Highlights of Current Projects
Fetal Programming of Infant Stress Reactivity
Recent studies suggest that pregnant women who report high levels of stress, anxiety, or depression have babies who are at increased risk for poor developmental outcomes. For example, infants of distressed mothers have a higher incidence of "difficult" temperament, behavioural and emotional problems, and physical disease. Unfortunately, these effects can last a lifetime. Research also suggests that when women are stressed, anxious, or depressed during pregnancy, the way in which these psychological problems affect their babies is through "stress hormones". Exposure to maternal stress hormones during formation of the baby's stress response system can alter its function and make it over-reactive to stress throughout the child's life. These changes may explain why children whose mothers were distressed during pregnancy are at increaased risk for developmental and health problems. (read more)
MOMS Link - PPD Telephone Support
This study emerges from an ongoing program of research on PPD support needs and interventions for women and families affected by PPD, and a CIHR funded meeting of key stakeholders on screening and intervention for Postpartum depression (PPD) in the Maritimes. A collaboration between the CHILD Studies Program, New Brunswick Department of Health, and Sykes Telecare, the study aims to develop and test an integrated, telephone-based, peer support program for mothers with (PPD). (read more)
MELT - Maritime Early Literacy Team
Researchers will work with the Read to Me (Nova Scotia), Born to Read (New Brunswick; Charlottetown, PEI), and Little Readers (Summerside, PEI) programs to study the impacts of these programs, which are designed to increase literacy by encouraging parents to read with their infants.
(read more)
Completed Projects
Unraveling the relationship between socio-economic status and child and adolescent behavioural, cognitive and language development
The primary objective of this project is to conduct a systematic, rigorous, and exhaustive review of research on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES; as measured by income, education, marital status and occupational prestige as composite or discrete measures) and child and adolescent developmental outcomes. (read more)
MMT-Moms
Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is held as the gold standard in helping individuals overcome addictions to opiates. Due to the crucially important role of mothers in raising the next generation of healthy contributing citizens (i.e. their children), the familial and societal benefits of helping mothers overcome addictions are huge. However, mothers face greater barriers to remaining engaged in MMT than other groups, due for example, to challenges accessing safe and reliable child care and transportation. Very little is known about how to help mothers overcome barriers to engagement in MMT or how MMT may influence mothers' parenting capacity. (read more)
Postpartum Depression and the Impact on Dads
Postpartum mood disorders represent the most frequent form of maternal morbidity following delivery. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major health problem for many women. While maternal PPD have been greatly researched in the last decade, much less is known about the impact of PPD on fathers. (read more)
Supporting Mother-Infant Relationships Affected by Intimate Partner Violence
Researchers at the University of New Brunswick, in collaboration with the University of Prince Edward Island, Dalhousie University and Cape Breton University, are conducting a study investigating the impact of intimate partner violence on a child’s development and on the quality of the mother-child relationship. Recent research has suggested that intimate partner violence may produce alterations in the mother-infant relationship, which in turn may have adverse effects on the child’s psychological and behavioural development. (read more)
Caregiver-child interactions that promote early literacy: A systematic review
The proposed systematic review will uncover the effective caregiver-child interactions (activities, behaviours, programs) that promote language development and literacy in young children. It will consolidate an ample body of literature and provide guidance for policies and professionals affecting young children's literacy and language development. Moreover, in cases where discordant results or insufficient studies are found, this review will provide guidance for future research. (read more)
An RCT to evaluate the effect of home-based peer support on maternal-infant interaction, infant health outcomes, and postpartum depression
Researchers at the University of New Brunswick, in collaboration with the University of Alberta, are conducting a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of a home-based peer support intervention for mothers and their infants affected by postpartum depression (PPD). Research suggests that depressed mothers may not pick up on their infants’ cues and thus, not provide positive feedback or meet their infants’ needs. (read more)
Support for Women who Experienced Postpartum Depression
Annually in Canada, postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 25% of new mothers and is the most common health problem after childbirth. Without support, many women suffer months or years of illness that can have negative long-term impacts on family health and on the intellectual, social, and emotional development of children. Even when support services are available, many women with PPD decline intervention. (read more)
Mothering and Domestic Violence: A Longitudinal Analysis
The quality of the relationships that parents, particularly mothers, have with their children is a potent predictor of children’s future development. (read more)
Factors Affecting Postpartum Depressive Symptoms of Adolescent Mothers
Objective : To assess the extent that antici pated maternal emotions in response to infant care (infant care emotionality or frustration and dissatisfaction with infant crying or fussing, or both), several forms of social support, and socioeconomic status explain fourth-week postpartum depressive symptoms of adolescent mothers. (read more)
Postpartum Depression- article
A lack of social support has consistently been demonstrated to be an important modifiable risk factor for postpartum depression. As such, a greater understanding of specific support variables may assist health professionals in the development of effective preventive interventions. The purpose of this paper was two-fold: (1) to determine if women discriminated between global and relationship-specific perceptions of support, and (2) to examine the influence of global and relationship-specific perceptions of support in the immediate postpartum period on the development of depressive symptomotology at 8 weeks postpartum. (read more)
Postpartum Depression and the Impact on DADS
Postpartum mood disorders represent the most frequent form of maternal morbidity following delivery. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major health problem for many wormen. While maternal PPD have been greatly researched in the last decade, much less is known about the impact of PPD on fathers. (read more)
Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis
Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are serious mood disorders encountered by nurses working in a variety of settings. Postpartum depression refers to a nonpsychotic depressive episode, while postpartum psychosis refers to a manic or affective psychotic episode linked temporally with childbirth.(read more)
Coping and Suicidal Ideations
Objective: To explore the relationship between coping mechanisms and suicidal ideations among women who experience symptoms of postpartum depression.(read more)
Role of Parental Support
Fathers’ ability and availability to provide social support to their depressed
partners and thus promote their children’s development and success may be
influenced by their workforce participation, health, and years of education. This study of 626 children and their families examined the influence of fathers' characteristics on their children's behavioural development, when exposed tomaternal postpartum depression, taking into account known covariates, including sex of the child, family structure, number of children in the household, annual income, and family functioning. For the bahavioural outcomes of anxiety, hyperactivity, and aggression, fathers' workforce participation during the children's first 2 years of life significantly predicted their development over the next 10 years. Most notably, weekend work by fathers was a risk factor, particularly for boys. Thus fathers' characteristics related to their ability and availability to provide social support for their depressed partner appear to predict children's developmental success.(read more)