Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

Parent-Child

Dynamics Lab

Welcome to the Parent-Child Dynamics Lab!

In the Parent-Child Dynamics Lab, we study ways that parenting and parent-child interaction patterns influence child development. We use dynamic time series analysis to examine how parents and children coordinate their emotions, behaviors, and physiology, and how this coordination is related to the development of children’s self-regulation and behavior problems in early childhood. We also examine how parent-child interaction patterns relate to resilience and risk in the family, such as risk for child maltreatment, and how a better understanding of these patterns can inform the development and improvement of preventive interventions for stressed and overburdened families.

Recent News

Dr. Kayla Brown passes doctoral defense

Congratulations to the Parent-Child Dynamics Lab's newest PhD! Dr. Kayla Brown successfully defended her dissertation work to her committee on December 14, 2021. Dr. Brown's dissertation is titled, "Parent-child coregulation in early childhood: novel methodological...

Dr. Frances Lobo passes doctoral defense

Congratulations to recent Parent-Child Dynamics Lab doctoral graduate, Dr. Frances Lobo! On June 8, 2021, Dr. Lobo successfully defended her dissertation work, titled "Disentangling adaptive and maladaptive parent-child variability in early childhood." We are very...

Zainab Akef receives Thomas G. Bowers Award

Congratulations to PCD Lab member Zainab Akef for being acknowledged with the Thomas G. Bowers Award for Excellence in Applied Clinical Psychology! This award recognizes rigor in both research and clinical practice. Way to go, Zainab!

Key Findings

Maternal scaffolding and directive dynamics vary by risk status

Parent RSA reactivity and symptom risk profiles predict child dysregulation

Dyadic contingency and flexibility may be adaptive or maladaptive

Parental emotion socialization is a dynamic, dyadic process