Jens E Jespersen

Oklahoma State University - Center for Health Sciences · Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The available literature on parent education is growing rapidly. With numerous sources indicating that quality parenting is one of the best predictors of one's developmental trajectory across the lifespan, it has become increasingly necessary to identify the most effective programs and tools for supporting parenting skills and promoting positive ch...

This theoretical paper introduces six emotion socialization typologies that can be used for designating emotion responsivity styles of parents and peers of children in middle childhood, referred to as Parent and Peer Emotion Responsivity Styles (PPERS). This typology draws on theoretical foundations of meta-emotion and emotion socialization. These...

Background Recent studies indicate that parent education programs that include content to enhance parents’ mental states may prove efficacious in improving parenting behavior and child outcomes. Objective This study presents findings from a national evaluation of the Active Parenting First Five Years (FFY) program. This group-based parent educatio...

There are significant barriers in engaging pregnant and postpartum women that are considered high-risk (e.g., those experiencing substance use and/or substance use disorders (SUD)) into longitudinal research studies. To improve recruitment and retention of this population in studies spanning from the prenatal period to middle childhood, it is imper...

This study models associations between pregnancy intendedness and prenatal maternal-fetal bonding with postnatal maternal-infant bonding. Unintended pregnancies are associated with disruptions in maternal-infant bonding, which has long-term adverse implications for maternal and child well-being. Given the high proportion of births that are unintend...

Introduction: Prior research has identified associations between pregnancy intendedness and maternal-foetal bonding, but no studies have examined the potential mediation of pregnancy happiness on the development of the maternal-infant relationship. Methods: In 2017-2018, a clinic-based pregnancy cohort of 177 low-income and racially diverse wome...

This chapter discusses parental emotion socialization (ES), or the ways in which parents teach children about the experience, expression, and regulation of emotions. The foundational theories of ES suggest that socialization can occur through a variety of mechanisms that vary with children’s age. Parents’ practices can broadly be either supportive...

Poverty-related stressors have been found to impact parenting behaviors which can result in adverse outcomes for children. The current qualitative study focused on understanding the challenges of caregivers (N = 70) living in poverty. The sample was diverse and included mothers, fathers, and grandparents raising grandchildren. Stories of caregivers...

We evaluated an early literacy initiative implemented in partnership with faith-based organizations. Heads of the initiative train church leaders to host monthly literacy events during which those leaders educate parents about child development and model dialogic reading behaviors while caregivers and their children follow along. A survey and focus...