Research

IDHP Research Summaries

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. 

 


 

February 4, 2019
Child mental & behavioral health
Child physical health
Protective factors
This commentary discusses a study by Qureshi & colleagues (2018) that focuses on the relationship between positive psychological assets in childhood and cardiometabolic health, which is a largely unexplored area of research. The four domains examined in the study showed potential for investment, including early childhood executive function, prosocial behaviors, positive relationships, and neighborhood opportunities. The authors highlight the need to both document associations and to rigorously study methods to enhance these positive psychological assets. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the study for researchers and clinical practitioners, emphasizing the need for a life course approach to cardiometabolic health with particular emphasis on the pediatric period.
October 23, 2018
Biomarkers
Childhood adversity
Researchers aimed to study how childhood social adversity affects health across the lifespan by examining changes in child DNA methylation (when a 'tag' is added to DNA, turning it on or off). They found that family income, parental education, and family psychosocial adversity were associated with DNA methylation in unique sets of gene sequences related to immune and developmental regulation functions. These findings support the use of DNA methylation as a biomarker for the long-term health effects of childhood social experiences.
June 1, 2018
Intervention effects
MAMAS/SEED Study
Maternal mental health
Stress during pregnancy
This study documents the development of a mindfulness-based intervention for pregnant women, Mindful Moms Training, which aimed to reduce excessive stress and weight gain during pregnancy. The intervention included group sessions where pregnant women learned mindfulness strategies for stress and non-hunger-based eating behaviors. The study found that the intervention was feasible and effective, with women reporting improvements in mindfulness, acceptance, and emotion regulation, which were correlated with reductions in stress, depression, and overeating.
June 1, 2018
Biomarkers
Child physical health
Childhood adversity
Protective factors
This study looked at how neighborhood resources and family income affect children's health. Children from families with less money often have worse health, but this study found that children who live in neighborhoods with more opportunities were less affected by their family's financial situation. This suggests that improving neighborhoods' resources and opportunities would likely improve the health of children and families.
February 28, 2018
Intervention effects
MAMAS/SEED Study
Maternal mental health
This study looked at whether a wellness group (Mindful Moms Training) for pregnant women could reduce depression symptoms after giving birth compared to treatment as usual. They found that the women who participated in the wellness group were less likely to have moderate depressive symptoms after giving birth compared to the women who received typical care. This suggests that wellness programs during pregnancy could be helpful in reducing depressive symptoms during the transition to parenthood.
December 5, 2017
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
CTRP-Health Study
Interconnected maternal-child health
Intervention effects
Maternal mental health
This study focused on Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and its effects on trauma symptoms in both parents and children. The researchers examined a group of 199 parent-child pairs who participated in an open treatment study of CPP. They found that both parents and children showed significant decreases in posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) during treatment and, further, that improvements in parent mental health symptoms were related to improvements in child mental health symptoms. The study also explored various factors that influenced the improvement, such as parental lifetime stressors, treatment duration, child's gender, and clinician expertise. 
November 22, 2017
Biomarkers
Child mental & behavioral health
MAMAS/SEED Study
SEED Study
Stress during pregnancy
This study found that higher levels of stress experienced by mothers during pregnancy were linked to lower levels of self-regulation and activity in their infants. Additionally, experiencing more stressful life events during pregnancy was linked to greater stress reactivity and weaker recovery in infants, but only if mothers reported high levels of perceived stress. These findings suggest that both objective and subjective measures of maternal stress can have a unique impact on infants' stress reactivity and regulation.

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