IDENTIFYING MECHANISMS OF RISK

Our lab investigates how early life stressors influence trajectories of development, with a particular focus on biological and social processes that are implicated in risk for a broad array of physical and mental health problems. Although some of our research examines the impact of particular stressors, like maternal depression or poverty, most of our research projects examine cumulative early life stress, given the frequent co-occurrence of stressful experiences for at-risk youth.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Raposa, E. B. & Hammen, C. (2018). A daily diary investigation of the influence of early family adversity on social functioning during the transition to adulthood. Social Development, 27, 431-446. [Link to PDF]

Raposa, E. B., Hammen, C., Brennan, P., & Najman, J. (2015). Characteristics of close friendships in young adulthood as a pathway from early adversity to depressive symptoms. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 44(5), 742-750. [Link to PDF]

Raposa, E. B., Hammen, C., Bower, J., Brennan, P., & Najman, J. (2014). A developmental pathway from early adversity to inflammation: The role of negative health behaviors. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1268-1274. [Link to PDF]