Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott
Director of the School of Communication & Professor
School of Communication
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Teaching Interests & Areas
Relational/Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Interpersonal/Family Communication and Aging, Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication, Mobile Technology in Relationships
Research Interests & Areas
The negotiation of cell phone communication in personal relationships; the presentation and negotiation of identity in interpersonal relationships. I have 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).
Ph D Interpersonal and Family Communication/Instructional Communication
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
MA Interpersonal Communication
California State University
Fullerton
BS Speech Communication
Northern Arizona University
Outstanding College Researcher in Humanities Award
Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences
2022
Dawn O. Braithwaite Qualitative Research Award
Central States Communication Association
2022
University Outstanding Teacher Award
Illinois State University
2019
College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award
2017
Jamie Comstock Award
School of Communication
2017
Humanities Center Faculty Fellow
“Seeking Love after Divorce” for “Love and Desire” Humanities Seminar
2013
Excellence in Teaching Award
National Society of Leadership and Success, University of Hartford
2012
Book, Authored
Houston, D., Gjesfjeld, C., Miller-Ott, C., Gholson, T., Schaeffer, L., & Brown, M. (2016). Higher Education as the Lifeline to Social Mobility for Former Foster Youth: A Comprehensive Needs and Assets Assessment. Normal, IL: Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies.
Book, Chapter
Hunt, S. K., Miller-Ott, A., E., & Patel, V. (2022). 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 in Communication Graduate Studies. Cognella
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Alvarez, C. *(2022). Face theory: The ongoing performances of our lives. In D. O. Braithwaite & P. Schrodt (Eds.), Engaging Theories in Interpersonal Communication (3rd edition). Routledge.
Miller-Ott, A. E. & Kelly, L. (2019). Connection or intrusion? Mother-daughter communication through technology. For M. Miller-Day & A. Alford (Eds.), Constructing Motherhood and Daughterhood Across the Lifespan. Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/b10841
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2019). “We talk like friends versus she’s just my mom:” Openness and closeness in the mother/married daughter relationship. For M. Miller-Day & A. Alford (Eds.), Constructing Motherhood and Daughterhood Across the Lifespan. Peter Lang. doi:10.3726/b10841
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.
Book, Edited
Lippert, L., Hall, R.D., Miller-Ott, A. E., & Davis, D. (Eds.) (2019). Communicating Mental Health: History, Concepts, & Perspectives. Lexington Books.
Journal Article
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.
doi:10.1007/s10826-020-01892-1
doi:10.1007/s10826-020-01892-1
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Hopper, K. M. (2021). “She’s truly just the oven for us:” Discourse dependency in families of children born through a surrogate. Western Journal of Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2021.1992000
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
Hall, R. D.,* & Miller-Ott, A.E. (2019). Invisible pain: A look at women’s (non)disclosure of fibromyalgia in the workplace. Ohio Communication Journal, 51(2), 223-257. Retrieved from https://ohiocomm.org/ohio-communication-journal/
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
Presentations
Relationships among fear of negative evaluation, social media anxiety, and posting content and motivations on Instagram. National Communicaiton Association. (2023)
“This is muddier than I thought it would be:” Parents’ sense-making of their role in young daughters’ social media use.. International Communication Association Annual Meeting. (2023)
Understanding proximal discourses in residential facility care providers’ communication with family members of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. National Communication Association. (2023)
Miller-Ott, A. E., & Kelly, L. (2023). “Never answer strangers, never message people I don’t know:” College women’s recollections of parental mediation when first joining social media. Submitted for possible presentation to the Interpersonal and Family Communication Interest Group, St. Louis, MO.
Family Communication and Alzheimer’s Disease. Senior Care Network monthly meeting. (2022)
"“I just like to share my life with my partner:” Mobile phone integration in romantic partners’ face-to-face interactions”. National Communication Association. (2022)
Alvarez, C. & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2021, November). The polite abuser: Using politeness theory to examine emotional abuse. Paper presented to the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association, Seattle, WA
DeWeert, L. J., & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2021, November). Physical disability in romantic relationships: Exploring how women with visible physical disabilities navigate conversations about their identity with male romantic partners. Paper presented to the Disability Issues Caucus, Interpersonal Communication Division, and Women's Caucus (co-sponsors), Seattle, WA.
Keaten, J., Kelly, L., & Miller-Ott, A. E. (2021, November). The impact of shyness and fear of negative evaluation on likelihood of and factors associated with posting on Instagram. Paper presented to the Human Communication and Technology Division of the National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.
Miller-Ott, A. E. (2021, November). (Panelist). Transforming applied qualitative research in the time of COVID-19: Lessons taught, lessons learned. Panel accepted for presentation to the Applied Communication Division, National Communication Association, Seattle, WA
Grants & Contracts
Faculty Research Award (FRA): Parent-Teenage Daughter Communication about Social Media Usage. University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2021)
Experiences of Biological Children in Foster Families. CAS URG. Illinois State University. (2018)
Dark Side of Cell Phones in Romantic Relationships. CAS URG. Illinois State University. (2016)
Voluntary Parents’ Fund Grant. University of Hartford. State. (2012)
Coffin Grant. University of Hartford. State. (2011)