In a recent paper published in Science Advances, Stress and Development Lab research demonstrates that children who experience early-life deprivation related to institutional rearing experience lasting changes in trajectories of brain development into adolescence. Critically, this research showed that children who were randomly assigned to be removed from institutional care and placed into families had patterns of brain development in adolescence that more closely resembled children who had never been institutionalized, demonstrating a causal effect of early family caregiving on...
David Weissman, post-doctoral fellow in the Stress and Development Lab, has received the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. His project is entitled “Emotional Awareness: An integrative neural mechanism linking childhood trauma with psychopathology.” This project aims to uncover the psychological and neural mechanisms contributing to individual differences in emotional awareness in adolescence, their relation to childhood trauma, and the role that these processes might play as mechanisms linking childhood trauma to psychopathology... Read more about Post-Doc David Weissman awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NIMH
Alexandra Rodman, a postdoc in the Stress and Development Lab, has received the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. Her project is entitled “Behavioral and Neurocognitive Mechanisms linking Peer Victimization to Adolescent Psychopathology.” Peer victimization (e.g., bullying, ostracism) is a common and potent predictor of psychopathology in adolescence, but the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown. Alex will test a novel conceptual model assessing how different kinds of peer victimization (e.g., verbal... Read more about Post-Doc Alexandra Rodman awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NIMH
Mental health problems in children and adolescents have increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lab Director, Katie A. McLaughlin, speaks with Audie Cornish on National Public Radio's All Things Considered about the impact of the pandemic on child mental health and what schools can do to promote student well-being during the transition back to in-person schooling this fall.
Research published this week by the Stress and Development Lab examines predictors of youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identifies factors that families engage in that could help promote better mental health for children during the pandemic. We examined these questions in two longitudinal studies of children and adolescents in the Seattle area whose mental health had been assessed prior to the pandemic, so we could examine changes in mental health during the pandemic--both during the stay-at-home orders and approximately 6 months later. ...
Spanking remains a common form of discipline in the United States and around the world, despite the fact that numerous studies have found higher rates of depression, anxiety, behavior problems, and difficulties in school among children who experienced this type of corporal punishment relative to children who have never been spanked. Research from the Stress and Development Lab published in Child Development suggests that spanking is associated with changes in children's brain function that are similar to those observed in children exposed to more severe forms of child abuse. ...
Eli Susman, Rachel Martino, and Jimmy Huettig, current research coordinators in the Stress and Development Lab, have all been recognized by the National Science Foundation for their applications to the Graduate Research Fellowship Program for 2021!
The NSF GRFP is a highly-competitive fellowship intended to fund promising doctoral students in STEM-related master’s and doctoral programs.
Rachel and Jimmy's applications have received honorable mention, and they will have...
Lab Director, Katie A. McLaughlin, speaks with the Harvard Gazette about child mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview discusses the lessons learned from research on natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and exposure to other types of stressful life events about how the pandemic is likely to shape child mental health over the coming years. Dr. McLaughlin also discusses ongoing research from the Stress and Development Lab that identifies factors that promote resilience against stress-related mental health problems in children during the pandemic. Read the full...
David Weissman, a post-doc in the Stress and Development Lab has been awarded a Young Scientist Transition Award from the Harvard Brain Science Initiative. The Young Scientist Transition Awards, made possible with funding from the Office of the Provost, are designed to provide relief funding to neuroscience postdocs at Harvard University whose career progress has been significantly delayed by institutional shutdowns, slowdowns and delays in job search processes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Rachel Romeo, post-doctoral fellow in the Stress and Development Lab, has received the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. Her project is entitled “Language Input as a Mechanism Underlying Socioeconomic Disparities in Neurocognitive Development.” On average, children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds exhibit disparities in academic achievement and cognitive development, compared to children from higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Rachel’s studies will investigate the role of specific dimensions of... Read more about Post-Doc Rachel Romeo awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NICHD
