Project Background
Emotion dysregulation refers to experiencing emotions that are excessively intense, prolonged, or unpredictable. Emotion dysregulation is a feature of many mental disorders, and it often interferes with appropriate goal-directed behavior and interpersonal relationships. Emotion dysregulation can be transmitted intergenerationally from parent to child, resulting in increased risk for poor mental health and other problematic outcomes among children. The goal of this research study is to better understand exactly how emotion dysregulation is transmitted to young children early in their development. Specifically, we are examining how mothers' levels of emotion dysregulation may: (1) impact how they interact with their child during the first two years of the child's life and (2) increase risk for mental health problems during early childhood.
We recruited 385 pregnant women and are following them into early childhood. When the children were 7 and 18 months of age, we collected observations of mother-child interactions during a series of potentially challenging tasks. We are also collecting questionnaire measures from the women when their children are 36 months old. The questionnaires focus on women's difficulties with emotion regulation as well as their children's self-regulation abilities and early symptoms of mental health challenges. This research project will advance our understanding of the consequences of mothers' experiences of emotional dysregulation for their children's early developmental outcomes. This information, in turn, can be used to help identify vulnerable young children and intervene early in order to prevent the development of problematic outcomes later in life.
Student Role
The student will have a vital role in collecting and processing the data for this research project. With regard to data collection, the student will have the opportunity to assist with collecting questionnaire data when the children are 36 months old. The student will be trained on how to contact mothers and invite them to participate in the 36-month data collection effort, explain how the women can access and complete the online questionnaires, and send the mothers the compensation for completing the questionnaires. The student will also assist with preparing analysis-reading data files based on the questionnaire data that are collected.
With regard to data processing, the student will have the opportunity to be trained to code the videotaped observations of mother-child interaction using well-validated systems that quantify mothers' and young children's behaviors during the various tasks. In addition to these roles, the student will be encouraged to formulate specific research questions that are of interest to the student and to use data collected for the BABY study to answer these questions. This involves selecting a topic, reading scientific papers related to the topic, preparing the relevant data for statistical analyses, and conducting the appropriate analyses. These skills give students a glimpse of the graduate school experience while working closely with the faculty mentor and graduate students involved with the BABY study.
Student Learning Outcomes and Benefits
The student will gain experience working with vulnerable populations of parents and young children that are at-risk for mental health problems and will develop expertise collecting cutting edge measures used in developmental and clinical psychology. In addition, the student will be encouraged to cultivate a strong research identity. In this way, the student will be well prepared for graduate school in psychology or a closely related field (such as social work, family studies, or clinical mental health counseling). In fact, a large percentage of our former research assistants have successfully applied to these types of graduate programs. Many of our former research assistants have also gone on to medical school given that our research is interdisciplinary and because we work closely with OB/GYNs and pediatricians. The student will also cultivate skills that can be valuably applied to non-profit or industry settings. These include quantitative skills, such as how to measure complex phenomena, collect different types of data, organize large amounts of information in data files, and use the data to answer pressing research questions. These also include communication skills, such as how to publicly present complicated information in a way that can be easily and accurately understood by diverse audiences.
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Lee Raby
Assistant Professor
Social & Behavioral Science
Psychology
My research focuses on longstanding questions regarding the significance of early experiences with parents and other caregivers for individuals’ socioemotional, cognitive, and neurobiological development. Through my research, I hope to better understand how various early caregiving experiences influence traditional markers of behavioral adaptation (e.g., self-regulation strategies, executive functions, and language skills) as well as attachment-related mental representations and stress neurobiology. Currently, I am investigating these issues among families with adopted children. The two-fold goal of this work is to deepen our understanding of how development is shaped by the interplay of environmental experiences and children’s genetically-based characteristics while simultaneously providing information about how parent-child relationship experiences can promote the healthy development of children.
Opportunities for Students
Graduate Students
I will not be recruiting a graduate student this cycle.
Undergraduate Students
Our undergraduate research assistants are a very important element to our research. Currently, there are several opportunities for undergraduate students to assist with current research projects in the lab. If you are interested in joining our team, please go to Early Experiences Lab Website. On the 'Students' tab, you will find a newsletter outlining the lab’s current activities, information on being a research assistant, and an application to apply as a Research Assistant.
