Ann Mastergeorge, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research areas of expertise and interest in young children stem from my days as a master's student at the University of Washington where I worked with very young children and their families –both typically developing as well as those with disabilities and atypical development in both dyadic and group settings. This area of interest was expanded as a doctoral student at UCLA where I worked on a longitudinal NIH study that followed families who had young children with ambiguous diagnoses of developmental delay. During that time, I spent three years traveling to families' homes observing and coding their everyday activities routines, and learning opportunities. Spending time with families in the context of their homes, and hearing their stories about the ways in which their beliefs about development were constructed and altered based on their child's developmental abilities, provided the groundwork for my interests in parent-mediated interventions. In addition, observing and studying parent-child interactions for both typical and atypically developing children (including developmental delay, autism, and fragile X syndrome) provided a context to understand the developmental trajectories necessary in prevention, early intervention, and understanding contexts that mitigate at-risk development.

My research focuses on the following specific areas in both typical and atypical development of young children: (1) typical development in social attention and joint attention; (2) prevention and early intervention for young children with autism (including early indicators of autism and autism risk); (3) parent-mediated interventions and parent-child interaction; and (4) understanding ‘at-risk' development and resilience indicators and mediators of development. In addition, many of my research projects focus on partnering in communities, with and collaborations across disciplines to examine both biological and behavioral underpinnings of developmental trajectories.

Areas of Expertise

• Typical and atypical development in early childhood
• Parent-child interaction in early childhood
• Poverty, stress and risk in children and families
• Parent-mediated interventions
• Prevention, early intervention and at-risk population
• Joint attention and early language development
• Early indicators and early intervention in autism and developmental risk

Selected Publications

Mastergeorge, A. Paschall, K., Dixon, D. & Martinez, C., Mills, A. & Heffern, J. (in press, 2015). The Strengthening Families Program for High-Risk Families of Young Children: Preliminary Intervention Findings for Rural Sites. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension.

Paschall, K., Mastergeorge, A., Dixon, D. & Merk, P. (in press, 20150 Trajectories of Maternal Sensitivity and Child Involvement: Evidence from a Parent Training Prevention Program. Infants and Young Children

Paschall, K., Mortensen, J., Gonzalez, H., Barnett, M. A., & Mastergeorge,
(in press, 2015). Children's Sex and Negative Emotionality as Moderators of Parenting Styles on Classroom Adjustment in a Low-Income Sample. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Benjamin, D., Mastergeorge, A., McDuffie, A., Kover, S., Hagerman, R. Abbeduto, L. (2014). Effects of Labeling and Pointing on Object Gaze in Boys with Fragile X Syndrome: An Eye-Tracking Study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35 (11), 2658-2672

Mastergeorge, A.M., Paschall, K., Loeb, S., & Dixon, A. (2014). The Still-Face Paradigm and Bidirectionality: Associations with Maternal Sensitivity, Self-Esteem and Infant Emotional Reactivity. Infant Behavior and Development, 37 (3), 387-396.

Mortensen, J. & Mastergeorge, A.M. (2014). A Meta-Analytic Review of Relationship-Based Interventions for Low Income Families with Infants and Toddlers: Facilitating Supportive Parent-Child Interactions. Infant Mental Health Journal, 35 (4), 336-353

Links

Developmental Studies Laboratory
Early Developmental Studies

Huffington Post OpEds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-ann-mastergeorge/the-importance-early-brain-development_b_4696877.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-ann-mastergeorge/dont-neglect-the-signs-of_b_5534991.html

Twitter
https://twitter.com/amastergeorge

Meet Ann Mastergeorge, Ph.D.