Joann Wu Shortt

Oregon Social Learning Center

This study examined parental emotion socialization processes associated with adolescent unipolar depressive disorder. Adolescent participants (N 5 107; 42 boys) were selected either to meet criteria for current unipolar depressive disorder or to be psychologically healthy as defined by no lifetime history of psychopathology or mental health treatme...

Nearly 2 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. The circumstances related to this situation place them at increased risk for behavioral and emotional disorders. The process of reunification between mother and child after release is a stressful and emotional one. A pilot study was conducted to develop and test a new program,...

The substantial number of young people in romantic relationships that involve intimate partner violence, a situation deleterious to physical and mental health, has resulted in increased attention to understanding the links between risk factors and course of violence. The current study examined couples' interpersonal stress related to not liking par...

To date, our knowledge of the effects of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) on children's functioning via parenting have relied on individual approaches, effectively placing parents outside of a relationship context, and greatly neglecting to incorporate fathers. The present study addresses these gaps by utilizing a dyadic model to assess...

Background Associations of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and parent-to-child aggression (PCA) with child adjustment have not been examined adequately for community samples. Objective To examine main, cumulative, and interactive associations of IPV and PCA (separately for physical and psychological aggression) with four aspects of chi...

Parenting programs for incarcerated parents have become increasingly popular within corrections departments over the past several decades. The programs are appealing as they are thought to improve not only long-term prosocial outcomes and reductions in recidivism for parents who are reentering their communities after lockup, but also outcomes for t...

In this chapter, theory regarding the development of intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk and protective factors for involvement in IPV are reviewed. In defining IPV, both perpetration of and victimization by act of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression are considered, along with injuries, which are a key indicator of physical IPV. Org...

An independent, randomized controlled trial of the community-developed, multiple-component Relief Nursery prevention program was conducted with families with young children considered “at risk” for child abuse and neglect. This established program, currently operating at multiple sites in the state of Oregon, comprises an integrated package of prev...

Evidence on the intergenerational continuity of intimate partner violence (IPV) suggests small to moderate associations between childhood exposure and young adult IPV involvement, suggesting an indirect effects model. Yet, few prospective studies have formally tested meditational mechanisms. The current study tested a prospective (over 9 years) mod...

Objective: Despite numerous studies on associations between substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV), the literature lacks consistency and clarity, making it difficult to ascertain the strength and nature of such associations. Scientific understanding of contextual factors that contribute to IPV would be enhanced by studies adopting a dyad...

This study examines the influence of family, peer, and biological contributors to dating involvement among early adolescents (11–14 years of age; n = 244). Further, we assess how parental monitoring may be modified by pubertal maturation and older sibling risky behavior. Data on delinquent peer affiliation, pubertal maturation, parental monitoring,...

Aggression and coercive behaviors in the form of physical assaults, psychological aggression, and sexual coercion—often referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV)—are highly prevalent in couples during early adulthood (ages 18 through 29 years). Although such IPV has long been recognized as a major public health problem, the existing interventi...

The focus on parental stress in the literature on inmate family contact builds on the broader literature on the impact of imprisonment on the mental health of prisoners and the direct consequences of such on their family members. This work points to the ways in which requisite coping strategies developed in response to stressors that are specific t...

This study compared parental socialization of adolescent positive affect in families of depressed and healthy adolescents. Participants were 107 adolescents (42 boys) aged 14 - 18 years and their parents. Half of the participants met criteria for major depressive disorder and the others were demographically matched adolescents without emotional or...

The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings' delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equ...

A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence IPV was conducted. Inclusion criteria included publication in a peer-reviewed journal, a representative community sample or a clinical sample with a control group comparison, a response rate of at least 50%, use of a physical or sexual violence outcome measure, and control of confoun...

A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence IPV was conducted. Inclusion criteria included publication in a peer-reviewed journal, a representative community sample or a clinical sample with a control group comparison, a response rate of at least 50%, use of a physical or sexual violence outcome measure, and control of confoun...

Prospective associations of mothers' parenting processes, youth disclosure and youth problem behavior were examined in a longitudinal design following 244 adolescent sibling dyads over a three year period. For both siblings, authoritative parenting was positively associated with youth disclosure and negatively related to problem behavior, and coerc...

The longitudinal associations of older sibling substance use as well as dyadic sibling conflict and collusion to younger sibling substance use were examined in a community-based sample of 244 same-sex sibling pairs. Indirect effects of older siblings on younger sibling substance use were hypothesized via younger sibling deviant peer affiliation and...

Though much is known about the stable mood patterns that characterize depressive disorder, less attention has been directed to identifying and understanding the temporal dynamics of emotions. In the present study, we examined how depression affects the trajectory of dysphoric and angry adolescent emotional behavior during adolescent-parent interact...

Emotional and cognitive changes that occur during adolescence set the stage for the development of adaptive or maladaptive beliefs about emotions. Although research suggests that parents' behaviors and beliefs about emotions relate to children's emotional abilities, few studies have looked at parental socialization of children's emotions, particula...

The present study examined the stability of young men's intimate partner violence (IPV) over a 12-year period as a function of relationship continuity or discontinuity. Multiwave measures of IPV (physical and psychological aggression) were obtained from 184 men at risk for delinquency and their women partners. The effects of relationship continuity...

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the aspects of cardiac physiology associated with depressive disorder early in life by examining measures of autonomic cardiac control in a community-based sample of depressed adolescents at an early phase of illness, and matched on a number of demographic factors with a nondepressed comparison gro...

Background: Increases in externalizing behaviors during the transition to adolescence may put children at risk for developing mental disorders and related problems. Although children's ability to regulate their emotions appears to be a key factor influencing risk for maladjustment, emotion processes during adolescence remain understudied. In this...

In the current study, the moderating effects of observed negative and positive affects on the association between intimate partner violence (IPV, physical aggression) and relationship satisfaction were examined over a 5-year period. Multiwave data were obtained from a sample of young-adult men at risk for delinquency and their women partners (n = 1...

Depression is often characterized as a disorder of affect regulation. However, research focused on delineating the key dimensions of affective experience (other than valence) that are abnormal in depressive disorder has been scarce, especially in child and adolescent samples. As definitions of affect regulation center around processes involved in i...

Official police reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined in a community sample of young, at-risk couples to determine the degree of mutuality and the relation between IPV arrests and aggression toward a partner (self-reported, partner reported, and observed). Arrests were predominantly of the men. Men were more likely to initiate ph...

The majority of men and women prison inmates are parents. Many lived with children prior to incarceration, and most have at least some contact with their children and families while serving their sentences. As prison populations have increased in the United States, there has been a renewed interest in finding ways not only to reduce recidivism, but...

The present study examined sex differences in initiation of physical aggression as observed during discussion tasks and in the likelihood of a similar response from the partner. In addition, patterns for men and women in the prevalence of aggression initiation and partner reciprocation across 4 time points spanning approximately 9 years from late a...

Dyadic physical aggression in the relationships of 158 young, at-risk couples was examined as a predictor of relationship separation over the course of 6 years. A high prevalence of physical aggression and a high rate of separation were found, with 80% of couples engaging in physical aggression (as reported by either partner or as observed) and 62%...

The use of physically aggressive tactics during disagreements between partners has gained national attention as domestic violence. Former Surgeon General Novello announced in 1992 that domestic violence is the leading cause of injuries to women aged 15-44 years and that addressing the issue of violence against women has become a national priority....

In this chapter, we begin with discussions of how leading theoretical perspectives in the area of partner violence view women's role in partner violence and point to the need to move beyond a primary focus on men only toward a view of partner violence as a dyadic process focusing on both partners within the dyad. We describe a developmental systems...

This study investigated the contribution of social processes in boys' adolescent relationships in 3 key domains--same-sex friends, cross-sex romantic partners, and younger siblings--to continued association with delinquent peers in young adulthood and, therefore, to continuance of an antisocial lifestyle. It was hypothesized that levels of negative...

A dual coercion model of family processes associated with the development of antisocial and depressive behavior during adolescence was assessed, using an at-risk sample of families and children. Consistent with the model, involvement in family coercion during childhood and adolescence increased both boys' and girls' risk for antisocial behavior in...

IntroductionClinical Definitions and Prevalence of Conduct DisorderThe Etiology of Conduct ProblemsIndividual-Environment InteractionsThe Oregon Youth Study (OYS)Mediational Developmental ModelFamily Process and Conduct ProblemsTemperamental Risk for Conduct ProblemsEarly versus Late Onset of Conduct ProblemsDelinquent-Peer AssociationAccelerated P...

Physical and psychological aggression was examined over a 2 1/2-year period for at-risk young couples. It was predicted, first, that there would be persistence in any physical aggression across time in the group of couples who stayed together; second, that stability in levels of aggression toward a partner would be higher for men who remained with...

What aspects of the relationships of young adult siblings are related to closeness or distance? This study takes a process approach to answering this question, contrasting it with the status approach of family structure variables. Close and distant sibling pairs were compared on physiological variables and specific aspects of warmth, con-flict, and...

The longitudinal course of battering was investigated over a 2-year time span. Forty-five batterers and their spouses were assessed with self-report, psychophysiological, and marital interaction measures. Both the stability of the relationship and of the battering were assessed. At the two-year follow-up, 62% of the couples were still married and l...

The authors address three comments on J. M. Gottman et al. (1995). The authors' Type 1 batterers engage in more severe violence than Type 2 batterers. Type 2 batterers are more likely to have witnessed unilateral husband-to-wife violence in their families of origin. The greater emotional abuse in Type 1 batterers is a robust finding. At certain cri...

This study examined the relationships among physiological responses during marital conflict, aggressive behavior, and violence in battering couples. As an index of physiological response, the authors used the male batterer's heart rate reactivity, assessed as the change from an eyes-closed baseline to the first 5 min of their marital conflict inter...

This study examined the relationships among physiological responses during marital conflict, aggressive behavior, and violence in battering couples. As an index of physiological response, the authors used the male batterer's heart rate reactivity, assessed as the change from an eyes-closed baseline to the first 5 min of their marital conflict inter...

Two studies involving a total of 120 children (aged 4–5 yrs) examined (1) children's ability to produce cross-culturally universal facial expressions of emotion, and (2) the degree of physiological patterning in distinguishing among emotions. Ss were divided into those with and those without happily-married parents, and participated in a game that...

Whereas disclosing traumatic events to others can reduce autonomic nervous system activity and reap positive health benefits for the discloser, the physiological consequences for the listener are less clear. It was predicted that listening to the disclosure of trauma would be stressful, resulting in increases in the listeners' anxiety and skin cond...

We examined how the suppression of an exciting thought influences sympathetic arousal as indexed by skin conductance level (SCL). Subjects were asked to think aloud as they followed instructions to think about or not to think about various topics. Experiment 1 showed that trying not to think about sex, like thinking about sex, elevates SCL in compa...

We examined how the suppression of an exciting thought influences sympathetic arousal as indexed by skin conductance level (SCL). Subjects were asked to think aloud as they followed instructions to think about or not to think about various topics. Experiment 1 showed that trying not to think about sex, like thinking about sex, elevates SCL in compa...