Gerontology Research Laboratory. The Gerontology Research Lab is supervised by Kimberly Wallace, Ph.D. The primary focus of work in this lab is on the psychological (e.g., personality dimensions) and environmental (e.g., social support) factors that contribute to optimal or successful outcomes in later life. In particular, faculty and students are interested in why people age differently, the multidimensional nature of resilience in older adulthood, and whether resources in one area of functioning can be used to compensate for decrements in other areas. Current research includes a quantitative and qualitative study of resilience in Native American older adults.

Mothering Project. The Mothering Project, supervised by Lois Muir, Ph.D., followed a sample of women from the third trimester of pregnancy through the ninth year after the birth.  Data collection at six points in time followed changes in the mother and her development in relation to the child’s development.  This extensive data set includes measures related to temperament, attachment, intelligence, parenting style, child behavior, maternal attitudes and perceptions, labor and delivery conditions and maternal identity.  Data collected on a separate sample included heart rate and behavioral measures during mother- and father-infant interaction.

Parent-Child Relationship Laboratory. This laboratory, supervised by Paul S. Silverman, Ph.D., has focused on the relationships between exposure to interparental discord, young children's emotional coping strategies, and children's adjustment. Currently, we are exploring avenues of further research on the roles of "denial" and "emotional numbing" in children's adjustment to interparental conflict. In addition, students and faculty are examining attachment style assessment techniques in school-age children, and the process and efficacy of therapy for Reactive Attachment Disorder. Previous studies include a longitudinal study of the relationship between risk and protective factors and subsequent adjustment in middle school children and an examination of humanistic immersion intervention with an autistic child.

Parent-Infant Research Laboratory. Supervised by Lynne Sanford Koester, Ph.D., this laboratory is equipped to investigate numerous aspects of early infant development, usually within the context of parent-infant interactions. Currently, data are being collected and analyzed for studies of contingency responding by mothers, variations on the "Still-Face" procedure, eye gaze and affective behavior by infants during face-to-face interactions, and maternal support of infants' motor development and regulatory needs. In addition, a large set of archival data is available in the form of videotaped observations of deaf and hearing infants with either deaf or hearing parents, when the infants were 6, 9, 12, and 18 months old. Procedures at various ages include face-to-face interactions, free play, mastery motivation tasks, a maternal teaching task, a self-recognition "rouge test," and the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Background data are also available on stress and support within the families, particularly in relation to the diagnosis of infant deafness. This study provides a rare source of information regarding the development of children for whom deafness is a significant factor. Current analyses of the data include the latent growth modeling of maternal contingency from 9 months to 18 months of age, its impact on infant attention and emotion, and associations with dyadic cohesion during a teaching task.

Related Research Interests

National Rural Bioethics Project. The National Rural Bioethics Project is conducting multi-method research, in a 14 state area, in order to identify: (1) the ethical issues encountered by rural healthcare providers; (2) the frequency with which such issues occur; (3) the processes used by rural healthcare providers to respond to and resolve such issues; and (4) the training resources, materials and services that would help rural healthcare providers respond to ethics-related problems. Ann Cook, Ph.D. and Helena Hoas, Ph.D. are currently implementing a three-year multi-method, intervention study that would improve patient safety in rural healthcare settings, and encourage the disclosure and reduction of error in rural healthcare settings by:

· Exploring the relationship between the organizational factors and working conditions that directly influence the rural healthcare provider, the delivery of patient care, and the identification, discussion and disclosure of medical errors, near misses, and adverse events;
· Using the data from all previous research studies to increase patient safety by working with inter-disciplinary teams in rural hospitals to develop and implement a web-based education intervention that is accessible to rural healthcare providers and designed to raise awareness, encourage reporting, and build skills to address adverse events;
· Assessing the impact of interventions on the safety and quality of patient care in rural hospitals.

Perceptual and Cognitive Development. Arlene Walker-Andrews, Ph.D., conducts research on infants’ developing perception and understanding of object and events, including social events. Infants’ understanding of the emotional expressions of their parents has been a recent focus. Infants appear to recognize their mothers’ expressions by 3 months of age, their fathers’ at the same time or soon thereafter, depending on the extent of father-infant interactions. Recognition of unfamiliar persons’ emotional expression does not occur for several more months. In addition, Dr. Walker-Andrews examines the children’s understanding and use of pretend play beginning at about 18 months of age. Children seem to begin by imitating the pretense of others, becoming more sophisticated in their play and understanding of others’ pretense by age 4 years. A third area of research emphasizes cognitive development during adulthood. The latter project uses an analysis of narratives to document changes in the complexity of thought from early to late adulthood.

Rural Institute on Disabilities. The Rural Institute on Disabilities, funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), promotes excellence in disabilities education, research, and service. In addition, efforts at the Rural Institute are focused on fostering the increased independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of individuals with disabilities. For example, on-going projects are being conducted on a variety of disability related topics, including health promotion, health maintenance, rural rehabilitation, early intervention, social security incentives, and independent living. For a more complete listing of projects and additional information about the Institute, please visit the Rural Institute on Disabilities website.