Sara Sohr-Preston, Ph.D.
University of New Orleans Postdoctoral Fellow
Sara Sohr-Preston earned her Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of New Orleans in May 2006. She also received a B.A. in psychology, cum laude, from UNO, and an M.S. in general experimental psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette . Her major professor and current post-doctoral supervisor is Laura Scaramella. Sara is in charge of data management and heads the observational coding team for Dr. Scaramella. While working with Dr. Scaramella, she has helped in developing various observational coding manuals. Her dissertation examined the associations among mothers' communication style and toddlers' receptive vocabulary and change in compliance during the third year of life.
Sara is currently working on the Mothers and Preschoolers Study (MAPS), a longitudinal study involving the mothers and younger siblings of children enrolled in New Orleans area Head Start centers. In addition, she currently teaches Psyc 2300 (Research Methods/Experimental Design) and has taught advanced learning, educational psychology, introductory psychology and child development in the past. Ultimately, she would like to teach and conduct research in an academic setting. Sara's research interests include:
• Longitudinal effects of maternal emotional state (pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy, and post-pregnancy) on children's cognitive, language, and emotional development
• The relationships among temperament, emotion regulation, language skills, and behavioral regulation in early childhood
• Unique processes affecting early childhood development and school readiness in low-income and ethnic minority families
• Effects of natural disaster (such as hurricane Katrina) on mothers' emotional states and parenting styles
Manuscripts and Publications
Mirabile, S. P., Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., & Robison, S. D. (2006). Mothers’ socialization of emotion regulation: The moderating role of children’s negative emotional reactivity. Manuscript submitted for publication. (Revise and Resubmit)
Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K. C., & Mirabile, S. P. (2007). Financial strain, neighborhood danger, maternal depression, and toddler-aged children’s adjustment: Considering the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Manuscript submitted for publication. (Revise and Resubmit)
Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Robison, S. D., Mirabile, S. P., & Callahan, K. L. (in press). Parenting and children’s distress reactivity during toddlerhood: An examination of direction of effects. Social Development.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., & Scaramella, L. V. (2006). Implications of timing of maternal depressive symptoms for cognitive and language development during early childhood. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 9, 65-83.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., Neppl, T., Ontai, L., & Conger, R. D. (2007). Intergenerational influences of parental educational attainment and parent communication on early receptive language development. Manuscript in preparation.
Coding Manuals
Mirabile, S., Scaramella, L., & Sohr-Preston, S. (2005). Mother and child emotion regulation coding system. Unpublished manuscript, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
Sohr-Preston, S., Culotta, C., & Scaramella, L. (2007). Early childhood emotional rating system. Unpublished manuscript, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
Sohr-Preston, S. & Scaramella, L. (2003). Mother-child interactional coding system. Unpublished manuscript, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
Sohr-Preston, S., Scaramella, L., & Mirabile, S. (2007). Mother-child interactional coding system - Revised. Unpublished manuscript, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
Presentation
Scaramella, L. V., Neppl, T., Sohr-Preston, S., & Conger, R. D. (November, 2007). Mechanisms associated with the intergenerational transmission of depression: The role of harsh parenting and age of parenthood. Paper submitted for presentation at the 2007 Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
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 presented at the 2007 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Mirabile, S. P., Scaramella, L. V., Sohr-Preston, S. L., & Wood, D. F. (March, 2007). Mothers’ responses to toddlers’ emotion regulation: Links to concurrent internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Poster to be presented at the 2007 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Middleton, M., Culotta, C. M., & Thomas, K. Y. (August, 2006). Empirically testing the comprehension model of early childhood compliance. Poster presented at the 2006 American Psychological Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Callahan, K. L., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., & Wilmoth, S. D. (August, 2006). The effects of neighborhood risk and harsh parenting on childhood internalizing behavior problems. Poster presented at the 2006 American Psychological Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K., Scaramella, L. V., & Conger, R. D. (April, 2005). Prospective examination of parents’ earlier internalizing symptoms on children’s cognitive competence: Mediating effect of responsiveness. Poster presented at the 2005 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Mirabile, S. P., Recore, N., & Scaramella, L. V. (April, 2005). Observing parent and child behavior during early childhood: Does home versus lab context matter? Poster presented at the 2005 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Robison, S. D., Sohr-Preston, S. L., Callahan, K., & Scaramella, L. V. (April, 2005). Parenting and child temperament reciprocities during toddlerhood: Disentangling the direction of effects. Poster presented at the 2005 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.
Sohr-Preston, S. L. (February, 2005). Infant development in the context of maternal depression: Understanding the mechanisms for effects. Invited talk presented for the colloquium series in applied developmental psychology at the University of New Orleans.
Scaramella, L. V., Mirabile, S., & Sohr-Preston, S. L. (March, 2004). Hostile parent-adolescent interactions and emerging adolescent intimacy: A test of reciprocal developmental influences. Paper presented at the 2004 Biennial Meeting of the Society of Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, MD.
Sohr-Preston, S. L., Scaramella, L. V., Mirabile, S., & Robison, S. (March, 2004). Timing of pregnancy and level of child distress: Associations with change in depression among teenage and young adult mothers. Poster presented at the 2004 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, MD.
Scaramella, L. V., Lovett, T., Costa, N. & Sohr-Preston, S. (April, 2003). Parenting and temperament reciprocities during toddlerhood. Poster presented at the 2003 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Tampa, FL.
Owen, F.A., Long, D.D., Sohr, S.L., Cassel, W.S., Kennedy, E.C., & Bjorklund, D.F. (March, 1998). I asked you once, and I'll ask you again: Effects of repetitive leading questions on children's and adults' cued recall. Poster presented at the 1998 Conference on Human Development, Mobile, AL.
last modified 07/15/08