Guide to Navigating this Research Archive
Here you will find research articles published by IDHP researchers that are related to our primary scientific foci: the interconnected mental health of children and their caregivers, the intergenerational impact of stressful experiences on mental and physical health, and interventions and other buffers that support family wellness.
In the right sidebar, you can search this archive by research topic, as well as by research study (you can read about each study on the Current Projects page). Each archive entry has a simple summary, the full scientific abstract, and a link to the full article. Most of the articles in this research archive are available open access (i.e., you can access it without a subscription). If you are trying to access an article and aren't able to see the full version, please email us at [email protected], and we would be happy to assist.
October 4, 2024
CANDLE Study
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
This study shows that children's behavior problems and parenting practices are related to each other in a back-and-forth manner over development, starting as early as age 1! Sensitive and responsive parenting early on reduces child behavior problems later but, simultaneously, higher levels of early childhood behavior problems are related to reduced parenting quality later. These findings in a large socioeconomically diverse sample highlight the need for early screening and support for families to promote responsive parenting and address child behavior challenges early, in order to help prevent more serious problems in the future. In particular, the research emphasizes the potentially high-value of policies that make dyadic (parent-child) therapy more accessible for all families.
March 14, 2024
Child mental & behavioral health
Child physical health
Interconnected maternal-child health
Intervention effects
Protective factors
Stress during pregnancy
This article summarizes the science of how stress during pregnancy affects child mental and physical health. It discusses lessons learned from conducting this work and offers suggestions for future research poised to further the field in important areas, including: leveraging pregnancy interventions, identifying resilience promotion factors, and enhancing policy relevance.
February 16, 2024
Biomarkers
Child mental & behavioral health
ECHO PATHWAYS Study
Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) is a hormone that plays a critical role in various aspects of pregnancy and fetal development. In this study, exposure to increased levels of pCRH during mid-late gestation seemed to confer little risk for children’s future neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, some of the analyses suggested that links between pCRH exposure and child mental health may depend upon fetal sex - increasing levels of pCRH was associated with more problem behaviors for boys but fewer problems for girls. These results require replication and follow-up at later stages of child development.
February 6, 2024
Biomarkers
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
Intervention effects
Protective factors
This paper reviews the impacts of psychological dyadic (parent-child) interventions on biomarkers of child health, across multiple biological systems. Overall, published findings to date suggest that dyadic interventions have positive impacts on child biomarkers, especially for families exposed to adversity. While more research is needed, these results suggest that investment in programs and policies that nurture caregiving bonds are meaningful for healthy child development.
December 27, 2023
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
Interconnected maternal-child health
Intervention effects
Maternal mental health
This paper discusses the value of a two generation-intervention approach, specifically the combination an evidence-based parenting intervention with depression treatment to improve both maternal and child mental health outcomes. The authors also describe the development of a new study testing the impact of such an intergenerational, holistic program.
October 9, 2023
Biomarkers
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
MAMAS/SEED Study
Protective factors
SEED Study
Stress during pregnancy
This study found that average or higher levels of sensitive parenting behaviors buffered the effects of prenatal stress exposures on child cardiometabolic functioning and temperament, at 6 months of age. Findings also showed that sensitive parenting behaviors were related with lower cardiometabolic reactivity and greater recovery when infants were exposed to stress. Together, these results suggest that parental sensitivity (and interventions that promote it) may shape healthy child development and stress resilience.
May 30, 2023
Child mental & behavioral health
Child physical health
Childhood adversity
ECHO-wide Study
This study examined the connection between mothers who experienced childhood maltreatment and the physical and mental health problems in their children. The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from 69 cohorts (4,337 families) across the USA. They found that children of mothers who experienced childhood maltreatment were more likely to have internalizing problems, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and asthma. Female offspring of maltreated mothers also had a higher prevalence of obesity. The study highlights the importance of addressing the intergenerational transmission of adversity and implementing policies to break this cycle.
February 3, 2023
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
ECHO PATHWAYS Study
Stress during pregnancy
This study looked at how a mother's exposure to stressful events in childhood and during pregnancy can affect her child's mental health. The researchers studied over 1,900 mother-child pairs and found that mothers who had experienced more childhood trauma and pregnancy stress had children with more mental health problems. The study highlights the importance of preventing and treating childhood trauma and stress during pregnancy to improve the well-being of both mothers and their children.
December 3, 2022
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
ECHO PATHWAYS Study
Stress during pregnancy
This study explored how women's experiences of childhood adversity and stressful events during pregnancy can impact their children's anxiety and depression symptoms. Researchers found that stress exposures during pregnancy had a positive association with children's anxiety and depression symptoms, while no significant link was observed with maternal childhood traumatic events. This suggests that policies and programs aimed at preventing childhood internalizing symptoms should consider prenatal origins and the potential impact of pregnancy stress prevention and intervention on the next generation.
October 21, 2022
Child mental & behavioral health
Child physical health
ECHO PATHWAYS Study
Stress during pregnancy
This paper profiles the ECHO-PATHWAYS cohort, which harmonizes data from three pregnancy studies in various regions of the U.S. with the goal of studying how chemical and psychosocial stress exposures impact child neurodevelopment and airway health.