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Papers by Terri Combs-orme

Journal of Mental Health & Clinical Psychology

PeerJ

Trauma and related fear exert significant influence on mental and physical health throughout the ... more Trauma and related fear exert significant influence on mental and physical health throughout the lifespan and are associated with intergenerational patterns of development, health, and behavior. DNA methylation and gene expression are involved in our developmental adaptations to our experiences and can be influenced by social interventions. Patterns of DNA methylation and expression of a gene involved in neurodevelopment and psychiatric risk (BDNF) have been linked with childhood trauma. Given the intergenerational patterns of health and behavior, and previous links between childhood trauma and BDNF methylation and expression, this study investigated the potential for maternal history of traumatic experiences to influence development in her newborn, via changes in her newborn’s BDNF methylation and expression. We found that mothers’ trauma history was associated with epigenetic regulation of BDNF in their newborns. Moreover, the association between maternal trauma and BDNF methylati...

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Journal of Teaching in Social Work

The British Journal of Social Work

Social work research & abstracts

Background and Purpose Neuroscience research demonstrates that rapid brain development in the fir... more Background and Purpose Neuroscience research demonstrates that rapid brain development in the first three years of life makes infancy unique, and parenting of infants has long-lasting effects. Yet research has not examined parents’ understanding of the importance of early brain development. Such information seems crucial for designing and delivering effective parenting interventions. This study examines African-Americans’ parenting cognitions about 0-3 development and parenting, in order to minimize confounding effects of culture and avoid a Eurocentric approach, which is frequently seen in parenting research. Objectives were to: identify distinct subgroups of African-American based on cognitions about early development; describe those subgroups; and examine how these cognitions influence beliefs likely to influence parenting behavior. Methods We interviewed 222 consecutive African-American mothers of children in waiting rooms (all there for well-child care or mild illnesses) of fiv...

Purpose: One of the major tenets of social work practice addresses the person-in-environment. How... more Purpose: One of the major tenets of social work practice addresses the person-in-environment. However, social work has yet to adequately address the complexities of identity development for African Americans who live in the historically hostile environment of the US. More so than any other group of minority citizens, the historical plight of the African-in-America is one filled with civil rights violations, separate and unequal treatment, cultural mistrust, and uncertainty. As a result, many African Americans struggle with the concept of racial identity and are forced to cope either consciously or subconsciously with the development of bicultural identities or viewing themselves as raceless. Understanding of the development of racial self-identity is particularly important for the development and effective delivery of services to African-American youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between environmental racial composition and racial identity attitudes of...

Social Work Research and Abstracts, 1986

ABSTRACT

Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2015

Encyclopedia of Social Work, 2013

American journal of preventive medicine

This study examines whether 72 infant deaths in one urban neighborhood in one year could have bee... more This study examines whether 72 infant deaths in one urban neighborhood in one year could have been prevented and if so, how. The neighborhood was targeted for a Maternal and Child Health Block Grant demonstration project because of its combination of low income and high rates of unemployment, teenage births, and infant mortality. Using a replicable set of decision rules, a committee consisting of a practicing obstetrician, a psychologist, and a social worker-epidemiologist used linked birth and death certificates to determine whether each death might have been prevented using available resources. Our criteria were designed to be somewhat conservative, in that no death was ruled preventable unless the evidence available from the birth or death certificate suggested that an available resource had clearly been called for and had not been used. Our results indicated that 25 percent of these infant deaths might have been prevented through the provision of maternal or infant transport, ad...

Families in society : the journal of contemporary human services, 1993

Adolescent pregnancy carries significant risks to the health of the pregnant adolescent and her c... more Adolescent pregnancy carries significant risks to the health of the pregnant adolescent and her child. These risks, which include pregnancy complications, low birth weight, and infant mortality, are due in large part to the behavior of the adolescent and her socioeconomic circumstances. Early and consistent use of health care can minimize risks by permitting the detection and management of serious problems. Human service professionals should use every opportunity to encourage good prenatal care, while keeping in mind the developmental and personal needs of the pregnant adolescent.

MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 2015

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to gain understanding of perceptions of low... more The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to gain understanding of perceptions of low-income pregnant women and mothers about parenting. Participants were 65 low-income, primarily African American, women in their 20s and 30s who were recruited from a faith-based social service center in Memphis, Tennessee. Interviews were conducted by nursing, social work, and psychology students. The existential phenomenological method was used to analyze verbatim responses of participants to vignettes depicting parenting behaviors of hypothetical mothers. Five global themes were identified: (a) Focus on baby's development: "Because I'm the Mother, I'm the First Teacher"; (b) Focus on baby's safety/security: "The Baby Could Be Hurt"; (c) Focus on conveying love: "She Just Wants the Baby to Feel Her Love"; (d) Focus on learning the rules of good childcare: "It's Important to Know the Do's and Don'ts"; and (e) Focus on doing it differently (better) than parents did:…

Social work

Despite a clear mandate and pressing social need, the social work profession has not adopted infa... more Despite a clear mandate and pressing social need, the social work profession has not adopted infant mortality as a clear priority in the 1980's. This failure to claim infant mortality as a professional priority occures in spite of evidence that the factors responsible for infant deaths may be especially appropriate for social work interventions. Social work has an important role in the reduction of preventable infant deaths, and many individual social workers already are active in perinatal social work and other specialities involved in saving infant lives. The profession should make a new commitment to this serious social problem.

Pediatrics, 1994

Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting i... more Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting in overselection of children who have been in care long-term and underrepresentation of children who are in care for a short time. This paper reports on the health of a large cohort of children who had complete health examinations at the time of entry into foster care in a middle-size city during a 2-year period. Results indicate that > 90% of the children had an abnormality in at least one body system, 25% failed the vision screen, and 15% failed the hearing screen. The children were also lighter and shorter than the norm. Mental health screening revealed that 75% had a family history of mental illness or drug or alcohol abuse. Of children older than 3 years of age, 15% admitted to or were suspect for suicidal ideation and 7% for homicidal ideation. Of the children younger than 5 years of age, 23% had abnormal or suspect results on developmental screening examinations. At the time of ...

Journal of Mental Health & Clinical Psychology

PeerJ

Trauma and related fear exert significant influence on mental and physical health throughout the ... more Trauma and related fear exert significant influence on mental and physical health throughout the lifespan and are associated with intergenerational patterns of development, health, and behavior. DNA methylation and gene expression are involved in our developmental adaptations to our experiences and can be influenced by social interventions. Patterns of DNA methylation and expression of a gene involved in neurodevelopment and psychiatric risk (BDNF) have been linked with childhood trauma. Given the intergenerational patterns of health and behavior, and previous links between childhood trauma and BDNF methylation and expression, this study investigated the potential for maternal history of traumatic experiences to influence development in her newborn, via changes in her newborn’s BDNF methylation and expression. We found that mothers’ trauma history was associated with epigenetic regulation of BDNF in their newborns. Moreover, the association between maternal trauma and BDNF methylati...

Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Journal of Teaching in Social Work

The British Journal of Social Work

Social work research & abstracts

Background and Purpose Neuroscience research demonstrates that rapid brain development in the fir... more Background and Purpose Neuroscience research demonstrates that rapid brain development in the first three years of life makes infancy unique, and parenting of infants has long-lasting effects. Yet research has not examined parents’ understanding of the importance of early brain development. Such information seems crucial for designing and delivering effective parenting interventions. This study examines African-Americans’ parenting cognitions about 0-3 development and parenting, in order to minimize confounding effects of culture and avoid a Eurocentric approach, which is frequently seen in parenting research. Objectives were to: identify distinct subgroups of African-American based on cognitions about early development; describe those subgroups; and examine how these cognitions influence beliefs likely to influence parenting behavior. Methods We interviewed 222 consecutive African-American mothers of children in waiting rooms (all there for well-child care or mild illnesses) of fiv...

Purpose: One of the major tenets of social work practice addresses the person-in-environment. How... more Purpose: One of the major tenets of social work practice addresses the person-in-environment. However, social work has yet to adequately address the complexities of identity development for African Americans who live in the historically hostile environment of the US. More so than any other group of minority citizens, the historical plight of the African-in-America is one filled with civil rights violations, separate and unequal treatment, cultural mistrust, and uncertainty. As a result, many African Americans struggle with the concept of racial identity and are forced to cope either consciously or subconsciously with the development of bicultural identities or viewing themselves as raceless. Understanding of the development of racial self-identity is particularly important for the development and effective delivery of services to African-American youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between environmental racial composition and racial identity attitudes of...

Social Work Research and Abstracts, 1986

ABSTRACT

Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2015

Encyclopedia of Social Work, 2013

American journal of preventive medicine

This study examines whether 72 infant deaths in one urban neighborhood in one year could have bee... more This study examines whether 72 infant deaths in one urban neighborhood in one year could have been prevented and if so, how. The neighborhood was targeted for a Maternal and Child Health Block Grant demonstration project because of its combination of low income and high rates of unemployment, teenage births, and infant mortality. Using a replicable set of decision rules, a committee consisting of a practicing obstetrician, a psychologist, and a social worker-epidemiologist used linked birth and death certificates to determine whether each death might have been prevented using available resources. Our criteria were designed to be somewhat conservative, in that no death was ruled preventable unless the evidence available from the birth or death certificate suggested that an available resource had clearly been called for and had not been used. Our results indicated that 25 percent of these infant deaths might have been prevented through the provision of maternal or infant transport, ad...

Families in society : the journal of contemporary human services, 1993

Adolescent pregnancy carries significant risks to the health of the pregnant adolescent and her c... more Adolescent pregnancy carries significant risks to the health of the pregnant adolescent and her child. These risks, which include pregnancy complications, low birth weight, and infant mortality, are due in large part to the behavior of the adolescent and her socioeconomic circumstances. Early and consistent use of health care can minimize risks by permitting the detection and management of serious problems. Human service professionals should use every opportunity to encourage good prenatal care, while keeping in mind the developmental and personal needs of the pregnant adolescent.

MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 2015

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to gain understanding of perceptions of low... more The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to gain understanding of perceptions of low-income pregnant women and mothers about parenting. Participants were 65 low-income, primarily African American, women in their 20s and 30s who were recruited from a faith-based social service center in Memphis, Tennessee. Interviews were conducted by nursing, social work, and psychology students. The existential phenomenological method was used to analyze verbatim responses of participants to vignettes depicting parenting behaviors of hypothetical mothers. Five global themes were identified: (a) Focus on baby's development: "Because I'm the Mother, I'm the First Teacher"; (b) Focus on baby's safety/security: "The Baby Could Be Hurt"; (c) Focus on conveying love: "She Just Wants the Baby to Feel Her Love"; (d) Focus on learning the rules of good childcare: "It's Important to Know the Do's and Don'ts"; and (e) Focus on doing it differently (better) than parents did:…

Social work

Despite a clear mandate and pressing social need, the social work profession has not adopted infa... more Despite a clear mandate and pressing social need, the social work profession has not adopted infant mortality as a clear priority in the 1980's. This failure to claim infant mortality as a professional priority occures in spite of evidence that the factors responsible for infant deaths may be especially appropriate for social work interventions. Social work has an important role in the reduction of preventable infant deaths, and many individual social workers already are active in perinatal social work and other specialities involved in saving infant lives. The profession should make a new commitment to this serious social problem.

Pediatrics, 1994

Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting i... more Most research on health problems of children in foster care has been cross-sectional, resulting in overselection of children who have been in care long-term and underrepresentation of children who are in care for a short time. This paper reports on the health of a large cohort of children who had complete health examinations at the time of entry into foster care in a middle-size city during a 2-year period. Results indicate that > 90% of the children had an abnormality in at least one body system, 25% failed the vision screen, and 15% failed the hearing screen. The children were also lighter and shorter than the norm. Mental health screening revealed that 75% had a family history of mental illness or drug or alcohol abuse. Of children older than 3 years of age, 15% admitted to or were suspect for suicidal ideation and 7% for homicidal ideation. Of the children younger than 5 years of age, 23% had abnormal or suspect results on developmental screening examinations. At the time of ...