Nancy McElwain, Ph.D.
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Professor of human development and family studies
Expertise:
Developmental PsychologyDevelopmental Psychologyearly life experiencesearly life experiencesfamily studiesfamily studiesHuman DevelopmentHuman DevelopmentInfantInfantNeuroscienceNeurosciencePPParent-Child RelationshipsParent-Child RelationshipsSocial And Emotional DevelopmentSocial And Emotional DevelopmentSocial-emotional DevelopmentSocial-emotional Development
Dr. Nancy McElwain is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Illinois, Dr. McElwain received a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Developmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her research focuses on social and emotional development during the first five years of life. In particular, Dr. McElwain investigates the dynamic early-life interactions between parents and children that shape children’s developing abilities to regulate stress. She adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines neuroscience, psychophysiology, linguistics, and developmental psychology.
Dr. McElwain teaches courses on behavioral research methods and social-emotional development, and she currently serves on the Editorial Board of the American Psychologist.
Lab website: https://publish.illinois.edu/socialdevlab/
Research Interests:
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Physiological and neural correlates of infant-mother attachment
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Emotion-related dynamics of parent-child interactions
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Maternal speech prosody and children's stress regulation
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Parental socialization of emotion
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Family-friend linkages and children's social-emotional competence
Education
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Ph.D., psychology, University of Michigan, 1999
Infant brain activity predicts social flexibility, stress recovery in 1st year
Through the Infant Development Project, researchers from the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in the Interdisciplinary Lab for Social Development explored how early brain activity relates to the flexibility of infants’ social interactions and their ability to recover from stress.
15-Nov-2023 03:05:29 PM EST
"If parents and care providers can monitor a child’s development with this device, early identification of a motor or language delay, behavioral disturbance, or sleep disturbance could be possible."
"Our end goal is to give back to the community and use LittleBeats as a tool for intervention and prevention. More broadly, it could be used as a way for parents to gain a detailed view of their child’s daily interactions."
"We want to use electrocardiogram, audio, and motion sensors together to provide a better, more precise detection of the child’s emotions or behavior than any one sensor could do by itself."
"We are attuned to the need for a diverse sample, both socioeconomically, racially, ethnically, and geographically. It is critical for child development research to study samples that reflect the entire population."
"A secure attachment is likely to develop when the parent can accept their children’s negative emotions and respond with comfort and support. When parents avoid dealing with their child's negative emotions, children may come to learn that these emotions are ‘bad.’ ... It’s okay for children to be upset and these are important, teachable moments when parents can help children deal with their emotions in an age-appropriate way. By doing so, children will be better prepared to engage in whatever comes their way later on.”
- How toddler-mother attachment impacts adolescent brain and behavior
"So much brain development happens during adolescence. Teens are much better able to consciously reflect on their experiences and emotions, which makes it a great time to intervene and change behavioral patterns that are not working well. Parents, as well as other adults such as teachers or coaches, can help children and adolescents learn how to engage with negative social cues or social situations through open discussion, role playing, and positive modeling."
- How toddler-mother attachment impacts adolescent brain and behavior
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