Risk for Abuse and Neglect in at-Risk Moms

NICHD funded study which examines maternal social information processing (SIP) variables (e.g. attributions, expectations), executive functioning, and contextual risk as they relate to at-risk parenting behaviors, especially abuse and neglect.  The specific at-risk group of interest is mothers with borderline intellectual functioning.  The study hypothesizes that a SIP model will predict a mother's risk of abuse better than IQ and other markers of risk currently utilized by the child protective system.

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Dating Violence Study

Applies a cognitive/affective model to the origins of dating violence (both psychological abuse of partners and physical violence toward partners).  This study examines cognitive factors (expectations/beliefs about relationships including ones specific to partner relationships, as well as about other relationships; attributions about conflict in relationships, and trauma related cognitions), neuropsychological factors (cognitive flexibility, affective prosody), and emotional regulation capacities. The role of background factors will examine the influence of age, gender, education, and SES (parents' education and occupation).