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.
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.
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.
June 1, 2022
Biomarkers
Childhood adversity
This article discusses the potential benefits and risks of using new tools to assess how children's bodies are responding to stress to inform their pediatric care. This biological approach may help providers understand what kind of interventions each child needs and whether their treatment is working. However, such biological measures are still under development, and, before implementation, it is critical for researchers, pediatricians, and communities to work together to determine how to most ethically utilize such an approach.
April 29, 2022
Biomarkers
ECHO-wide Study
Stress during pregnancy
This study looked at how lower socioeconomic status and stress affect pregnancy outcomes. The researchers studied biological, behavioral, and social factors that might contribute to oxidative stress, which is an important yet understudied way that these factors can harm a pregnancy. The results showed that pregnant people who smoked or had less than a high school education had higher levels of oxidative stress biomarkers, which may contribute to negative health outcomes for both the pregnancy and the child.
April 7, 2022
Biomarkers
Child mental & behavioral health
This study looked at how different biological systems in children, such as the nervous and hormonal systems, work together to respond to stress during their transition to kindergarten. The researchers used a statistical analysis called latent profile analysis to identify three distinct patterns of activity across these systems. They found that these patterns were stable over time and were associated with children's socioemotional outcomes at the end of the school year.
March 10, 2022
Biomarkers
Child mental & behavioral health
Intervention effects
MAMAS/SEED Study
This study looked at whether maternal participation in a wellness group during pregnancy affects the health of the child, as well as the mother. Findings showed that infants of women who participated in the wellness group had better self-regulation behavior and showed quicker physiological recovery from stress than those in a treatment-as-usual group. These results suggest that prenatal interventions that reduce mothers' stress may have two-generation benefits.
December 7, 2021
Biomarkers
Child mental & behavioral health
Childhood adversity
MAMAS/SEED Study
SEED Study
This study looked at how early life experiences can affect a child's mental and behavioral health. The researchers found that children who experienced adversity in the first 18 months of life were more likely to have heightened physiological response when faced with a challenge at age 3. Children with this heightened physiological response profile also had lower scores in executive functioning compared to those who had adaptive patterns across all systems.