My program of research broadly focuses on the behavioral and biological exploration of child-parent relationship processes during early childhood (0-7 years). I am especially interested in understanding the role that the quality of early caregiving experiences play in predicting the development of young children’s attachment relationships. As such, I seek to identify contextual factors (e.g., work-family interface, marital conflict, culture) that may influence quality of parental care both directly and indirectly through altered parental well-being. The goal of my research is to identify factors that lead to positive developmental outcomes for both parents and children while simultaneously identifying potential risk factors related to negative developmental trajectories.
My teaching interests focus on young children's development, social-emotional development across the lifespan, and parenting, including family-school connections.
