Kristin Callahan, M.S.
Graduate Student
Research Interest
Kristin Callahan received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and her Bachelor of Arts degree in both Criminal Justice and Sociology from the University of Georgia in August 2003. She entered the Applied Developmental Doctoral Program at UNO in August 2004 and received her Masters of Science in August of 2006. Kristin is currently a sixth year graduate student working under the supervision of Dr. Laura Scaramella.
Her current research interests include assessing the impact of socio-contextual risk factors (i.e., parenting, neighborhood risk, maternal depression, religious affiliation, economic deprivation, etc.) on children’s academic, behavioral, and socio-emotional development. She has worked closely with the Mothers and Preschoolers Study (MAPS) at the University of New Orleans as a trainer, interviewer, and micro-social coder. She also conducted interviews and trainings for the Early Growth and Development Study (EGADS), a multi-site, longitudinal study of adopted children, birth parents, and adoptive parents. She is currently the project coordinator for the Orleans Parish Head Start Evaluation Study which evaluates Head Start’s impact on participating families and children in the greater New Orleans area.
She has primary clinical interests in the field of developmental psychopathology, particularly in the area of autism spectrum disorders and other neuro-developmental disorders. She has been a mental health consultant for the Orleans Parish Head Start Program, as well as a clinical assistant in the Autism Clinic at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. She was also a student supervisor at the New Orleans School-Aged Assessment Service at the University of New Orleans. Currently, she works at the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Justice Program where she assesses and treats youth at Bridge City, a secure correctional facility for male juveniles. Kristin also completed the Infant Mental Health Training Program through the Irving B. Harris Foundation Fellowship.
Publications
Callahan, K. L., Scaramella, L. V., Mirabile, S. P., and Sohr-Preston, S. L. The direct and indirect effects of neighborhood risk and harsh parenting on childhood problem behavior. Submitted for publication.
Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Mirabile, S. P., Robison, S. D., & Callahan, K. L.
(2008). Parenting and children's distress reactivity during toddlerhood: An examination of the direction of effects. Social Development, 17(3), 578-595.
Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K. L., & Mirabile, S. P. (2008).
A test of the Family Stress Model on toddler-aged children’s adjustment among Hurricane Katrina impacted and non-impacted low income families. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(3), 530-541.
Presentations
Callahan, K. L., Barnett, M. A., Mirabile, S. P., Dominique, N. L., & Scaramella, L. V.
(April 2009). The effects of neighborhood danger and harsh parenting on Head Start children’s behavior problems. Poster presented at the 2009 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
Callahan, K. L., Barnett, M. A., McGoron, L., Dominique, N. L., & Scaramella, L. V.
(April 2009). Contextual, maternal, and parenting factors affecting risk for clinically significant problem behaviors in children. Poster presented at the 2009 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
McGoron, L., Mirabile, S. P., Callahan, K. L., & Scaramella, L. V. (April 2009). Parental discipline and emotion socialization in relation to children’s socioemotional adjustment: A test of incremental validity. Poster presented at the 2009 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
Mirabile, S. P., McGoron, L., Callahan, K. L., & Scaramella, L. V. (April 2009). The effects of neighborhood risk and harsh parenting on childhood externalizing and internalizing behavior problems.Poster presented at the 2009 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
Callahan, K. L ., Culotta, C. M., Mirabile, S. P., Lapointe, A. S., & Scaramella, L. V.
(April 2007). Maternal depression, perception of negative emotion, and emotion socialization. Poster submitted for presentation at the 2007 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA .
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Mirabile, S. P., Callahan, K. L ., Culotta, C. M., & Scaramella, L. V. (April 2007). Temperament as a moderator of the relationship between parenting and early language development in a low-income sample. Poster submitted for presentation at the 2007 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston , MA.
Callahan, K. L ., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., & Wilmoth, S. (August 2006). The effects of neighborhood risk and harsh parenting on childhood externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Poster presented to the annual American Psychology Association, New Orleans, LA.
Sohr-Preston, S. L, Callahan, K. L., Scaramella, L. V., & Conger, R.D. (March 2005).
Prospective examination of parents' earlier depression on children's cognitive competence: The moderating effect of responsiveness. Poster presented to the biannual Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Robison, S. D., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K. L ., & Scaramella, L. V. (March 2005).
Parenting and child temperament reciprocities during toddlerhood: disentangling the direction of effects. Poster presented to the biannual Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Revised 9/8/09