Biological Underpinnings of Maternal Attachment in High Risk Populations

高危人群母性依恋的生物学基础

• 批准号: 9213835
• 负责人: JEANNE L ALHUSEN
• 金额: $ 12.98万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-09-02 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9213835
• 关键词: Biological; Underpinnings; Maternal; Attachment; Risk

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This K23 application prepares the candidate, Jeanne Alhusen, PhD, for a research-intensive career leading multidisciplinary efforts to improve early childhood outcomes in children targeted by early intervention programs in community settings. Specifically, I aim to become an expert in the biological and psychological underpinnings of maternal attachment and its influence on maternal-child physiological attunement, and ultimately early childhood outcomes. Understanding these relations is critical in understanding, from a biological perspective, how secure maternal attachment may confer developmental advantages in young children living in poverty and how maternal biology can impact the effectiveness of early interventions. The overall aims of this proposal are to (a) examine the relations among maternal cortisol, oxytocin, attachment style, sensitivity, (b) examine the moderating role of maternal-child cortisol attunement on the association between maternal attachment style and maternal sensitivity and (c) examine the associations between maternal-child cortisol attunement and early childhood outcomes in 75 mother-child dyads living in urban poverty. In the short-term, the current proposal will allow me to gain the skills and expertise to conduct mentored research on the biological and psychological underpinnings of maternal attachment and their relation to maternal sensitivity, maternal-child physiological attunement, and ultimately early childhood outcomes. To accomplish this, I need to acquire a fundamentally different skill set. My training plan is explicitly designed to address gaps in my knowledge of maternal attachment and its related biological processes (i.e., cortisol, oxytocin) that may compromise early childhood outcomes. Short-term training objectives include training in 1) biological measures of attachment and stress, 2) parent-child interaction assessment, 3) advanced training in treatment outcome research and related statistical analyses and, 4) skills requisite for a successful academic career (i.e., responsible conduct of research, grantsmanship, leading interdisciplinary teams). These training goals, together with the specific aims of the research plan, will lead to an R01 application, the theme of which will be incorporating the biological underpinnings of attachment into developing interventions to improve maternal attachment which will ultimately improve caregiving quality and early childhood outcomes. Throughout the mentored award period, the candidate will work under the supervision of Dr. Gayle Page, Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Linda Bullock, the University of Virginia, experts in biobehavioral and maternal mental health research, respectively. The candidate will also receive mentorship from three senior consultants (Dr. Lane Strathearn, Dr. Lisa Berlin, Dr. Sharon Ghazarian) with complementary areas of expertise, carefully selected to address each of her training goals.

 描述(由申请人提供)：这份K23申请为候选人珍妮·阿尔胡森博士做好准备，她将从事研究密集的职业生涯，领导多学科努力，改善社区环境中早期干预计划目标儿童的早期儿童结果。具体地说，我的目标是成为一名专家，研究母性依恋的生物和心理基础及其对母子生理调谐的影响，最终达到儿童早期的结果。了解这些关系对于从生物学角度理解安全的母性依恋如何为生活在贫困中的幼儿带来发展优势，以及母性生物学如何影响早期干预措施的有效性至关重要。这项建议的总体目标是：(A)研究母体皮质醇、催产素、依恋方式、敏感性之间的关系；(B)研究母子皮质醇调节对母体依恋方式与母体敏感性之间的关系的调节作用；(C)考察75对生活在城市贫困中的母子双方的母子皮质醇调节与儿童早期结局之间的关系。在短期内，目前的提议将使我能够获得技能和专业知识，以进行关于母亲依恋的生物和心理基础的指导研究，以及它们与母亲敏感性、母子生理协调以及最终儿童早期结果的关系。要做到这一点，我需要获得一套从根本上不同的技能。我的培训计划明确旨在解决我在母亲依恋及其相关生物过程(如皮质醇、催产素)方面的知识空白，这些过程可能会危及儿童的早期结果。短期培训目标包括以下方面的培训：1)依恋和压力的生物测量，2)亲子互动评估，3)治疗结果研究和相关统计分析方面的高级培训，4)成功学术生涯所需的技能(即负责任地进行研究、提供助学金、领导跨学科团队)。这些培训目标以及研究计划的具体目标将导致R01的应用，其主题将是将依恋的生物学基础纳入制定干预措施，以改善母亲依恋，最终改善照料质量和幼儿结果。在整个指导获奖期内，候选人将在约翰·霍普金斯大学的盖尔·佩奇博士和弗吉尼亚大学的琳达·布洛克博士的指导下工作，他们分别是生物行为和产妇心理健康研究的专家。候选人还将得到三位资深顾问(莱恩·斯特拉瑟恩博士、丽莎·伯林博士、莎伦·加扎里安博士)的指导，这些顾问具有互补的专业知识领域，经过精心挑选，以实现她的每一项培训目标。