Neonatal health outcomes

We are partnering with Maricopa County Department of Health to study psychological, social, and behavioral factors that predict prenatal health care utilization and newborn health in a large sample of low-income, community women. This project is unique for its focus on protective factors theorized to predict resilient outcomes in this high-risk population.

Childhood Family Conflict and physiology

The ability to self-regulate cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses to stress may be a mechanism linking early family experiences to long-term health risk. We are using a multi-measurement approach (i.e., observational, self-report, and physiological) to investigate how high conflict early family experiences affect biological and psychological responses to stress in adulthood

Sleep and resilience in college study

Insomnia has been shown to have a negative impact on several domains of functioning including: work (or school) performance, concentration and memory, mood, and illness. The prevalence of insomnia in adults is well known and commonly investigated, however; the amount of young adults in college that suffer from insomnia is unknown. Furthermore, the consequences of insomnia in college aged young adults are unclear, specifically in relation to academic performance. Research has also shown that adults with insomnia often experience depression, and both depression and insomnia are likely to occur multiple times across the life span. Therefore, identifying the occurrence and consequences of insomnia early on may help inform research pinpoint the beginnings of these lifelong episodes. Similarly, it may also be important to identify resilient personal characteristics of healthy college aged young adults who are not currently experiencing insomnia.

PROYECTO DE LAS MADRES NUEVAS/NEW MOTHERS PROJECT

Postpartum depression affects a large number of new mothers. Estimates range from 10-15% in general population samples. However, striking health disparities are evident in studies evaluating low-income and/or ethnic minority mothers, for whom prevalence rates from 24-49% have been reported. A large research literature documents the substantial detrimental public health impact of postpartum depression, not just for women, but for their partners and children as well. We are conducting a study that will chart the development of postpartum depression and the process of recovery in a community sample of low-income Mexican American first time mothers. Culturally-ecological factors will be examined that may either confer risk or offer protection from postpartum depression. Repeated home observations of mother-infant interactions will be collected in the critical first 6 months following childbirth. The biopsychosocial process by which mothers and infants co-regulate each other's emotions, behavior, and physiology will be analyzed and used to predict the longitudinal course of postpartum depression over the first year. View our project webpage at:  ...