Understanding and promoting factors that contribute to children’s well-being and resilience
Social, emotional and cognitive skills serve as critical foundations for children’s well-being — and as important resources (called “protective factors”) for children growing up in adverse circumstances. Children with well-developed skills in these areas can have reduced risk for academic, behavioral, mental health, and substance use problems.
Our research utilizes a bioecological, or “whole-child” approach to examine the influences of neurobiological stress responses, self-regulation, parenting, family relationships, neighborhood, and economic disadvantage on children’s social, emotional and cognitive well-being.
We are also developing provider, parent and youth programs that support the development of child self-regulation and social-emotional well-being. These programs combine cognitive-behavioral approaches to promote social-emotional skills with mindfulness and compassion practices to support well-being.
Research topics include
- Children’s well-being and resilience in the face of poverty, family adversity, domestic violence, cancer
- Self-regulation and Coping as protective factors in at-risk children and youth
- Parenting and emotion coaching interventions for children in high-risk contexts
- Mindfulness-based parenting and youth-resilience programs
