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.
August 14, 2024
Biomarkers
Caregiving behaviors
Childhood adversity
CTRP-Health Study
Intervention effects
Protective factors
SEED Study
This study explored whether a psychosocial treatment to promote safe and responsive parenting in trauma-affected families could reduce epigenetic age acceleration, a health-risk biomarker. Before the treatment, both the intervention and community comparison groups had similar age acceleration levels. After the treatment, the intervention group showed lower age acceleration, suggesting that interventions designed to promote better parent-child relationships may reduce children's biological stress and improve future health.
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 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.
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.
September 21, 2023
Biomarkers
Caregiving behaviors
Childhood adversity
Intervention effects
Protective factors
This study looked at whether parenting improvements would lead to slower biological aging in children exposed to adversity. Results showed that, indeed, children exposed to more adversity displayed lower biological aging when parents increased positive and decreased negative parenting practices. These findings underscore the powerful role of parenting in children's resilience when facing adversity. It's a reminder that positive parenting practices (like praising), and using fewer negative practices, can act as a shield against effects of early-life hardships.
April 25, 2022
CANDLE Study
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
Protective factors
Stress during pregnancy
This study looked at the effects of stress and violence experienced by pregnant women on their children's mental health. The researchers found that women's exposure to stress and violence during pregnancy was linked to problems with child mental health and executive functioning. Importantly, the study also found that high-quality parenting behaviors (higher sensitivity, supportiveness, scaffolding) could protect against these negative effects. The results suggest that supporting women's mental health during pregnancy and supporting their capacity for sensitive parenting could improve the wellbeing of both mothers and their children.
April 1, 2022
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
Protective factors
This study looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected families and children's well-being. The researchers found that when families experienced more pandemic-related difficulties, both caregivers and children experienced more stress, which was linked to lower life satisfaction for children. The study also found that social connections and engagement with family can protect children's well-being, especially for younger children, while anxiety and depression were risk factors for adolescents.
October 20, 2021
CANDLE Study
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
Protective factors
Stress during pregnancy
This study looked at how a mother's childhood trauma and stress during pregnancy affects her child's behavior at age 1. The study found that multiple types of maternal stress were associated with socioemotional-behavioral problems in children at age one. Importantly, findings also showed that maternal knowledge about child development can help protect against the negative effects of stress. This suggests that screening and early intervention for parents could help promote positive behavioral health in children.
November 1, 2020
CANDLE Study
Caregiving behaviors
Child mental & behavioral health
Protective factors
This study looked at factors that may affect the cognitive development of children, particularly in communities with racial disparities. The researchers identified modifiable factors, such as parental education, maternal reading ability, and positive parent-child interactions, that were associated with better cognitive performance in children. These findings could be used to inform prevention efforts and policy changes to reduce racial disparities in childhood cognitive development.
February 1, 2020
Child mental & behavioral health
Protective factors
This study suggests that positive relationships with teachers and peers can mitigate the negative effects of harsh parenting on children's oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms. Children who were less accepted by their peers and had lower levels of teacher-child closeness showed greater increases in ODD symptoms when exposed to harsh parenting. However, harsh parenting was not associated with symptom change among children with higher levels of peer-nominated acceptance and those who reported closer relationships with teachers. These findings suggest that fostering positive relationships outside the family can be a promising intervention for children exposed to harsh parenting.