IPR - Institute for Policy Research - Northwestern University

IPR
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< National Children’s Study
Pediatrician Jane Holl leads the Chicago site of the
National Children’s Study, which is recruiting and
following 2,000 children in DuPage, Will, and Cook
counties. It is part of the largest study of child health
and well-being ever conducted in the United States
and will eventually include more than 100,000 children
from 107 U.S. sites. The study is assessing a wide range
of environmental and genetic factors on pregnant
women, children, and adults. Its goal is to prevent and
treat some of the nation’s most serious health problems,
including autism, birth defects, diabetes, heart disease,
and obesity. Combining analyses of blood, urine, and
hair with field observations, study researchers hope to
examine how factors like food intake, air and water
quality, neighborhood safety, and quality of medical
care affect participants. Researchers also plan to look at
children’s possible exposure to chemicals from materials
used to construct their homes and schools.
Families, Interpersonal Relationships, and Health
< Stress and Teen Depression
Adolescent depression is a major health issue that affects
approximately 15 to 20 percent of all U.S. adolescents
at some point. In a four-year longitudinal study, Daily
Experiences, Stress, and Sleep over the Transition to
Adulthood, Adam and her colleagues are exploring
how exposure to stress affects the development of
depression and anxiety in adolescents as they move from
high school to college or a job. Adam uses interviews,
questionnaires, and diaries to capture their transition
experiences. By measuring the stress hormone cortisol
and sleep quality using wristwatch-sized “actigraphs,”
she is trying to trace the physiological impact of these
changes. Annual clinical interviews diagnose depression
and anxiety disorders.
In a recent article, Adam and her colleagues reviewed
the current state of research on the role of HPA axis
functioning—which can be measured through a person’s
cortisol levels—to predict, and guide treatment
of, adolescent depression. While the researchers find
great promise for using HPA axis indicators, measures
of it in clinical settings are rare, and thus it does not yet
constitute an accurate clinical tool.
They call for more research into
HPA axis measures and formulate
a model to guide researchers in
including such measures in prevention
studies of adolescent depression.
In this and other studies,
Adam shows how daily measurements
of cortisol can provide
insights into how everyday social
environments affect physiological
stress levels in children and adolescents.
She points to risk factors
for negative health outcomes and
possible interventions for them.
Emma Adam lectures on how
to use saliva to measure
physiological function.
< Effects of Parenting Styles
on Youth
Jelani Mandara, a developmental
psychologist, is examining the effects of parenting
styles on the academic achievement, sexual activity, and
behavioral problems of African American, European
American, and Latino youth. Using data from the
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Mandara is
finding that girls and boys are parented differently by
African American mothers. Girls are assigned more
responsibilities and rules, for example, while boys are
given more latitude. This is especially the case when
the girl is the oldest child and the boy is the youngest.
Mandara shows how this differential socialization
might explain some of the reasons why African
American males have such high rates of risky behaviors,
incarceration, and school failure compared with females.
He proposes interventions that teach African American
parents authoritative parenting styles and how to treat
boys and girls and younger and older siblings the same.
< Romantic Attraction
Psychologist Eli Finkel continues his physiological
study of initial romantic attraction in real-life
interactions between potential romantic partners,
supported by C2S seed-grant funding. Specifically, he
is exploring biomarkers associated with two of three
systems composing the experience of initial romantic
attraction: lust and infatuation. He is also exploring
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