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Antisocial Children: Marital and Physiological Processes. National Institute of Mental Health 1 R01 MH49141 09/23/99-05/31/06. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.

The present proposal will test a family-based emotion regulation model of continuity in childhood antisocial behavior from preschool to middle childhood. Observational assessments of marital, parent-child and child-peer systems and physiological assessments of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity will be systematically applied in one study to examine interpersonal and intrapersonal risk factors that are associated with stability and change in antisocial behavior. A previously recruited sample of 130 families with preschool aged children (4-5 years old) will be seen again at ages 9 and 10. A new cohort of 95 families will also be added, with assessments at age 5, 9 and 10. Physical marital aggression, individual parental emotion regulation abilities, parental meta-emotion philosophy, children’s sensitivity to conflict, and children’s physiological regulatory ability will be proposed as constructs in theory testing. A hypervigilance model in which exposure to physical marital aggression may be associated with hypervigilance to threat is tested and mechanisms of linkage are articulated. A competing model, a habituation model in which physical marital aggression is associated with habituation to threat, is also tested. The present proposal also seeks to: (1) examine developmental changes in physiological functioning in conduct-problem children across the developmental period from early to middle childhood; (2) test for gender differences in the family-based emotion regulation model; and (3) test for child effects.

“Domestic Violence, Parenting and Child Stress Reactivity”. Royalty Research Fund #3226, University of Washington. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.

It has been well-established that domestic violence has detrimental effects on children’s mental health. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which these effects occur. A growing body of research suggests that children who are exposed to adverse life circumstances exhibit greater physiological reactivity to stress and greater sensitivity to threat-related signals. The proposed research will examine a theoretical model of stress reactivity in children from domestically violent homes, and will test the hypothesis that child stress reactivity mediates the relation between domestic violence and child maladjustment. Given recent evidence that experience with caregivers are critical in the development of children’s stress responses, we will also examine the influence of how parents think about emotion and help their children manage their emotions – what we refer to as their “meta-emotion philosophy” – on the relation between domestic violence and child stress reactivity. Understanding the ways in which domestic violence affects children’s reactivity to stress can help build new avenues of intervention that focus on teaching children how to physiologically self-soothe when distressed, and teaching parents to help children manage their emotions.

Emotion Dysregulation: Depression and Family Stress. National Institute of Mental Health. R01-MH06530. 12/1/03-11/31/08. PI: Lisa Sheeber, Ph.D, Co-PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D., Nicholas B. Allen, Ph.D., & Betsy Davis, Ph.D.

Within the developmental psychopathology literature there is an increasing awareness that childhood and adolescent disorders, like their adult counterparts, are characterized to a large degree by disturbances in emotional processes (Cicchetti, Ackerman & Izard, 1995; Cole, Michel & Teti, 1994). Despite this awareness and the substantial research base on normative emotional development and socialization, however, there has been very little research examining emotional processes in clinical samples of children and adolescents (Cicchetti, Ackerman & Izard, 1995). This gap is perhaps most notable in the case of unipolar depressive disorder where the prominence of affective symptomatology has head numerous researchers and theorists to define it as a disorder of emotion. A key task awaiting attention is the delineation of the emotional processes characteristic of unipolar depressive disorder, as well as the identification of both continuities and discontinuities with normative developmental functioning (NIH, PA-000-105, 2000). The current proposal is aimed at addressing these limitations by proposing the following aims: (1) To delineate the aspects of emotional functioning that are disrupted in unipolar affective disorder by conducting a between-group analysis comparing dimensions of emotion functioning (e.g., frequency, intensity, duration; Larsen, 2000) using a multi-method assessment of the key domains of emotional output (behavior, experience, & physiology; Bradley & Lang, 2000), and focusing on dysregulation of negative and positive emotional states; (2) To examine and identify family processes that serve to influence the level of adolescent emotion dysregulation displayed; and (3) To test a hypothesized mediational model whereby emotional dysregulation mediates the relation between family processes and adolescent depression.

Emotion Regulation in Pediatric Cancer Survivors. National Cancer Institute. 1-R03-CA11248. 9/27/04-8/31/06. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.

Current research indicates that a significant subset of children who are treated for cancer experience difficulty in post-treatment psychosocial adjustment, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, to date there has been limited success in predicting which children will be most negatively affected by having cancer and undergoing necessary but often painful treatments. The current study is designed to test the hypothesis that children’s post-treatment adjustment is related to both their emotional regulation abilities and to parenting processes that affect how they process and cope with strong negative emotions. Vagal tone, a physiological index of emotion regulation, has been shown to buffer children from negative psychological effects of stressors in their environment. However, up to this point, no research has investigated whether vagal tone is related to psychosocial functioning in cancer survivors. The proposed study will use a multi-method, multi-informant, cross-sectional design to test the relationship between vagal tone and adjustment in 150 children, half of whom will be survivors of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Additionally, how parents think about emotions and help their children manage their emotions – their “meta-emotion philosophy” – will be examined as a potential buffer in the relationship between cancer treatment and range of negative psychosocial outcomes. Understanding the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and adjustment following cancer treatment can help build new and effective empirically based interventions that focus on (1) teaching children how to physiologically self-soothe when distressed and (2) teaching parents to help children manage their emotions.

Antisocial Children: Marital and Physiological Processes. National Institute of Mental Health 1 R01 MH49141 09/30/94-08/31/98. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.

The purpose of this research program is to examine the relationship between marital interaction patterns and conduct-related behaviors in preschool-aged conduct-problem children. Mediators of the link between marital hostility, antisocial behavior and poor peer relations are also sought, including (1) the role of social cognitive deficits and biases, and (2) psychophysiological processes. Observations of marital and parent-child interaction, peer interaction and children’s reactions to interadult hostility and to a provocative peer situation will be conducted. Autonomic measures (cardiac interbeat interval, T-wave amplitude, ear and finger pulse transit time, finger pulse amplitude, skin conductance level, vagal tone and gross motor activity) synchronized to real-time behavioral observations will be obtained from the child during exposure to interadult conflict, peer provocation, and an attention-demanding task. The effects of marital hostility on social information processing, peer relations and antisocial behavior will be examined. Physiological models of conduct-problems will also be tested under conditions of interpersonal threat, relaxed conditions, and in an attention-demanding task. Two theoretical models will be tested in which marital hostility, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system reactivity to interpersonal threat and social cognitive biases and deficits are related to antisocial behavior and negative peer interaction.



Home Vita Publications Research	Research Activities *Antisocial Children: Marital and Physiological Processes. National Institute of Mental Health 1 R01 MH49141 09/23/99-05/31/06. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.* The present proposal will test a family-based emotion regulation model of continuity in childhood antisocial behavior from preschool to middle childhood. Observational assessments of marital, parent-child and child-peer systems and physiological assessments of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity will be systematically applied in one study to examine interpersonal and intrapersonal risk factors that are associated with stability and change in antisocial behavior. A previously recruited sample of 130 families with preschool aged children (4-5 years old) will be seen again at ages 9 and 10. A new cohort of 95 families will also be added, with assessments at age 5, 9 and 10. Physical marital aggression, individual parental emotion regulation abilities, parental meta-emotion philosophy, children’s sensitivity to conflict, and children’s physiological regulatory ability will be proposed as constructs in theory testing. A hypervigilance model in which exposure to physical marital aggression may be associated with hypervigilance to threat is tested and mechanisms of linkage are articulated. A competing model, a habituation model in which physical marital aggression is associated with habituation to threat, is also tested. The present proposal also seeks to: (1) examine developmental changes in physiological functioning in conduct-problem children across the developmental period from early to middle childhood; (2) test for gender differences in the family-based emotion regulation model; and (3) test for child effects. *“Domestic Violence, Parenting and Child Stress Reactivity”. Royalty Research Fund #3226,* *University* of *Washington. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.* It has been well-established that domestic violence has detrimental effects on children’s mental health. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which these effects occur. A growing body of research suggests that children who are exposed to adverse life circumstances exhibit greater physiological reactivity to stress and greater sensitivity to threat-related signals. The proposed research will examine a theoretical model of stress reactivity in children from domestically violent homes, and will test the hypothesis that child stress reactivity mediates the relation between domestic violence and child maladjustment. Given recent evidence that experience with caregivers are critical in the development of children’s stress responses, we will also examine the influence of how parents think about emotion and help their children manage their emotions – what we refer to as their “meta-emotion philosophy” – on the relation between domestic violence and child stress reactivity. Understanding the ways in which domestic violence affects children’s reactivity to stress can help build new avenues of intervention that focus on teaching children how to physiologically self-soothe when distressed, and teaching parents to help children manage their emotions. Emotion Dysregulation: Depression and Family Stress. National Institute of Mental Health. R01-MH06530. 12/1/03-11/31/08. PI: Lisa Sheeber, Ph.D, Co-PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D., Nicholas B. Allen, Ph.D., & Betsy Davis, Ph.D. Within the developmental psychopathology literature there is an increasing awareness that childhood and adolescent disorders, like their adult counterparts, are characterized to a large degree by disturbances in emotional processes (Cicchetti, Ackerman & Izard, 1995; Cole, Michel & Teti, 1994). Despite this awareness and the substantial research base on normative emotional development and socialization, however, there has been very little research examining emotional processes in clinical samples of children and adolescents (Cicchetti, Ackerman & Izard, 1995). This gap is perhaps most notable in the case of unipolar depressive disorder where the prominence of affective symptomatology has head numerous researchers and theorists to define it as a disorder of emotion. A key task awaiting attention is the delineation of the emotional processes characteristic of unipolar depressive disorder, as well as the identification of both continuities and discontinuities with normative developmental functioning (NIH, PA-000-105, 2000). The current proposal is aimed at addressing these limitations by proposing the following aims: (1) To delineate the aspects of emotional functioning that are disrupted in unipolar affective disorder by conducting a between-group analysis comparing dimensions of emotion functioning (e.g., frequency, intensity, duration; Larsen, 2000) using a multi-method assessment of the key domains of emotional output (behavior, experience, & physiology; Bradley & Lang, 2000), and focusing on dysregulation of negative and positive emotional states; (2) To examine and identify family processes that serve to influence the level of adolescent emotion dysregulation displayed; and (3) To test a hypothesized mediational model whereby emotional dysregulation mediates the relation between family processes and adolescent depression. Emotion Regulation in Pediatric Cancer Survivors. National Cancer Institute. 1-R03-CA11248. 9/27/04-8/31/06. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D. Current research indicates that a significant subset of children who are treated for cancer experience difficulty in post-treatment psychosocial adjustment, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, to date there has been limited success in predicting which children will be most negatively affected by having cancer and undergoing necessary but often painful treatments. The current study is designed to test the hypothesis that children’s post-treatment adjustment is related to both their emotional regulation abilities and to parenting processes that affect how they process and cope with strong negative emotions. Vagal tone, a physiological index of emotion regulation, has been shown to buffer children from negative psychological effects of stressors in their environment. However, up to this point, no research has investigated whether vagal tone is related to psychosocial functioning in cancer survivors. The proposed study will use a multi-method, multi-informant, cross-sectional design to test the relationship between vagal tone and adjustment in 150 children, half of whom will be survivors of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Additionally, how parents think about emotions and help their children manage their emotions – their “meta-emotion philosophy” – will be examined as a potential buffer in the relationship between cancer treatment and range of negative psychosocial outcomes. Understanding the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and adjustment following cancer treatment can help build new and effective empirically based interventions that focus on (1) teaching children how to physiologically self-soothe when distressed and (2) teaching parents to help children manage their emotions. Antisocial Children: Marital and Physiological Processes. National Institute of Mental Health 1 R01 MH49141 09/30/94-08/31/98. PI: Lynn Fainsilber Katz, Ph.D.** The purpose of this research program is to examine the relationship between marital interaction patterns and conduct-related behaviors in preschool-aged conduct-problem children. Mediators of the link between marital hostility, antisocial behavior and poor peer relations are also sought, including (1) the role of social cognitive deficits and biases, and (2) psychophysiological processes. Observations of marital and parent-child interaction, peer interaction and children’s reactions to interadult hostility and to a provocative peer situation will be conducted. Autonomic measures (cardiac interbeat interval, T-wave amplitude, ear and finger pulse transit time, finger pulse amplitude, skin conductance level, vagal tone and gross motor activity) synchronized to real-time behavioral observations will be obtained from the child during exposure to interadult conflict, peer provocation, and an attention-demanding task. The effects of marital hostility on social information processing, peer relations and antisocial behavior will be examined. Physiological models of conduct-problems will also be tested under conditions of interpersonal threat, relaxed conditions, and in an attention-demanding task. Two theoretical models will be tested in which marital hostility, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system reactivity to interpersonal threat and social cognitive biases and deficits are related to antisocial behavior and negative peer interaction.
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