Current Research Projects

 

Principal Investigator: Martha Ann Bell, Ph.D.

Funded by: NICHD (NIH)

Objective: These are sets of longitudinal research investigations that focus on individual differences in frontal lobe functioning during the first few years of life. Age appropriate tasks utilizing working memory, recall memory, inhibitory control, and sustained attention are presented to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children while brain wave activity (EEG) and heart rate activity (ECG) are recorded. The Temperament study also focuses on individual differences in temperament and how that interacts with cognitive development. Infants, children and their parents are recruited for these research studies from the New River Valley. The results of these studies will advance understanding of typical development of infants and children and provide invaluable information on development for professionals who work with children and parents.

GRAs: Christy Wolfe     Denise Adkins     Kacey Morasch     Annie Cardell

 

Parent-adolescent attachment and adolescent psychosocial development. A theoretical and meta-analytic overview.

Principal Investigator: Mark Benson, Ph.D.

Objective: During adolescence the emotional bond between parent and child play an important role in relationships within and outside the family. Studies have begun to accumulate examining the relationship between these bonds and peer relations. The current study examined the findings from previous research to determine patterns in the data. Using meta-analytic methods, we examined a set of 42 studies reflecting 5,532 participants. Stringent inclusion criteria were developed and the resultant studies included in the analysis spanned from 1970 to 2003. Results indicated that despite various differences, the overall pattern was one of homogeneity, reflecting a modest association between attachment and relationship quality (.23-.33) and between attachment and social competence (.19-.34). The relationship with attachment to parents was stronger for social competence early in adolescent and with relationship quality later in adolescence.

Collaborators: Lenore McWey, Florida State University     Jennifer Romano     Jennifer Parker 

GRAs: Alberto Alegre     Babs Newman     Stephanie Bakely     Laura Toan 

 

Investigators: Mark Benson, Ph.D.     J. Wilkins, Ph.D.

Objective: Warm, supportive, and firm parenting has been linked to a variety of favorable markers for development including heightened self-esteem and protection from risk behaviors. Most studies of this type of authoritative parenting have biased by including mostly Caucasian participant or representation from other groups too small to permit effective test of generalizability across ethnic groups. The current study examines over 10,000 adolescents from four ethnic groups Black-, Hispanic-, Asian-, and European-Americans. Using structural equation modeling, the findings show a similar pattern of positive effects for authoritative parenting across ethnic groups. The patterns are stronger, however, for Euro-American adolescents than for other groups. The findings support proposals for wide scale policies that promote authoritative parenting with the recognition that specific parenting issues be added to practice that relate to specific ethnic groups.

Collaborators: Jennifer Romano

GRAs: Alberto Alegre     Babs Newman     Stephanie Bakely     Laura Toan 

 

Principal Investigator: Isabel Bradburn, Ph.D.

Objective: To refine the construct of “sensory sensitivity,” and apply it to understanding young children’s developing social competence and behaviors. As we study it, sensory sensitivity refers to individual differences in arousal and detection of environmental stimuli, such as light, sounds or tactile sensations, as well as interoceptive cues, such as reactions to one’s own movement or body position. We study these differences in the context of childcare settings, to understand more about how sensitivity may relate meaningfully to children’s everyday lives. Studies have examined classroom and playground behavior in relation to parent and teacher reports of children’s sensitivities and temperament. Future directions include examining specific play patterns, and use of biological measurements to assess stress and arousal.

 

Principal Investigator: Victoria Fu, Ph.D.

Objective: This investigation focuses on the development and measurement of preschoolers' early scientific and mathematical reasoning, and in what ways the Child Development Center's school curriculum (Reggio Emilia) nurtures children's nascent critical thinking skills.

 

Principal Investigator: Shannon Jarrott , Ph.D.

Objective: This intergenerational project, involving students from the Child Development Center together with clients from Adult Day Services, examines older adults' and young children's playful interactions. The study assesses pairs' quality of play, behavior responses and emotional exchanges.

 

Developmental variables contributing to later life pain perceptions and outcomes

Investigators: Karen Roberto, Ph.D.     Helen Crawford, Ph.D.

Objective: In 2004-05, Dr. Roberto and Dr. Helen Crawford received support from the Developmental Science Initiative to identify developmental processes and variables that contribute to pain perceptions and outcomes in later life. This collaborative effort build upon Dr. Roberto’s expertise on psychosocial aspects of persistent pain in late life and Dr. Crawford’s well-established research program and protocol for using attention control techniques to reduce or eliminate pain experienced by adults. Through an extensive review and critical analysis of the scholarly literature, the researchers will identify developmental and contextual variables that influence older adults’ ability to learn skills and techniques that can enhance feelings of confidence and self efficacy and changes belief systems that influence personal control over debilitating chronic pain.

GRAs: Susan Tice     Kate Holland

 

Principal Investigator: Angela Scarpa, Ph.D.

Objective: This study examines both biological and social risk factors associated with different forms of aggression in children. Children from the local community and special education classes were assessed for emotional (i.e. reactive) and instrumental (i.e., proactive) aggression. They and their parents also provided information on emotional and behavioral problems, symptoms of diagnosable mental disorders, family environment, parenting behaviors, life stressors, and community violence exposure. In addition,
psychopyhsiological measures of stress reactions to a provocation task were obtained. Initial findings indicate clear emotional, behavioral, and psychophysiological differences between these two forms of aggression, and have implications for more specific forms of intervention that address these unique needs.

Collaborators: Thomas Ollendick, Ph.D.

GRAs: Howard Shumate     Akiho Tanaka     Sara Chiara Haden

 

Principal Investigator: Angela Scarpa, Ph.D.

Objective: This study examines the current services in the NRV for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability that affects social interactions, language/communication, and repetitive behaviors. Prevalence rates have risen dramatically in the last 60 years. Whereas the initial rates were thought to be 3 in 10,000 in the 1940s, the most recent estimate from the American Academy of Pediatrics is 1 in 166. While ASD is thought to involve genetic and neurobiological dysfunction, the exact cause is still unknown and there is no cure. However, the Centers for Disease Control recognize that the best prognosis is for children who are diagnosed and treated early with behavioral interventions. Moreover, because the disorder continues throughout the lifespan, services are also required as these children grow into adolescents and adults. Therefore, there is a growing need to provide services for individuals with ASD. This study specifically examines the availability and quality of services currently existing in the NRV, with the hopes of providing recommendations on how to improve upon or expand these services to meet the needs of affected individuals and their families.

Collaborators: Erica Whiting

 

Principal Investigator: Cindy Smith, Ph.D.

Objective: I will be looking at young children' social and emotional behaviors. In particular, I am interested in how patterns of mother-child interaction relate to young children's display of behavior problems. I will also be examining what characteristics of the mothers, such as the mother's personality, marital relationship and parenting stress, are associated with the parenting behaviors they use with their children. I will be working in collaboration with Dr. Bell's lab.

GRAs: Ebony Joy James     Valerie Herald