Effects of Early Experience on Development
One major line of research has focused on identifying the consequences of early adversity. This work has documented increased rates of psychopathology following early adverse experiences, but also potential precursors of psychopathology that help to track what changes in response to early adversity that may mediate increased risk for negative health outcomes. This line of research also includes examining biological responses to stress, including in our BABIES project, and through cellular markers of aging and dysfunction (i.e., telomere length, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and methylation age).
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Mitigation of Risks from Early Adversity via Intervention
A second and related line of research has focused on examining how interventions mitigate the impact of early adversity. This work includes interventions following abuse and neglect as well as guided practice for caregiving sensitivity in young adults. We conducted the first ever demonstration of the prevention of callous-unemotional traits, a precursor to psychopathy. We also found that children in stable high-quality foster-care placement fared better than those with disrupted placements in psychopathology outcomes in adolescence.
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Individual Differences in Transition to Parenthood
Given the centrality of parents as gatekeepers of their child’s environment, and as the primary source of nurturance and stimulation in the child’s life, we are studying women and partners in the transition to parenthood. This project aims to understand how future parents vary in their emotional and practical readiness for caring for a baby in order to identify areas for targeted intervention. We plan to follow this work by providing interventions for women during the transition to parenthood.
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Thank you to the funders of this research!
