How parents' threat sensitivity affects young children's anxiety risk
Intergenerational transmission of threat sensitivity as an risk marker for psychopathology in young children
This project looks at whether parents' sensitivity to threats relates to anxiety-related brain, body, and behavior signs in children aged 4–8.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11249165 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will enroll about 300 mother–child pairs drawn from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort and follow them over time. Visits include clinical interviews and questionnaires for parents, behavioral computer tasks for children, recorded parent–child interactions, and measurements of brain activity (EEG) and physiological stress responses. The team will combine these clinical, neural, biological, and observational measures to see how heightened threat sensitivity appears and may pass between generations. The goal is to map patterns linked to early anxiety risk so they can be tracked across childhood.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are mothers who were participants in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort and their children aged 4–8 years.
Not a fit: Children older than 8, people who cannot travel to Philadelphia for study visits, or families unwilling to take part in interviews, behavioral tasks, or EEG are unlikely to be included or to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify children at higher risk for anxiety earlier and point to more targeted prevention or early-intervention approaches.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research links threat sensitivity to anxiety risk, but this intergenerational, multimethod longitudinal approach in parent–child dyads is novel.
Where this research is happening
Philadelphia, United States
- Children's Hosp of Philadelphia — Philadelphia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: White, Lauren K — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: White, Lauren K
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.