships, foster families, parent-child relationships, women’s peer relationships), through different theories (e.g. Facework Theory, Politeness Theory, Communication Privacy Management Theory).
Research Appearing in Academic Journals
Family Communication
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Hopper, K. M. (In press). “She’s truly just the oven for us:” Discourse dependency in families of children born through a surrogate. Western Journal of Communication
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2020). “Just a heads up, my father has Alzheimer’s:” Changes in communication and identity of adult children of parents with Alzheimer’s Disease. Health Communication, 35, 119-126. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2018.1547676
Kelly, L., Duran, R. L., & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2017). Helicopter parenting and cell phone contact between parents and children in college. Southern Communication Journal, 82(2), 102-114. doi: 10.1080/1041794X.2017.1310286
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2016). Helicopter parenting, family communication patterns, and out-of-class communication with college instructors. Communication Research Reports, 33, 173-176. doi: 10.1080/08824096.2016.1154836
Schrodt, P., Miller, A. E., & Braithwaite, D. O. (2011). Ex-spouses’ relational satisfaction as a function of coparental communication in stepfamilies. Communication Studies, 62 (3), 272-290. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2011.563453
Miller, A. E. (2009). Face concerns and facework strategies in maintaining postdivorce coparenting and dating relationships. Southern Communication Journal, 74, 1-17. doi: 10.1080/10417940802516842
Miller, A. E. (2009). Revealing and concealing postmarital dating information: Divorced coparents’ privacy rule development and boundary coordination processes. Journal of Family Communication, 9, 135-149. doi: 10.1080/15267430902773287
Schrodt, P., Braithwaite, D. O., Soliz, J., Tye-Williams, S., Miller, A., Lamb Normand, E., & Marko Harrigan, M. (2007). An examination of everyday talk in stepfamily systems. Western Journal of Communication, 71, 216-234. doi: 10.1080/10570310701510077
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2013). Factors that influence separated/divorced parents’ sharing of personal information. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 54, 282-294.doi: 10.1080/10502556.2013.780464
Harrigan, M. M., & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2013). The multivocality of meaning making: An exploration of the discourses college aged daughters voice in talk about their mothers. Journal of Family Communication, 13, 1-18. doi: 10.1080/15267431.2013.768249
Foster Youth and Families
Avant, D., Miller-Ott, A. E. & Houston, D. (2021). “I needed to aim higher:” Former foster youths’ pathways to college success. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(4), 1043-1058. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01892-1
Kilgore, L.,* & Miller-Ott, A.E. (2019). I knew college was in the cards for me:” The role of memorable messages in foster youth’s post-secondary education decisions. Ohio Communication Journal, 57, 19-32. Retrieved from https://ohiocomm.org/ohio-communication-journal/
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2017). Developing and maintaining a foster family identity through foster parents’ identity work. Journal of Family Communication, 17(3), 208-222. doi: 10.1080/15267431.2017.1293061
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Durham, W. T. (2011). The role of social support in young women’s communication about the genital HPV vaccine. Women’s Studies in Communication, 34, 183-201.doi: 10.1080/07491409.2011.618239
Technology in Close Relationships
Kelly, L., Miller-Ott, A. E., & Duran, R. L. (2019). Phubbing friends: Understanding face threats from, and responses to, friends’ cell phone usage through the lens of politeness theory. Communication Quarterly, 67(5), 540-559. doi:10.1080/01463373.2019.1668443
Kelly, L., & Miller-Ott, A.E. (2018). Perceived miscommunication in friends’ and romantic partners’ texted conversations. Southern Communication Journal, 83, 267-280. doi: 10.1080/1041794X.2018.1488271
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Kelly, L. (2017). A politeness theory analysis of cell phone usage in the presence of friends. Communication Studies, 68(2), 190-207. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2017.1299024
Kelly, L., Miller-Ott, A. E., & Duran, R. L. (2017). Sports scores & intimate moments: An expectancy violations theory approach to partner cell phone behaviors in adult romantic relationships. Western Journal of Communication, 81, 619-640. doi: 10.1080/10570314.2017.1299206
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Kelly. L. (2016). Competing discourses and meaning-making in talk about romantic partners’ cell phone contact with non-present others. Communication Studies, 67, 58-76. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2015.1088876
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Kelly, L. (2015). The presence of cell phones in romantic partner face-to-face interactions: An expectancy violation theory approach. Southern Communication Journal, 80, 253-270. doi:10.1080/1041794X.2015.1055371
Miller-Ott, A. E., Kelly, L., & Duran, R. L. (2014). Cell phone usage expectations, closeness, and relationship satisfaction between parents and their college-aged children. Emerging Adulthood, 2, 1-11. doi: 10.1177/2167696814550195
Miller-Ott, A. E., Kelly, L., & Duran, R. L. (2012). The effects of cell phone usage rules on satisfaction in romantic relationships. Communication Quarterly, 60, 1-18. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2012.642263
Edited Books and Book Chapters
Lippert, L., Hall, R.D., Miller-Ott, A. E., & Davis, D. (Eds.) (2019). Communicating Mental Health: History, Concepts, & Perspectives. Lexington Books.
Hunt, S. K., Miller-Ott, A., E., & Patel, V. (In press). A roadmap to career success:” Pursuing careers outside of the academy for MA graduates In B. Bach, D. O. Braithwaite, & S. Ganesh (Eds.), By Degrees: Resilience, Relationships, and Success. (Invited)
Miller-Ott, A.E. (2019). My mom has been gone for a while, but she’s still alive…” Communicating as a child of a parent with Alzheimer’s disease. In S. Symonds-LeBlanc (Ed.), Casing the Family: Theoretical and Applied Approaches to Understanding Family Communication. Kendall Hunt. (Competitively-selected)
Hall, R.D., & Miller-Ott, A.E. (2019). Communicating about mental health: What we know, what we need, and what we give. In L. Lippert, R. Hall, A.E. Miller-Ott, & D. Davis (Eds), Communicating Mental Health: History, Concepts, & Perspectives. Lexington Books. (Invited)
Sprecher, S., Thomas, L., & Miller-Ott, A.E. (2019). Relationship initiation and development. For J. Ponzetti, M. Blankemeyer, S.M. Horan, H. Lyons, & A. Shigetoet (Editors). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Families, Marriage, and Intimate Relationships. Cengage/MacMillan Reference U.S.A. (Invited)
Miller-Ott, A. E. & Kelly, L. (2019). Connection or intrusion? Mother-daughter communication through technology. In M. Miller-Day & A. Alford (Eds.), Constructing Motherhood and Daughterhood Across the Lifespan. Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/b10841 (Invited)
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2019). “We talk like friends versus she’s just my mom:” Openness and closeness in the mother/married daughter relationship. In M. Miller-Day & A. Alford (Eds.), Constructing Motherhood and Daughterhood Across the Lifespan. Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/b10841 (Invited)
Duran, R. L., Miller-Ott, A. E., & Kelly, L. (2015). The role of mobile phones in romantic relationships. In Z. Yan (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Mobile Phone Behavior (Volumes 1, 2, & 3). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.ch028 (Invited)
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2015). Communication in single parent families. In C. R. Berger & M. E. Roloff (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication. WileyBlackwell.doi: 10.1002/9781118540190 (Invited)