INRICH Member Profile Card
Martha E. Wadsworth
The Pennsylvania State University
My work has examined children’s experiences and perceptions of chronic stress, how they cope with chronic stress, the extent to which different types of coping have different physiologic signatures, the extent to which coping and strengths based preventive interventions can prevent psychopathology, and finally, whether coping-based interventions can change the functioning of the HPA and thereby prevent the emergence of psychopathology and other health problems in vulnerable children and youths.
Type of member: Regular
Telephone: 814-865-2878
Email Address: mew27@psu.edu
Website Address: http://www.la4.psu.edu/cares/
Mailing Address: 216 Moore Building, Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Collaborative Projects
Wadsworth, M.E., Evans, G.W., Grant, K., Carter, J.S. & Duffy, J.S. (in press). Poverty and the Development of Psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti, (Ed.), Developmental Psychopathology, 3rd Edition.
Current research interests
My research program is aimed at understanding children’s experiences of chronic stress (poverty, discrimination), identifying potentially malleable mechanisms of the pathways from chronic stress to health disparities, and development and evaluation of interventions to protect against chronic stress and prevent health disparities.
Research priorities
Pathways and mechanisms: Stress and allostatic load. Social into the biological and epigenetic. | Methodological issues: Methods for examining change over time including longitudinal effects studies. Root cause analysis to inform policy change.
Selected publications
Wadsworth, M. E. (2015). Development of Maladaptive Coping: A Functional Adaptation to Chronic, Uncontrollable Stress. Child Development Perspectives, 9(2), 96-100. doi:10.1111/cdep.12112
Hurwich-Reiss, E., Rindlaub, L. A., Wadsworth, M. E., & Markman, H. J. (2014). Cultural adaptation of a family strengthening intervention for low-income Spanish-speaking families. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 2(1), 21-36. doi:10.1037/lat0000010
Wadsworth, M. E., Rindlaub, L., Hurwich-Reiss, E., Rienks, S., Bianco, H., & Markman, H. J. (2013). A Longitudinal Examination of the Adaptation to Poverty-Related Stress Model: Predicting Child and Adolescent Adjustment Over Time. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42(5), 713-725. doi:10.1080/15374416.2012.755926
Santiago, C. D., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2011). Family and Cultural Influences on Low-Income Latino Children's Adjustment. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(2), 332-337. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.546038
Wadsworth, M. E., Raviv, T., Santiago, C. D., & Etter, E. M. (2011). Testing the Adaptation to Poverty-Related Stress Model: Predicting Psychopathology Symptoms in Families Facing Economic Hardship. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(4), 646-657. doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.581622