The candidate has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and an M.P.H. in Maternal and Child Health and is currently an Assistant Professor in Sociology. She has begun scientific work related to child neglect in high-risk populations. Her immediate K01 goals are: (1) to develop a systematic program of longitudinal research on child neglect particularly exploring the possible role of maternal responsibility, depression, and social support as significant etiologic factors in child neglect among adolescent mothers; and (2) to enhance her analytical skills for testing and refining complex, longitudinal, and interactive models of development. Her long-term objectives include: (1) designing and conducting multi-disciplinary, multi-site longitudinal studies to prevent child neglect; and (2) integrating theories and research findings from the fields of developmental psychology, social demography, and maternal and child health. This application describes a 5-year plan for didactic training, mentored research experience, and increasing independence in the conduct of research. She will be working with nationally recognized experts in the field. The proposed study builds directly upon a recently funded NICHD 4-site longitudinal study of child neglect (John Borkowski, P.I.; Dr. Sharon Ramey, Co- P.I. at UAB site), and specifically expands the scientific inquiry and planned data analyses among adolescent mothers to include an adolescent development construct. The overall hypothesis guiding the proposed work is that child neglect among adolescent mothers may be compounded by their stage of development and lack of experience, greater levels and/or fluctuations in depression, and inadequate or wavering social support. The behavior of 100 adolescent mothers (primaparous) will be compared to that of a matched sample of 50 adolescents who are not mothers and a matched sample of 50 adult mothers. Innovative aspects of the proposed research include the recruitment of an additional comparison sample of age-matched females to provide normative, longitudinal data; the use of cell phone methodology to obtain new measures regarding adolescent mood fluctuations and changes in the composition and adequacy of their social support networks; the creation of a general """"""""adolescent responsibility index"""""""" and the development and application of a structured dialogue to probe both adolescent and adult mothers' perceptions of """"""""child neglect."""""""" This research is of paramount significance because there are alarming rates of child neglect among adolescent and high-risk mothers and limited understanding of the maternal developmental factors related to the onset, severity, and duration of child neglect.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01HD042173-06
Application #
7033917
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-DSR-H (02))
Program Officer
Maholmes, Valerie
Project Start
2002-04-15
Project End
2007-09-30
Budget Start
2006-04-01
Budget End
2007-09-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$84,078
Indirect Cost
Name
Georgetown University
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
049515844
City
Washington
State
DC
Country
United States
Zip Code
20057
Patchen, Loral; Lanzi, Robin Gaines (2013) Maternal depression and rapid subsequent pregnancy among first time mothers. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 38:215-20
Lanzi, Robin Gaines; Ramey, Sharon Landesman; Bert, Shannon Carothers (2012) The parenting responsibility and emotional preparedness (PREP) screening tool: a 3-item screen that identifies teen mothers at high risk for nonoptimal parenting. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 166:749-55
Waggoner, Miranda R; Lanzi, Robin Gaines; Klerman, Lorraine V (2012) Pregnancy intentions, long-acting contraceptive use, and rapid subsequent pregnancies among adolescent and adult first-time mothers. J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs 25:96-104
Patchen, L; Caruso, D; Lanzi, R G (2009) Poor maternal mental health and trauma as risk factors for a short interpregnancy interval among adolescent mothers. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 16:401-3
Bert, Shannon Carothers; Guner, Bella Mironovna; Lanzi, Robin Gaines et al. (2009) The Influence of Maternal History of Abuse on Parenting Knowledge and Behavior. Fam Relat 58:176-187
Lanzi, Robin Gaines; Bert, Shannon Carothers; Jacobs, Bette Keltner et al. (2009) Depression among a sample of first-time adolescent and adult mothers. J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs 22:194-202
Lefever, Jennifer Burke; Howard, Kimberly S; Lanzi, Robin Gaines et al. (2008) Cell phones and the measurement of child neglect: the validity of the parent-child activities interview. Child Maltreat 13:320-33