Welcome to the Development, Risk, and Resilience Lab. Our goal is to understand when and under what circumstances developmental trajectories of children begin to diverge from normative trajectories among families who are struggling with substance abuse and related issues (e.g., mental health symptoms; caregiving unpredictability). The Development, Risk, and Resilience Lab is interested in how prenatal and early adversities shape the development of children’s self-regulation; how these associations may be mediated or moderated by parenting quality; and applying this understanding to prevention. We are also working to understand protective factors that promote resilience in children in the face of early adversities. 

Our research is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Featured Articles

Maternal Depression and Child Engagement in the first 2 years of life

Aug. 26, 2021 // Anxiety and Depression Association of America

News and Events

The DRR Lab is Hiring!

Postdoctoral position at Penn State Department of Psychology!  Candidates will have opportunity to take the lead on papers and presentations using data from an ongoing clinical trial. The aims of this trial are to examine the intervention effects on fathers’/partners’...

Dr. Kristin Perry presents at SRCD

This spring, Dr. Kristin Perry presented at the Society for Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, the Society for Research on Adolescence Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA and the Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting in...

Rachel Level defends her dissertation!

Rachel Level successfully defended her dissertation titled “Maternal Anger in the Perinatal Period” on May 23, 2023. Rachel will be completing her clinical internship this coming year at Alleghany Health Network in Pittsburgh, PA. Congratulations, Rachel!

Lab Spotlight

Katrina and Miglena pose with their poster
Megan poses with her poster at the conference.
Tommy poses with his poster at PsiChi

Child Study Center awards Katrina Herrera the Harold Hinman Memorial Scholarship

Katrina Herrera, an undergraduate research assistant in the Development, Risk, and Resilience Lab, was awarded the Harold Hinman Memorial Scholarship for her work in psychology. Consideration is given to all undergraduate students enrolled as baccalaureate degree candidates in Psychology who have expressed the intention of pursuing careers in industry. This is a competitive award and students must be nominated by a faculty member within the Department of Psychology. Congratulations, Katrina!

Great job, Megan!

Megan Suomela, a graduating undergraduate research assistant, completed and presented her senior thesis at the 2022 Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Conference. She investigated the effects of gender and age of ADHD diagnosis on the quality of life and psychological functioning in adults with ADHD.

Great work, Tommy!

Tommy Bennett, an undergraduate research assistant, presented a literature review project at the 2022 Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Conference, examining the research of interventions related to emotional neglect and abuse of LGBTQ+ youth.