IRENE TUNG, PH.D.

R E S E A R C H

Why do some children exposed to early life stress develop emotional and behavioral difficulties, whereas other children appear resilient to these risks? My research uses a developmental psychopathology framework to investigate individual differences in emotional reactivity and risky behaviors. I use longitudinal study designs and a combination of biological, behavioral, and ambulatory assessment methods to assess stress and development starting from the prenatal period to early adulthood. The goal of my research is to inform preventative interventions that help to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of stress-related mental health outcomes for families living with chronic stress. Below is an overview of my current and past projects, organized around three topics:

Early life stress & the intergenerational cycle of psychopathology

What we know: Parents who struggle with emotion regulation and risky behaviors often have children who develop similar difficulties. Although this continuity is partially influenced by shared genetics, the family environment also plays an important role in maintaining this cycle across generations.

Research question: How do parent psychopathology and negative parenting behaviors influence children's development of emotion dysregulation and risky behavior problems?

Primary methods: Clinical interviews; Coding observed behaviors during parent-child interaction tasks; Multi-informant data across home and school contexts

Major findings: Parents experiencing active psychopathology symptoms may be more vulnerable to engaging in harsh and inconsistent parenting behaviors. Childhood exposure to these parenting behaviors can increase risk for behavior problems across multiple life stages, a key pathway through which risky behaviors are maintained across generations.

Differential susceptibility: Individual differences in risk and resilience

What we know: Children show significant individual differences in their vulnerability and resilience to early life stress. Understanding who is most sensitive to stress and when in development this matters most can help to inform timely and individually-tailored interventions.

Research question: How do individual differences in genetics and early temperament traits influence children's sensitivity to early life stress?

Primary methods: Salivary DNA genotyping; Quasi-experimental (foster-adoptive) study designs; Systematic coding of medical records

Major findings: Preschool and school-aged children with emotionally reactive temperaments may experience greater vulnerability to risky/reactive behaviors that can extend into adolescence and early adulthood. These children may also show greater sensitivity to early life stress. Preliminary findings suggest that this early emotional sensitivity to stress may be shaped by a combination of polygenetic risk and exposure to prenatal stress.

Prenatal stress & the developmental origins of emotional reactivity

What we know: Emotional reactivity to stress is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. Individual differences in emotional reactivity can be reliably detected as early as infancy, and growing evidence suggests that these differences begin forming in utero.

Research question: How do daily life stressors and emotionally supportive experiences influence maternal stress systems during pregnancy? And to what extent does this shape her offspring's reactivity to stress?

Primary methods: Clinical and life stress interviews; Experimental laboratory stress paradigms; Psychophysiological assessment (e.g., heart rate variability, skin conductance); Ecological momentary assessment; Wearable biosensors; Observational coding of infant and caregiving behaviors

Major findings thus far: Maternal history of traumatic violence and life stress may increase sensitivity to emotional distress symptoms during pregnancy. However, for pregnant women living with frequent life stressors, perceiving greater levels of emotional support may facilitate more flexible physiological responses to stressors, including more rapid physiological recovery from stress during pregnancy.

My current projects are investigating how daily life stressors and positive psychological resources during pregnancy get 'under the skin' to shape the development of offspring emotional reactivity.

Thank you to the participants of our studies, our research staff and trainees, and the funding sources that made this research possible!

The Pittsburgh Girls Study (University of Pittsburgh)

ADHD & Development Study (UCLA)