PSI Projects

ACTIVE PROJECTS

Gene–Environment Interplay and Childhood Obesity: An Adoption Study
Funding period: September 1, 2011–May 31, 2016
Principal Investigators: Dr. Leslie Leve, University of Oregon; Dr. Jody Ganiban, George Washington University
Funded by: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease
Grant number: R01 DK090264

This study is exploring child physical growth and health. The focus is on the eating habits and behaviors of adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth parents from birth to middle childhood, and the researchers are currently examining family dietary habits, food preferences, physical activities, and child growth patterns when children are 7–9 years old. Of particular interest is identification of environmental and genetic factors that promote physical growth and healthy weight over time.

 

Gene–Environment Interplay and the Development of Psychiatric Symptoms in Children
Funding period: September 28, 2010–June 30, 2016
Principal Investigators: Dr. Leslie Leve, University of Oregon; Dr. Jenae Neiderhiser, Penn State University
Funded by: National Institute of Mental Health
Grant number: R01 MH092118

This study is examining the interplay between genetic, prenatal, and postnatal environmental influences on early pathways to conduct, anxiety, and depressive behaviors by interviewing adoptive parents about child behavior and symptoms between ages 6 and 8 years. Adoptive parents are also interviewed about their own mental health.

 

Inhibitory Control Training to Remediate the Effect of Early Adversity in At-Risk Youth
Combined funding period: January 1, 2014–June 15, 2015
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elliot Berkman
Funded by: Center on the Developing Child at Harvard; National Institutes of Health Translational Drug Abuse Prevention Center
Grant number: NIH P50 DA035763-02

This combined study evaluates the feasibility of an intervention to reduce peer-linked risk behaviors by increasing inhibitory control in a sample of at-risk adolescents. Peer-associated risk behaviors and their sequelae are pronounced among individuals with high levels of early adversity (EA), and EA is associated with inhibitory control deficits throughout childhood and adolescence. This research seeks to quantify the effects of EA on inhibitory control and the neural mechanisms through which those effects might be remediated with intervention. Groups with high and low levels of EA will be compared in terms of their underlying neural systems for inhibitory control and how those systems respond differently to intervention.

 

KEEP-P, a Prevention Intervention for Foster Preschoolers
Funding period: July 1, 2013–April 30, 2018
Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip Fisher
Funded by: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Grant number: 5R01HD075716

The KEEP-P study is a randomized clinical trial of a low-cost, group-based intervention for foster preschoolers and their caregivers. Foster/kinship caregivers attend 16 weekly support group sessions. Some participating families complete a 10-week video coaching program designed to reinforce and strengthen supportive interactions between children and their caregivers. Goals are improved parenting, reduced rates of disrupted placements, and improved child outcomes among this population, who are otherwise at high risk for numerous negative outcomes, particularly those associated with foster placement disruptions.

 

Oregon Parent Project (OPP)
An RCT of Parent Training for Preschoolers with Delays
Funding period: June 1, 2011–February 29, 2016
Principal Investigator: Dr. Laura Lee McIntyre
Co-Investigator: Dr. Thomas Dishion, Arizona State University
Funded by: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Grant number: DA212880

This study is examining child and family well-being during the preschool period in 200 families with young children with developmental delays or disabilities. Children and families participate in six assessments during a two-year period. Half of the families are invited to attend OPP parent education classes based on a modified version of the Incredible Years parent training program. The Oregon Parent Project examines the effects of various early childhood interventions and services on children's adaptive behavior, problem behavior, and family well-being during early childhood.

 

Project Alliance 1: Genetics
Development, Ecology, and Prevention of Early Adult Addictive Behavior
Funding period: September 15, 2011–May 31, 2016
Principal Investigators: Dr. Allison Caruthers, University of Oregon; Dr. Thomas J. Dishion, Arizona State University
Co-Investigator: Dr. Danielle Dick, Virginia Commonwealth University
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
Grant number: DA070301

This program of research is testing genetically informed ecological models of the development of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and dependence, antisocial behavior, and high-risk sexual behavior in adulthood, and is examining the malleability of risk and protective processes as addressed in the intervention protocol of the Family Check-Up (FCU). In middle school, the original study sample had been randomly assigned to the FCU in an earlier iteration of the PAL 1 study. Intervention effects were found on drug use from age 11 through 14 years, and long-term intervention effects were observed with respect to AOD use in late adolescence. These effects were found to extend to ages 23–24. DNA from this sample is being collected and analyzed, and the study will test genetically informed ecological models of adaptation and maladaptation from early adolescence to adulthood.

 

Project Alliance 1: Relationship
Relationship Dynamics and Young Adult Drug Use and Abuse
Funding period: September 20, 2012–August 31, 2017
Principal Investigators: Dr. Allison Caruthers, University of Oregon; Dr. Thomas Dishion, Arizona State University
Co-Investigator: Dr. Krista Chronister
Funded by: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
Grant number: R01 AA022071

This study is investigating the covariation between alcohol and other drug (AOD) use trajectories, lifestyle activities, and intimate partner adjustment in early adulthood. It entails longitudinal modeling of dynamic changes in relationships, AOD use, and lifestyle during two years in early adulthood. This longitudinal research builds on an existing data set from a multiethnic sample of 999 youths and families assessed in 10 waves beginning at age 11–12. The current study is extending this work to research early-adult intimate relationship dynamics at ages 27–29. Selecting intimate partners and the resulting relationship dynamics are key developmental milestones in early adulthood and form the foundation of family stability and health. This research is examining gender-specific longitudinal models of adult AOD use as a dynamic adaptation to activity and relationship contexts and the impact of the previously offered intervention on partner selection, intimate relationship adjustment, and AOD use in early adulthood.

 

Project Alliance 2
Parenting to Prevent Substance Use in Late Adolescence
Funding period: August 15, 2012–May 31, 2017
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Co-Investigator: Dr. Thomas Dishion, Arizona State University
Funded by: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Grant number: HD075150

Researchers in this study are examining how parent–youth relationships in late adolescence may be protective or may contribute to escalating substance use and abuse during the transition to adulthood. A community sample of ethnically and socioeconomically diverse youths and their families who have participated in a longitudinal study is being followed up to understand unique aspects of parenting during this period. A late-adolescence version of the Family Check-Up intervention being used in the study is designed to (a) prevent escalation of substance use, (b) focus on parent–youth relationships that foster independent living, (c) discourage unhealthy peer relationships and activities that promote drug use, and (d) provide support to enhance adaptive behavior and healthy adult outcomes during the transition to adulthood.

 

Siblings Reared Apart: A Naturalistic Cross-Fostering Study of Young Children
Funding period: September 30, 2013–May 31, 2017
Principal Investigator: Dr. Leslie Leve
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Grant number: R01 DA035062

A naturalistic human cross-fostering design is being used to examine childhood pathways to development by identifying nuances in the rearing environment associated with specific child risk behaviors and competencies. The sample consists of 7-year-old sibling pairs in which one sibling was reared from birth by an adoptive family and the other sibling was reared from birth by their biological mother. As such, effects of the rearing environment are isolated from effects of genes shared between parent and child. Two supplemental grants support a graduate student and an undergraduate student to participate in the research activities.

 

Testing the Efficacy of an Ecological Approach to Family Intervention and Treatment During Early Elementary School to Prevent Problem Behavior and Improve Academic Outcomes
Funding period: July 1, 2014–June 30, 2018
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Funded by: Institute of Education Sciences
Grant number: R305A140189

This study is evaluating the efficacy of implementing the Family Check-Up during the transition into elementary school. The target domains of the intervention include (a) family contextual risks, (b) family management skills, (c) self-regulation skills, (d) academic learning skills, (e) social competence skills, and (f) problem behavior.

 

Translational Drug Abuse Prevention Center (TDAP)
Funding period: September 1, 2013–April 30, 2018
Principal Investigators: Dr. Philip Fisher, University of Oregon; Dr. Patricia Chamberlain, Oregon Social Learning Center
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Grant number: 1P50DA035763

The TDAP aims to improve outcomes for children and families involved in U.S. child welfare systems (CWS) by broadening understanding of mechanisms that contribute to healthy child development and testing practical interventions and implementation strategies. Three key areas specific to youths involved in the CWS are being targeted: (1) underlying mechanisms and processes that are associated with exposure to high levels of early life adversity and are specific to risky decision making in certain social contexts during early adolescence, (2) high rates of drug use and engagement in HIV-risk behaviors in adolescent girls, and (3) implementation of extant evidence-based interventions into real-world CWS settings with high fidelity and empirical measurement of implementation success/failure.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

Adolescent Decision-Making Study (ADMS)
Funding period: April 1, 2010–March 31, 2012
Principal Investigators: Dr. Leslie Leve, Dr. Joshua Weller
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Grant number: R21 DA027091

The Adolescent Decision-Making Study addressed a gap in the understanding of how decision-making processes might be associated with healthy and health-risking behaviors in adolescent girls. The sample consisted of 100 girls who participated in the Middle School Success Program, which was aimed at preventing the onset of problem behaviors among a sample of girls in foster care. Adolescent girls (age 15–17) participated in an in-person, analog decision-making assessment, and girls and their caregiver completed questionnaires about their behaviors and decision-making strategies. The study aimed to (1) examine the processes underlying decision making in girls with a history of foster care involvement; (2) examine the extent to which family variables (e.g., maltreatment history, caregiver transitions) and temperamental variables may be antecedents of advantageous decision making; (3) test associations between decision-making skills and health-risking sexual behaviors, drug use, deviant peer associations, and delinquency; and (4) conduct an exploratory (post-hoc) examination of the association between intervention condition, decision-making, and maladaptive behavioral outcomes.

 

Development and Psychopathology Training Program
Seminar series: Development, Emotion, Ecology, and Psychopathology (DEEP)
Funding period: June 30, 2009–June 30, 2014
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Faculty/Mentors in 2013–2014: Dr. Krista Chronister, Dr. Phil Fisher, Dr. Elizabeth Skowron, Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Funded by: National Institute on Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
Grant number: T32 MH20012

In this program undergraduate education project assistants, graduate-level predoctoral trainees, and postdoctoral fellows were trained in child and adolescent mental health, with an emphasis on developmental psychopathology research and the science of developing effective interventions for youths and families. Connections between neurobiology and developmental, clinical, and school psychology were emphasized. The program was guided by a developmental–ecological model, addressed questions from multiple domains of development (e.g., neuroscience and parenting interventions, culture and school success), and included training in methodology and theory. Two weekly, yearlong training venues were organized by themes, with particular relevance to emerging issues in development and psychopathology and the specific interests of research trainees.

 

Early Growth and Development Study: Family Process, Genes, and School Entry
Funding period: September 1, 2007–July 31, 2014
Principal Investigator: Dr. Leslie Leve
Funded by: National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
Grant number: R01 HD042608

This study builds on emerging evidence about the relationship between heredity and the family environment, that is, nature and nurture, and how the two work together and separately in child development. It is the first of its kind to examine these issues while also examining general adoption issues, such as openness. The study follows a linked sample of adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth parents as the children enter the early school-age years; each birth parent is surveyed once and each adoptive family three times (child age 4.5, 6, and 7 years).

 

Early Experience, Stress Neurobiology and Prevention Science
Principal Investigators: Megan Gunnar, PhD, University of Minnesota; Philip Fisher, PhD, UO Subcontract
Funded by: National Institute of Mental Health

This study about the effects of stressful early environments on the developing brain, and on the extent to which interventions can remediate these effects brought together scientists who examine these issues in animals and in humans. The specific neural systems investigated included the limbic-HPA axis, components of the prefrontal cortex involved in executive functioning, and elements of the threat appraisal-response system. Network studies that involved children examined how these systems are affected by different types of early stress, including neglect and other forms of maltreatment and institutional rearing (among children adopted from overseas orphanages). Also investigated was whether improved behavioral functioning observed in connection with therapeutic interventions is concordant with changes in these neural systems. The subcontract to the University of Oregon supported Research Component 1, which aimed to examine (1) how early life stress affects neurobiological and behavioral functioning in maltreated, toddler-age children in foster care, and (2) how variations in foster caregiving affects the neurobiological functioning and subsequent psychosocial outcomes of this population.

 

Ecological Approach to Family Intervention and Treatment
Funding period: March 1, 2009–February 28, 2014
Principal Investigator: Dr. John Seeley, Oregon Research Institute
Principal Investigators: Dr. Thomas Dishion, Arizona State University; Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak, Child and Family Center
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Keith Smolkowski, Oregon Research Institute
Intervention Coordinator: Dr. Kevin Moore, Child and Family Center
Funded by: Institute of Education Sciences
Grant number: R324A090111

The effectiveness of the Positive Family Support intervention was assessed in 41 Oregon public middle schools. Measured outcomes included improved student attendance, improved grades of high-risk students, decreased expulsions, decreased use of suspensions, and decreased critical incidents of student problem behavior. In Level 1, a family resource center provided the means to inform parents about the school’s expectations and about their student’s social, emotional, and academic adjustment to the school context. In the Level 2 home–school partnership, parents received daily or weekly data about their child’s attendance, completion of academic tasks, and behavior. At Level 3 students who needed more support were encouraged to participate in a Family Check-Up (FCU) with their caregivers, which had been revised to focus on parental monitoring of their student’s adjustment at school and of their peer group and parenting practices relevant to those outcomes. For each school, a network of more intensive services was identified to complement the FCU intervention in terms of support services for families.

 

Juvenile Justice Girls: Pathways to Adjustment and System Use in Young Adulthood (GLO)
Funding period: February 15, 2009–December 31, 2013 
Principal Investigators: Dr. David Kerr, Oregon Social Learning Center; Dr. Leslie Leve
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Grant number: R01 DA024672

This study was a follow-up of two randomized intervention cohorts aimed at improving adjustment and reducing delinquency during adolescence. As teenagers, the 166 women had beenreferred for out-of-home care because of their involvement in the juvenile justice system. Girls were randomly assigned to either receive Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) services or to receive community treatment as usual (e.g., group care). The original studies examined the characteristics and contexts of gender-appropriate treatments that help girls improve their supportive and productive relationships and level of functioning in the community and reduce their criminal activity, drug use, and health-risking sexual behavior. This study followed the original study participants into young adulthood (ages 21–28) to further our understanding of the pathways to healthy adjustment and the prevention of sexual risk-taking, drug use, and child welfare and adult corrections involvement. One in-person assessment was conducted with each female and her current romantic partner (if she has one); in addition, telephone interviews were conducted every 6 months for the duration of the study.

 

The Middle School Success Project (MIDG)
Funding period: February 1, 1997–November 30, 2009
Principal Investigators: Dr. Leslie Leve
Funded by: National Institute of Mental Health
Grant number: R01 MH54257

The Middle School Success Project aimed at understanding the effectiveness of providing enhanced, focused services for preadolescent girls in foster care. The intervention was designed to prevent problems that could affect the girls’ futures. The families in the intervention group had attended weekly group and individual skills training and support throughout the girls’ first year in middle school. The families in the control group received services as usual from child welfare and/or their schools. One hundred foster care girls and their foster parents participated in in-person and telephone interviews five times during the course of 36 months.

 

Self-, Peer-, and Distant Other-Authored Messages for Cigarette Smoking Cessation
Funding period: September 1, 2012–August 31, 2014
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elliot Berkman
Funded by: National Institutes of Health, University of Michigan Center for Excellence in Cancer Communications Research
Grant number: P50 CA101451

This research sought to make health messages about cigarette smoking cessation self-relevant by personally tailoring them to increase their persuasiveness and effectiveness. Self-relevance recruits activation in the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is predictive of health behavior change. The study also sought to help determine whether self-authored messages are more effective than other messages or whether distance from the self improves message effectiveness, and whether self-authored messages recruit the same or different neural systems as other-authored messages. This study incorporated neural, self-report, and behavioral measures of health-related message effectiveness and used predictive statistics and computational linguistic analyses.