Child Emotion Center (Lemery-Chalfant)
At the Child Emotion Center, researchers explore early biological and environmental risk and protective factors for later mental and physical health of children. Under the direction of the center's founder Professor Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, graduate and undergraduate students use twin studies to understand how genes and environments work together to influence development. Our methods include measures from multiple levels of analysis, such as genetic, physiological, and behavioral— in order to better understand mechanisms of development and brain-behavior relationships. The overarching goal of the Child Emotion Center is to identify pathways to resilience, or the ability to bounce back from stress and adversity and thrive in life.
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Arizona Twin Project
The Arizona Twin Project is a longitudinal research study focused on understanding the influence of genetic and environmental factors on physical health, emotional development and the development of resilience in a sample of twins. Further, our geographical location makes us especially interested in examining these factors among Hispanic families. Having an ethnically diverse sample allows us to consider the interplay between culture and genetics.
Within the Arizona Twin Project, Dr. Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, Dr. Leah Doane, and Dr. Mary Davis, along with many collaborators, are conducting two overarching studies. One focuses on the genetic and environmental influences on sleep and other biological factors, while the second focuses on physical health and the intergenerational transmission of pain. Utilizing a twin sample allows researchers to disentangle the genetic and environmental contributions on a particular trait. Further, having a highly diverse sample affords us the opportunity to consider the impact of acculturation, as well as the interplay between culture and genetics.
Undergraduate research assistants are needed for the two projects by assisting with participant recruitment, interviewing families with twins, data entry, coding, and becoming exposed to data analysis. This experience will be extremely beneficial for students who plan to apply to graduate school.
Wisconsin Twin Project
The goal of the Wisconsin Twin Project is to uncover characteristics of children and their environment that influence the development of childhood disorders. The disorders we focus on include internalizing disorders such as depression, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety, and externalizing disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By understanding the development of childhood disorders we hope to reveal ways to prevent these problems and help children develop in healthy ways. The longitudinal study is comprised of young twins born in the state of Wisconsin, and includes numerous environmental, physiological, and biological measures.
Early Steps Multisite Study
Early Steps sample was screened and recruited from Women, Infants, and Children’s nutritional supplement centers when children were 2 years old (N= 731 ethnically-diverse families) and families were selected as at risk on multiple domains. The families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up (FCU) preventative intervention, or a control group, and intensively assessed in the homes at ages 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 16 (ongoing). The Principal Investigators of the study are Professors Thomas Dishion, Daniel Shaw, and Melvin Wilson. Professor Lemery-Chalfant joined the team in 2014 to genotype the participants and study how genes and environments work together to influence risk and resilience for psychopathology and drug use in adolescence.
Lab Director and Principal Investigator: Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, PhD, Professor
Dr. Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant is a member of the developmental faculty and also affiliated with the clinical psychology area Her research focuses on risk and resilience processes that impact children’s mental and physical health. She uses genetically-informative study designs, such as twin studies and studies that include genotyping. Professor Lemery-Chalfant received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon, and her doctoral degree in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She joined the faculty at ASU in 2001.
Laboratory Coordinator: Becca Myers, M.S.
Becca coordinates the daily operations of the interdisciplinary Arizona Twin Project and supervises all staff. She received her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Family Studies as well as her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Arizona State University. Her research interests involve child temperament and parental influence on the development of intrinsic motivation as well as perseverance.
Data Collection Coordinator: Martyna Sawicka, M.S.
Martyna coordinates the data collection operations of the interdisciplinary Arizona Twin Project including scheduling, tracking, recruitment, and supervision of the home visit team. She received her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Arizona State University and her master’s degree in Mental Health Studies from King's College London in England. Her research interests include risk and protective factors for psychopathology and psychosocial interventions for psychosis.
Research Specialist: Amanda Fuller, M.S.
Amanda is a research specialist for the Arizona Twin Project. She received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu and her Master's degree in Education, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis, from Arizona State University. Her research interests include drawing connections between the genetic and evolutionary components of learning and behavior in children and adolescents.
Post-doctoral Fellows
Candace Lewis, PhD
Dr. Lewis received her BA in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage (2009), and her doctoral degree in Psychology at Arizona State University (2015). She is currently on a Fulbright fellowship at the University of Zürich characterizing the effects of psilocybin, the active component of magic mushrooms, on neuronal activity with neuroimaging techniques. When she returns to Arizona, Candace will complete a two year post-doctoral Bisgrove fellowship from the Science Foundation Arizona as a joint appointment with the ASU Department of Psychology and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (www.TGen.org). Her research focuses on the relation between early life experiences, epigenetic regulation of health related genes, and behavioral and physiological outcomes in the Arizona Twin Project.
Samantha Miadich, PhD
Dr. Miadich received her BA in Psychology from the University of Dayton, a MA in Clinical Psychology from Ball State University, and her doctoral degree in Health Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research focuses on examining stressors associated with health disparities in children and adolescents with chronic conditions and has previously worked with children with asthma. Additionally, her research interests focus on implementing novel technologies in her work, specifically through ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Dr. Miadich joined the Arizona Twin Project team in fall 2017.
Sierra Clifford, PhD
Sierra's research interests include children’s temperament and mental health, resilience, and behavior genetic methodology, particularly the twin design. Her research is currently focused on the measurement and genetic and environmental etiology of different facets of social withdrawal in childhood. Sierra received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Boise State University and her doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology from Arizona State University.
Doctoral Students
Reagan Styles Breitenstein, Doctoral Student, Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology
Reagan graduated from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, in 2013 with a BS in psychology and a minor in sociology. Reagan is interested in how sleep interacts with and influences stress and emotional health, leading to individual differences in adjustment and well-being. Her master’s thesis focused on the association between familial factors, such as parenting and sibling conflict, and childhood sleep behavior, including the genetic and environmental influences on these relations.
Veronica Oro, Doctoral Student, Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology
Veronica is from New Orleans, LA and received her BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her primary research interest is the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology from parents to offspring and the impact of gene-environment interplay on this transmission. She explores these interests using the twin method and looks forward to further developing her knowledge of the behavior-genetic approach.
Gianna Rea-Sandin, Doctoral Student, Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology
Gianna is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program. In 2012, she earned a BA in Psychology, with a minor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her primary research interests include utilizing the twin design to study children's executive functioning and academic achievement. In terms of behavior genetic methodology, Gianna is particularly interested in the moderation of heritability.
Shannon Moore, Doctoral Student, Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology
Shannon graduated from University of Delaware in 2011 with a BA in psychology and sociology. Her research interests include examining resiliency over the life course, and the impact of socioeconomic factors in the development and management of chronic health conditions. Shannon's master's thesis examined how financial stress, income, and psychosocial resources were related to pain and fatigue in adults with chronic pain. She plans to continue to investigate the intersection between socioeconomic status and physical and mental health well-being.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Abigail Romero
Hayley Sowards
*Navneet Kaur
*Anaelle Ganase
Justin Lodge
Pauline Lee
Ariana Ruof
Kelly Luong
Peter Lucas
Carlie Mills
Kordell Lacy
Robin Jaquez
Cassandra Leedom
Laura Hemphill
Sanya Virani
*Cindy Le
Lily Ludwig
*Trevor Smith
*Derek Tang
Linda Vela
Winter Roth
*Emily Vakulskas
Madison Mcbeath
Hala Tarin
Natalie Arena
* Indicates Honor's Project
Select Publications
* indicates student or post doc trainee
1. *Moore, S., Davis, M., *Lecarie, E., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). The effectiveness of maternal distraction during children’s acute pain: The moderating effect of socioeconomic status. European Journal of Pain.
2. *Miadich, S., *Shrewsbury, A., Doane, L.D., Davis, M.C., Clifford, S. & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Children’s sleep and temperament: Shared genetic etiology and implications for developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13328.
3. *Breitenstein, R. S., Doane, L.D., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Children’s objective sleep assessed with wrist-band accelerometers: Strong heritability unique from parent-reported sleep. Sleep. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa142.
4. Elam, K. K., Clifford, S., *Ruof, A., Shaw, D. S., Wilson, M. N., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Genotype-environment correlation by intervention effects underlying middle childhood peer rejection and associations with adolescent marijuana use. Development and Psychopathology.
5. *Pelham III, W., West, S., Lemery-Chalfant, K., Goodman, S., Wilson, M., Dishion, T., & Shaw, D. (in press). Depression in mothers and behavior problems in children: Moving from association to causation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
6. *Lewis, C. R., *Sowards, H. A., Huentelman, M. J., Doane, L. D., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Epigenetic differences in inflammation genes of monozygotic twins are related to parent-infant emotional availability and health. Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
7. *Lewis, C., *Breitenstein, R. S., Henderson-Smith, A., *Sowards, H. A., *Beekman, C., Huentelman, M. J., Doane, L. D., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Harsh parenting is related to novel HPA receptor gene methylation and NR3C1 methylation predicts cortisol daily slope in middle childhood. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. doi:10.1007/s10571-020-00885-4. PMID: 32472381.
8. *Mauer, V., *Savell, S., *Davis, A., Wilson, M., Shaw, D., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Identification of multiracial adolescents in research samples: An examination and critique of existing practices. Journal of Early Adolescence. doi.org/10.1177/0272431620950471.
9. *Wang, F., *Galán, C. A., Lemery-Chalfant, K., Wilson, M. & Shaw, D. (2020). Evidence for two genetically-distinct pathways to co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence characterized by negative affectivity or behavioral inhibition. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 129, 633-645. doi:10.1037/abn0000525.
10. Clifford, S., Doane, L., *Breitenstein, R. S., Grimm, K., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). Effortful control moderates the relation between electronic media use and objective sleep indicators in childhood. Psychological Science, 31, 822-834. doi.org/10.1177/0956797620919432. PMID: in process.
11. *Wang, F. L., Feldman, J. S., Lemery-Chalfant, K., Wilson, M. N., & Shaw, D. S. (in press). Family-based prevention of adolescents’ co-occurring internalizing/externalizing problems through early childhood parent factors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(11), 1056-1067. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000439. PMID: 31556651.
12. Lemery-Chalfant, K. & Clifford, S. (2020). Temperament and child psychopathology: Specificity in shared genetic effects. Y. Kim (Series Ed.) & K. Saudino and J. Ganiban (Vol. Eds.). Behavior genetics book series: Behavior Genetics of Temperament and Personality. New York: Springer.
13. *Moore, S., Davis, M. & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (in press). Children’s physical pain: relations with maternal and paternal pain and prediction from maternal depressive symptoms and hope during infancy. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 1-10. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2019.1659980. PMID: 31450956.
14. *Rea-Sandin, G., Vasquez-O’Brien, C., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). The protective role of parent positive personality and emotional availability in toddler problem behaviors. Merrill Palmer Quarterly.
15. *Hentges, R. F., Krug, C. M. W., Shaw, D. S., Wilson, M. N., Dishion, T. J., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2020). The long-term indirect effect of the early Family Check-Up intervention on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms via inhibitory control. Development and Psychopathology, 1-11. doi:10.1017/S0954579419001482.
16. Schmidt, N. L., Lemery-Chalfant, K., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2019). Wisconsin Twin Project overview: Temperament and affective neuroscience. Twin Research & Human Genetics, 1-6.
17. *Ebbert, A. M., Infurna, F. J., Luthar, S. S., Lemery-Chalfant, K. & Corbin, W. R. (2019). Examining the link between emotional childhood abuse and social relationships in midlife: The moderating role of the oxytocin receptor gene. Child Abuse and Neglect, 98, 104151. doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104151.
18. Schmidt,N. L., Brooker, R. J., *Carroll,I. C., Gagne,J. R., Luo,Z., *Moore,M. N., *Planalp, E. M., *Sarkisian,K., Schmidt, C. K., Van Hulle,C. A., Lemery-Chalfant, K., & Goldsmith, H. H. (2019). Longitudinal research at the interface of affective neuroscience, developmental psychopathology, health, and behavioral genetics: Findings from the Wisconsin Twin Project. Twin Research & Human Genetics, 22, 233–239. doi:10.1017/thg.2019.55. PMID: 31619304.
19. Lemery-Chalfant, K., *Oro, V., *Rea-Sandin, G., *Miadich, S., *Lecarie, E., Clifford, S., Doane, L. D., & Davis, M. C. (2019). Arizona Twin Project: Specificity in risk and resilience for developmental psychopathology and health. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 22, 681-685. doi:10.1017/thg.2019.113. NIHMS in progress.
20. Elam, K. K., Clifford, S., Shaw, D. S., Wilson, M. N., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2019). Gene set enrichment analysis to create polygenic risk scores: A developmental examination of aggression. Translational Psychiatry, 9(1), 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41398-019-0513-7. PMID: 31477688.
21. Connell, A. M., Shaw, D., Wilson, M., *Danzo, S., Weaver-Krug, C., Lemery-Chalfant, K. &Dishion, T. J. (2019). Indirect effects of the early childhood Family Check-Up on adolescent suicide risk: The mediating role of inhibitory control. Development and Psychopathology, 31(5), 1901-1910. doi: 10.1017/S0954579419000877. PMID: 31370914.
22. *Breitenstein, R. S., Doane, L. D. & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2019). Early life socioeconomic status moderates associations between objective sleep and weight-related indicators in middle childhood. Sleep Health, 5(5), 470-478. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.04.002. PMID: 31153801. NIHMS: 1527562.
23. Brooker, R., *Moore, M. N., Van Hulle, C. A., *Beekman, C. R., *Begnoche, J. P., Lemery-Chalfant, K., & Goldsmith, H. (2019). Attentional control explains covariation between symptoms of Attention Deficity/Hyperactivity Disorder and anxiety during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1-16. doi.org/10.1111/jora.12506. PMID: 31095814.
24. *Miadich, S. A., Doane, L. D., Davis, M. C., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2019). Early parental positive personality and stress: Longitudinal associations with children’s sleep. British Journal of Health Psychology, 24, 629-650. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12372. PubMed PMID: 31004419; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC667591. NIHMS: 1025577.
25. *Castro, S., Infurna, F., Lemery-Chalfant, K., Waldron, V., & Zautra, E. (2019). An online psychoeducational training reverses harmful effects of childhood adversity in midlife. Behavioural Research and Therapy, 118, 65-76. doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2019.03.012. PMID: 30999262.
26. *Lewis, C. R., *Henderson-Smith, A., *Breitenstein, R. S., *Sowards, H. A., Huentelman, M. J., Doane, L. D. & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2019). Dopaminergic gene methylation is associated with cognitive performance in a childhood monozygotic twin study. Epigenetics, 14(3), 310-323. doi: 10.1080/15592294.2019.1583032. PMID: 30806146.
27. *Rea-Sandin, G., Clifford, S., Valiente, C., & Lemery-Chalfant., K. (2019). Toddler risk and protective characteristics: Common and unique genetic and environmental influences. Social Development, 28(2), 482-498. doi: 10.1111/sode.12347. NIHMS: 995920, PMID: 31543571.
28. Shaw, D. S., *Galán, C. A., Lemery-Chalfant, K., Dishion, T. J., Elam, K. K., Wilson, M. N., & Gardner, F. (2019). Trajectories and predictors of children’s early-starting conduct problems: Child, family, genetic, and intervention effects. Development and Psychopathology, 31(5), 1911-1921. doi:10.1017/S0954579419000828. PMID: 31370912.
29. Doane, L. D., *Breitenstein, R. S., *Beekman, C., *Clifford, S., *Smith, T. J. & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2019). Early life socioeconomic disparities in children’s sleep: The mediating role of the current HOME environment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(1), 56-70. doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0917-3. PMID: 30121716. NIHMS: 1504214.
30. Davis, M. C., Lemery-Chalfant, K., *Yeung, E. W., Luecken, L., Zautra, A.J. & Irwin, M. R. (2019). Interleukin-6 and depressive mood symptoms: Mediators of the association between childhood abuse and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 52(1), 29-38. doi: 10.1093/abm/kay014. PMID: 29562248.
31. Lemery-Chalfant, K., Clifford, S., Dishion, T. J., Shaw, D. S., & Wilson, M. N. (2018). Genetic moderation of effects of the Family Check-Up intervention on children’s internalizing symptoms: A longitudinal study with a racially/ethnically diverse sample. Development and Psychopathology, 30, 1729-1747. doi.org/10.1017/S095457941800127X. PMID: 30451141.
32. *Breitenstein, R. S., Doane, L. D., *Clifford, S., & Lemery-Chalfant, K. (2018). Children’s sleep and daytime functioning: Increasing heritability and environmental associations with sibling conflict. Social Development, 27(4), 967-983. doi.org/10.1111/sode.12302. PMID: 30686863.
33. Van Hulle, C., Lemery-Chalfant, K. & Goldsmith, H. H. (2018). Parent-offspring transmission of internalizing and sensory over-responsivity symptoms in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(3), 557-567. doi: 10.1007/s10802-017-0300-y. PMID: 28393325.
Dean’s Medalist from the Department of Psychology for 2013 Outstanding Graduate, Emily Thurston, has also been named by the ASU Alumni Association as the 2013 Outstanding Graduate in the Natural Sciences and received the Best Thesis Award from the Department of Psychology. As a psychology major and Barret Honors College student, Emily also conducted research with department chair Dr. Keith Crnic. Emily’s career goals are to continue her work with children under stress and will be applying to doctoral programs in clinical psychology. Congratulations Emily!!