Melissa Barnett, Ph.D
University of New Orleans Postdoctoral Fellow mbarnett@uno.edu
Biography
Melissa Barnett earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology in May 2007 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Melissa’s research interests focus on the dynamic ways in which poverty adversely impacts socioemotional development during early childhood. She is particularly interested in the interactive influences of economic disadvantage, socioculutral contexts, family relations, and individual characteristics on parenting and child outcomes. Melissa’s research includes examination of intergenerational processes, and the roles multiple caregivers (i.e., fathers, grandmothers) play in children’s lives. Melissa is ultimately interested in identifying community, family, and individual factors indicated in the prevention of behavior problems and related school difficulties among young children from low-income communities.
Melissa’s dissertation research examined caregiver psychological well-being, parenting behaviors and infant outcomes in a sample of low-income three-generation rural households. As a graduate student, Melissa led observational coding teams of parent-child interactions for two ongoing longitudinal studies.
Melissa’s post-doctoral supervisor is Dr. Laura Scaramella. Her post-doctoral research will continue to explore how economic disadvantage, family adversity, and intergenerational patterns are related to the social and emotional well-being of children from high-risk communities.
Publications
Barnett, M.A. (under review). Economic disadvantage, parenting and early socioemotional development: Expansion of family stress models.
Barnett, M.A., Deng, M., Mills-Koonce, W.R., Willoughby. M. & Cox, M. (under review). A within family model of parenting of mothers and fathers of infants.
Barnett, M.A. & Taylor, L.C. (provisional acceptance). Parental recollections of school experiences and current kindergarten transition practices.
Barnett, M.A. & Key Family Life Project Investigators (under review). Mother and grandmother parenting in low-income three-generation rural households.
Mills-Koonce, W.R.., Appleyard, K., Barnett, M., Deng, M., Putallaz, M. and Cox, M. (under review). Adult attachment as a protective factor for parenting among mothers with elevated psychological risk.
Mills-Koonce, W.R. Propper, C.B., Barnett, M., Moore, G.A., Calkins, S., Gariepy, J. & Cox, M.J. (under review). Psychophysiological correlates of parenting behavior in mothers of young children.
Presentations
Barnett, M.A., Deng, M., Mills-Koonce, W.R., Willoughby. M. & Cox, M. (2007, April). Predicting parenting behavior of mothers and fathers of infants from a family systems perspective. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Barnett, M.A., Deng, M., Shanahan, L., Haskett, M., Willoughby, M. & Cox, M. (2007, April). Longitudinal links among parent cognitions, parenting behaviors and adjustment of young children. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Barnett, M.A. & Taylor, L.C. (2006, August). Parental predictors of school trust at the transition to kindergarten. Poster presented at the 2006 American Psychological Association Convention, New Orleans, LA.
Barnett, M.A. & Taylor, L.C. (2005, April). Parental recollections of school experiences and current school transition practices. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Deng, M., Barnett, M.A., Gariepy, J.L., Cox, M.J. & Gustafsson, H.C. (2007, April). Longitudinal antecedents of compliance and prosocial behaviors in early childhood. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Longest, K., Taylor, L., Barnett, M.A. & Raver, C.C. (2007, August). Parenting styles of African American and white families with young children: Findings from an observational study. Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2007, New York, NY.
Taylor, L.C., Barnett, M.A., Copping, K. & Longest, K.C. (2007, April). Predicting parental emotion language during a storybook reading task with toddlers. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
last modified 07/15/08