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My research involves the
complementary study of normal and abnormal development.
The basic strategy of that research is to define the
salient developmental issues for each period, then trace
normative pathways and delineate developmental
deviations. The focus of my recent work is on adjustment
in adolescence and the transition to adulthood. The
longitudinal approach allows study of continuity and
change from infancy forward. (See the
Minnesota
Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children research lab.)
One emphasis has been to
outline the changing nature of peer competence from early
childhood through adolescence. Preschool children face
the challenge of entry into the peer group and
development of interactive skills. Beyond these, in
middle childhood forming close same-gender friendships,
coordinating these with functioning in the same-gender
peer group, and maintenance of clear gender boundaries
become important. Adolescents have the task of
coordinating close friendships, same gender group
functioning, cross-gender group functioning and
cross-gender dyadic relationships.
The research articulates
a general model of development and psychopathology where
behavior is seen as a joint product of past history and
current circumstances. Assessments of early experience
and current contexts together always predict
psychopathology better than either alone. Early
experience does not directly or solely cause later
problems yet has a special role through framing of
subsequent experience. Tests of this idea include showing
that foundations add to current contexts in predicting
pathology and that troubled children having positive
early foundations are more likely to recover than
troubled children who do not. The obverse case is also
true. Children with histories of anxious attachment who
are functioning well are more likely to have problems in
adolescence than are other well-functioning children.
For more on Dr. Sroufe's research with Byron Egeland
and Andrew Collins see "Poverty:
how much does it matter?"
Recent
publications
Roisman, G., Sroufe, L. A., Madsen, S., & Collins, W. A. (2001).
The coherence of dyadic behavior across parent-child and romantic
relationships as mediated by the internalized representation of
experience. Attachment and Human Development, 3, 156-172.
Roisman, G., Padrón, E., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2002).
Earned-secure attachment status in retrospect and prospect.
Child Development, 73, 1204-1219.
Sroufe, L. A., Erickson, M., & Friedrich, W. (2002). Attachment
theory and attachment therapy. American Professional Society on the
Abuse of Children Advisor, 14, (Fall), 4-6.
Yates, T., Dodds, M., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2003).
Exposure to partner violence and child behavior problems:
Controlling for child- directed abuse, child cognitive ability,
family income, and life stress. Development and Psychopathology,
15, 199-218.
Carlson, E., Sampson, M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2003). Attachment theory
and pediatric practice. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral
Pediatrics, 24 (5), 364-379.
Carlson, E.A., Sroufe, L.A., & Egeland, B. (2004). The construction
of experience: A longitudinal study of representation and behavior.
Child Development, 75(1), 66-83.
Appleyard, K., Egeland, B., van Dulmen, M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2005).
When more is not better: The role of cumulative risk in child
behavior outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
46, 235-245.
Burt, K., Carlivati, J., Sroufe, L. A., Appleyard, K., van Dulmen,
M., Egeland, B., Forman, D., & Carlson, E. (in press). Mediating
links between maternal depression and offspring psychopathology: The
importance of independent data. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry.
Shaffer, A., & Sroufe, L. A. (in press). The Developmental and
adaptational implications of generational boundary dissolution:
Findings from a prospective, longitudinal study. Journal of
Emotional Abuse.
Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E., & Collins, W. A. (2005)
The Development of the Person: The Minnesota Study of Risk and
Adaptation from Birth to Adulthood. New York: Guilford
Publications.
Revised November 2006
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