Laura Murphy - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Laura Murphy

Pediatric research, Apr 15, 2024

Environmental Health Perspectives, Jun 1, 2022

The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013

To determine demographic, maternal, and child factors associated with socioemotional (SE) problem... more To determine demographic, maternal, and child factors associated with socioemotional (SE) problems and chronic stress in 1-year-old children. This was a prospective, longitudinal, community-based study, which followed mother-infant dyads (n = 1070; representative of race, education, and income status of Memphis/Shelby County, Tennessee) from midgestation into early childhood. Child SE development was measured using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment in all 1097 1-year-olds. Chronic stress was assessed by hair cortisol in a subsample of 1-year-olds (n = 297). Multivariate regression models were developed to predict SE problems and hair cortisol levels. More black mothers than white mothers reported SE problems in their 1-year-olds (32.9% vs 10.2%; P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). In multivariate regression, SE problems in blacks were predicted by lower maternal education, greater parenting stress and maternal psychological distress, and higher cyclothymic personality score. In whites, predictors of SE problems were Medicaid insurance, higher maternal depression score at 1 year, greater parenting stress and maternal psychological distress, higher dysthymic personality score, and male sex. SE problem scores were associated with higher hair cortisol levels (P = .01). Blacks had higher hair cortisol levels than whites (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001). In the entire subsample, increased hair cortisol levels were associated with higher parenting stress (P = .001), lower maternal depression score (P = .01), lower birth length (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .001), and greater length at 1 year of age (P = .003). Differences in maternal education, insurance, mental health, and early stress may disrupt SE development in children. Complex relationships between hair cortisol level in 1-year-olds and maternal parenting stress and depression symptoms suggest dysregulation of the…

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Maternal adversity and prenatal stress confer risk for child behavioral health problems. Few stud... more Maternal adversity and prenatal stress confer risk for child behavioral health problems. Few studies have examined this intergenerational process across multiple dimensions of stress; fewer have explored potential protective factors. Using a large, diverse sample of mother–child dyads, we examined associations between maternal childhood trauma, prenatal stressors, and offspring socioemotional-behavioral development, while also examining potential resilience-promoting factors. The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning and Early Childhood (CANDLE) study prospectively followed 1503 mother–child dyads (65% Black, 32% White) from pregnancy. Exposures included maternal childhood trauma, socioeconomic risk, intimate partner violence, and geocode-linked neighborhood violent crime during pregnancy. Child socioemotional-behavioral functioning was measured via the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (mean age = 1.1 years). Maternal social support and parenti...

British Journal of Haematology, Oct 20, 2022

The main goals of the study were to replicate and measure the test-retest reliability of a previo... more The main goals of the study were to replicate and measure the test-retest reliability of a previously used preschool working memory task, to analyze the relationship between working memory and school readiness above and beyond attention and an indicator of overall development, and to investigate these relationships for gender differences. Participants included 40 (20 girls and 20 boys) 3-and 4-year olds, and testing was broken into two sessions spaced 1 week apart. The test-retest reliability of preschool working memory was found to be r = .60. Further analyses demonstrated that while attention and working memory were significantly correlated with one another, working memory was a significant predictor of school readiness above and beyond the predictive ability of children's sustained attention. Specifically, for boys, working memory was a significant predictor of school readiness above and beyond both attention and developmental status, but this was not the case for girls. These findings highlight the utility of this preschool working memory methodology as well as the importance of working memory above and beyond other related constructs at this stage of child development. Additionally, and perhaps worthy of consideration in future research, these findings also suggest notable gender-based differences in working memory during the preschool period.

Environmental Health Perspectives

Research in Developmental Disabilities

BACKGROUND Many children with autism and intellectual disability (ID) experience executive functi... more BACKGROUND Many children with autism and intellectual disability (ID) experience executive functioning (EF) difficulties. However, there is minimal research on EF skills in children with autism, ID, and co-occurring autism/ID in early childhood. AIMS To address this gap in the research, we evaluated EF profiles using the BRIEF-P among early childhood children (2-5 years of age) with autism, ID, and co-occurring autism/ID. METHOD AND PROCEDURES Participants in the current study were 87 children between the ages of 24 and 71 months (M = 46.8, SD = 12.7) diagnosed with autism (n = 24, 27.6 %), ID (n = 23, 26.4 %), or co-occurring autism/ID (n = 40, 46.0 %) that completed a comprehensive psychological evaluation at a university development center. We used a mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and between- and within-subjects ANOVAs as follow-up analyses. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Results suggested that early childhood children with autism, ID, and autism/ID may have unique EF skill profiles. Children with ID exhibited the most significant EF impairments and children with autism had the least. Working memory was the most impaired EF domain across all diagnostic groups. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Overall, our findings show that early childhood children with autism, ID, and autism/ID exhibit difficulties in EF skills. Children with ID exhibit the most significant EF impairments whereas children with autism show the least. However, regardless of diagnosis, working memory is the most impaired EF skill.

ISEE Conference Abstracts, 2020

ISEE Conference Abstracts

Abstract: Emerging data suggest that vitamin D status during childhood and adolescence can affect... more Abstract: Emerging data suggest that vitamin D status during childhood and adolescence can affect neurocognitive development. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether gestational 25(OH)D status is associated with early childhood cognitive and receptive language development. The Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood Study (CANDLE) study enrolled 1503 mother-child dyads during the second trimester of healthy singleton pregnancies from Shelby County TN. Among 1020 participants of the total CANDLE cohort for whom 25(OH)D levels were available, mean gestational 25(OH)D level during the second trimester was 22.3 ng/mL (range 5.9–68.4), with 41.7 % of values <20 ng/dL. Cognitive and language scaled

Most research on parenting stress and abuse factors in parents of children with developmental dis... more Most research on parenting stress and abuse factors in parents of children with developmental disabilities has relied almost exclusively on Caucasian, middle-income, intact families. The current study investigated the generalizability of previous findings, examining the relations among parenting stress, abuse potential, and child's intellectual/adaptive functioning in a sample of low-income African American mothers of children with developmental delays. Thirty-three maternal caregivers completed the Child Abuse Potential Inventory and the Parenting Stress Index. Results indicated significant parenting stress, particularly aspects related to the child, as well as considerable physical abuse potential. Parenting stress was strongly correlated with abuse potential, particularly stress related to parental attributes. Neither parenting stress nor abuse potential were significantly correlated with the child's intellectual or adaptive functioning. Concerns regarding the appropria...

New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 1998

The current study evaluated the applicability of the Australian adaptations of the Wechsler Intel... more The current study evaluated the applicability of the Australian adaptations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -- Third Edition and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale -- Fourth Edition for a Dunedin sample of children. Previous research with earlier versions of the measures suggested that New Zealanders obtain scores at or above those of the U.S. normative sample. Ninety children participated, 60 between ages 5 to 8 receiving the SB-FE and 60 between ages 7 to 10 receiving the WISC-III (thus, 7- and 8-year-olds received both tests). Contrary to previous research, the current Dunedin sample obtained means comparable to the American norms. Limitations due to sample characteristics and sample size are discussed. Historically, intelligence testing has been a polemic issue. Charges against intelligence testing are numerous and varied, including concerns regarding the biased, reductionistic, and limited predictive qualities of intelligence tests (Sattler, 1992). Doubts abo...

Pediatric Research

BACKGROUND: Early life stress has enduring effects on physical and mental health. Hair cortisol c... more BACKGROUND: Early life stress has enduring effects on physical and mental health. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) reflect exposures to contextual stressors in early life, but are understudied in preschool children. METHODS: Hair samples from children (N = 693) during clinic visits (CVs) scheduled at 1-4 years (CV1-CV4) were measured using validated assay methods for HCC. RESULTS: HCCs were highest at CV1 and decreased at CV2-CV4, with no sex differences. Black children had higher HCC than White/ other children; these differences persisted even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Bivariable analyses showed significant effects on HCC for Black race, with specific demographic and psychosocial factors at different ages. Multivariable analyses showed that higher HCC at CV1 were associated with Black race and male sex; at CV2 with Black race, lower maternal self-esteem, socioeconomic adversity, and the child's risk for developmental delay; at CV3 with Black race; at CV4 with maternal depression and the child's prior HCC values. CONCLUSIONS: HCCs were higher in Black children than White/other races; differences were related to maternal factors, socioeconomic adversity, and the child's risk for developmental delay. Public health measures to reduce disparities between Blacks and other races must also consider the long-term effects of chronic stress in early life.

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Background Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with developmen... more Abstract Background Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with developmental outcomes and parenting stress, it is not known how all variables interact with each other. We estimated prospective associations between ASD screening scores at 24 months and socio-emotional-cognitive development at 36 months while considering parenting stress as a potential moderator of the outcome. Methods Using the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood data, ASD-risk behaviors at 24 months and child maturity levels in social, emotional, and cognitive domains at 36 months were reported (N = 1100). Results The number of ASD-type behaviors at 24 months was significantly associated with the socio-emotional-cognitive risk index at 36 months (B = .31, p Conclusions ASD screening scores and parenting stress interact together to have an effect on later child developmental competence. This study suggests that interventions towards early ASD symptoms and parenting stress could enhance subsequent child developmental competence, which is a strong building block for early school readiness and personal success.