Current Research
How Childhood Stress "Gets Under the Skin" to Affect Mental and Physical Health
Chronic stress in early childhood, such as the stress of poverty, abuse, neglect, or neighborhood violence, has been associated with poorer physical and mental health throughout the lifespan. I aim to shed light on how childhood stress affects health even years after experiencing the stressor. My work incorporates measures of cognition, behavior, socioemotional functioning, and biology, including measures of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the immune system, epigenetics, and cardiovascular function. With a better understanding of the mechanisms by which stress “gets under the skin” to affect our brains and our bodies, we can intervene at critical points in development to short-circuit these pathways and improve health. Our work in this area is particularly influenced by the developmental psychopathology perspective. This research is currently funded by a K award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Teen Health Study
The goal of this project is to understand whether dysregulation in stress systems, diet and eating behaviors, sleep, and physical activity are pathways between childhood stress and poorer cardiovascular health in adolescence. In this study, we are collecting data on 150 adolescent-parent dyads in the lab at DU and through participants collecting data at home.
How Social Support Buffers Individuals from Negative Effects of Stress
Having stable, supportive relationships is associated with better mental and physical health across development. This association between social support and health could be due to the power of supportive relationship figures to buffer individuals from stress, by increasing resources needed to cope with stress and decreasing the body’s response to stress. By lowering the body’s response to stress, the harmful effects of repeated increases in cortisol (a stress hormone) and other stress mediators might be reduced.
The goal of my research on social buffering is to find out which relationship figures can serve as a buffer from stress at different ages so that we can use this information to improve public health. Since many individuals begin to develop mental health problems starting in adolescence, I particularly want to find out whether difficulties with social buffering contribute to mental illness in adolescents. By finding out who can buffer stress for certain individuals and under what conditions social buffering is most effective, we can create interventions to help individuals at risk for mental and physical problems. The lab’s current work in this area is funded by the Mental Research Institute.
Sibling Study
We are conducting a study to learn more about sibling relationships and whether the presence and support of a sibling can reduce the body’s response to stress. For this study, we are looking for 9-10 year olds and 15-16 year olds to participate in a completely virtual 2-hour study session over Zoom with a sibling of the same age or within 3 years of age. The session will include filling out some questionnaires, participating in a speech and math task, and providing saliva samples with a kit we send to your home. The findings from this study will expand our understanding of social buffering in children and adolescents, which can inform the development of interventions to promote healthy development. If you are interested in learning more, please email Deborah.Seok@du.edu for more information.
How Early Nutrition and Stress Impact Development
While we often think about the ways that parents, schools, and other factors like stress affect development, we do not always consider how nutrition can impact brain development. One arm of my research investigates how childhood nutritional deficiencies such as iron deficiency, which is especially prevalent in developing countries, can affect our mental and physical health. I also investigate how chronic stress interacts with nutrition to affect development, as there is evidence that stress interferes with nutrient absorption and might worsen nutritional deficiencies. More recently, I have become interested in how childhood over-nutrition, such as overweight and obesity, and behaviors that lead to over-nutrition, such as obesogenic diet and sedentary behavior, are influenced by life stress and stress biology. In the future, I aim to integrate the study of stress and nutrition in at-risk populations to identify targets for interventions that improve developmental outcomes for children who have experienced early psychosocial stress and over- or undernutrition. Our current work on the integration of stress, nutrition, and cardiovascular health is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Publications
See Dr. Doom’s Google Scholar page for the most recent list
*Denotes student author
2020 and in press
Doom, J.R., Rozenman, M., Fox, K.R., Phu, T.*, Subar, A.R.*, Seok, D.*, & Rivera, K.M.* (accepted for special issue). The transdiagnostic origins of anxiety and depression during the pediatric period: Linking NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs to ecological systems. Development and Psychopathology.
East, P.L., Doom, J.R., Blanco, E., Burrows, R., Lozoff, B., & Gahagan, S. (accepted). Associations among infant iron deficiency and ADHD-subtype symptomology and IQ in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
North, S.J.*, Fox, K.R., & Doom, J.R. (accepted). Timing of childhood adversities and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in adolescence. Development and Psychopathology.
Doom, J.R. (in press). Advantages of a developmental psychopathology approach to studying the antecedents of physical health. Infant and Child Development.
Doom, J.R., Seok, D.*, Narayan, A.J., & Fox, K.R. (in press). Adverse and benevolent childhood experiences predict mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adversity and Resilience Science. doi: 10.1007/s42844-021-00038-6
East, P.L., Doom, J.R., Burrows, R., Lozoff, B., & Gahagan, S. (accepted). Iron deficiency in infancy and neurocognitive and educational outcomes in young adulthood. Developmental Psychology.
Scott, S.R.*, Rivera, K.M.*, Rushing, E., Manczak, E.M., Rozek, C.S., & Doom, J.R. (in press). “I hate this”: A qualitative analysis of adolescents’ self-reported challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Adolescent Health. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.010
Doom, J.R., Reid, B.M., Nagel, E., Gahagan, S., Demerath, E., & Lumeng, J.C. (in press). Integrating anthropometric and cardiometabolic health methods in stress, early experiences, and development (SEED) science. Developmental Psychobiology. doi: 10.1002/dev.22032
Doom, J.R., Peckins, M.K., Hein, T.C., Dotterer, H.L, Mitchell, C., Lopez-Duran, N.L, Brooks-Gunn, J., McLanahan, S., Hyde, L.W., Abelson, J.L., & Monk, C.S. (in press). Differential associations of parental harshness and parental disengagement with overall cortisol output at 15 years: Implications for adolescent mental health. Development and Psychopathology.
Doom, J.R., Rivera, K.M.*, Blanco, E., Burrows, R., Correa-Burrows, P., East, P.L., Lozoff, B., & Gahagan, S. (2020). Sensitive periods for psychosocial risk in childhood and adolescence and cardiometabolic outcomes in young adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 1864-1875. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420001248
Doom, J.R. (2020). Mapping future directions to test biopsychosocial pathways to health and well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 258: 113083.
Doom, J.R., Lumeng, J.C., Sturza, J., Kaciroti, N., Vazquez, D.M., & Miller, A.L. (2020). Longitudinal associations between overweight/obesity and stress biology in low-income children. International Journal of Obesity, 44(3), 646-655.
Doom, J.R., Gahagan, S., Caballero, G., Encina, P., & Lozoff, B. (accepted). Infant iron deficiency, iron supplementation, and psychosocial stress as predictors of neurocognitive development in Chilean adolescents. Nutritional Neuroscience.
Doom, J.R., Gahagan, S., East, P.L., Encina, P., Delva, J., & Lozoff, B. (in press). Adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and social problems following iron deficiency at 12-18 months: The role of maternal responsiveness. Child Development. Including Supplement.
Doom, J.R., Reid, B.M., Blanco, E., Burrows, R., Lozoff, B., & Gahagan, S. (in press). Psychosocial stress in infancy predicts cardiometabolic risk in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study of Chilean infants. Journal of Pediatrics, 209, 85-91.e1.
Young, E.S., Doom, J.R., Farrell, A.K., Carlson, E.A., Englund, M.M., Miller, G.E., Gunnar, M.R., Roisman, G.I., & Simpson, J.A. (2020). Life stress and cortisol reactivity: The effects of stress exposure across distinct life stages on HPA functioning. Development and Psychopathology, 1-12. doi: 10.1017/S0954579419001779
Brown, S. M., Doom, J. R., Lechuga-Peña, S., Watamura, S. E., & Koppels, T. (2020). Stress and parenting during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Child Abuse & Neglect, 110(Pt 2), 104699. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104699
East, P.L., Doom, J.R., Delker, E., Blanco, E., Burrows, R., Correa-Burrows, P., Lozoff, B., Gahagan, S. (2020). Childhood socioeconomic hardship, family conflict and young adult hypertension: The Santiago Longitudinal Study. Social Science & Medicine, 253, 112962. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112962
Doom, J.R., & Cicchetti, D. (in press). The developmental psychopathology of stress exposure in childhood. In Harkness, K., & Hayden, E.P. (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Stress and Mental Health. Oxford University Press.
2019
Noroña, A., Doom, J.R., Davis, E.P., & Gunnar, M.R. (2019). The effects of early life stress on brain and behavioral development. In Rubenstein, J., & Rakic, P. (Eds.) Comprehensive Developmental Neuroscience (2nd ed.) Elsevier.
Doom, J.R., Reid, B.M., Blanco, E., Burrows, R., Lozoff, B., & Gahagan, S. (2019). Infant psychosocial environment predicts adolescent cardiometabolic risk: A prospective study. Journal of Pediatrics, 209, 85-91.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.01.058
2018
Doom, J.R., Richards, B., Caballero, G., Delva, J., Gahagan, S., & Lozoff, B. (2018). Infant iron deficiency and iron supplementation predict adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and social problems. Journal of Pediatrics, 195, 199-205. e2.
Doom, J.R., Cook, S.H., Sturza, J., Kaciroti, N., Gearhardt, A.N., Vazquez, D.M., Lumeng, J.C., & Miller, A.L. (2018). Family conflict, chaos, and negative life events predict cortisol activity in low-income children. Developmental Psychobiology, 60(4), 364-379.
Julian, M.M., Rosenblum, K.L., Doom, J.R., Lumeng, J.C., Gómez Cruz, M., Vazquez, D.L., & Miller, A.L. (2018). Oxytocin and parenting behavior among low-income, low-stress vs. high-stress mothers. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 21(3), 375-382.
2017
Doom, J.R., Doyle, C.M., & Gunnar, M.R. (2017). Social stress buffering by friends in childhood and adolescence: Effects on HPA and oxytocin activity. Social Neuroscience, 12(1), 8-21.
Doom, J.R., Mason, S., Suglia, S.F., & Clark, C.J. (2017). Pathways between childhood/adolescent adversity, adolescent SES, and long-term cardiovascular disease risk in young adulthood. Social Science and Medicine, 188, 166-175.
Doom, J.R., Hazzard, V.M., Bauer, K.W., Clark, C.J., & Miller, A.L. (2017). Does striving to succeed come at a cardiovascular or psychosocial cost for adults who experienced child maltreatment? Development and Psychopathology, 29(5), 1905-1919.
2016
Doom, J.R., Gunnar, M.R., & Clark, C.J. (2016). Maternal relationship during adolescence predicts cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood. Health Psychology, 35(4), 376-386.
Doom, J.R., VanZomeren-Dohm, A., & Simpson, J.A. (2016). Early unpredictability predicts increased adolescent externalizing behaviors and substance use: A life history perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 28(4), 1505-1516.
Esposito, E.A., Jones, M.J., Doom, J.R., MacIsaac, J.L., Gunnar, M.R., & Kobor, M.S. (2016). Differential DNA methylation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in adolescents adopted as young children from orphanages in Russia and Eastern Europe. Development and Psychopathology, 28(4), 1385-1389.
Doom, J.R., & Georgieff, M.K. (2016). Macronutrient deprivation: Biological mechanisms and effects on early neurodevelopment. In Hall Moran, V., & Lowe, N. (Eds.) Nutrition and the Developing Brain. CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group).
Doom, J.R., & Gunnar, M.R. (2016). Institutional care and neurobiological development in infancy. In A. Sale (Ed.): Environmental Experience and Plasticity of the Developing Brain. Wiley.
2015
Doom, J.R., Hostinar, C.E., VanZomeren-Dohm, A.A., & Gunnar, M.R. (2015). The roles of puberty and age in explaining the diminished effectiveness of parental buffering of HPA reactivity and recovery in adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 59, 102-111.
Doom, J.R., Georgieff, M.K., & Gunnar, M.R. (2015). Institutional care and iron deficiency increase ADHD symptomology and lower IQ 2.5-5 years post-adoption. Developmental Science, 18(3), 484-494.
Doom, J.R., & Gunnar, M.R. (2015). Effects of stress on development during infancy and early childhood. In J.D. Wright (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 23, 577-582). Oxford: Elsevier.
Gunnar, M.R., Doom, J.R., & Esposito, E.A. (2015). Psychoneuroendocrinology of stress: Normative development and individual differences. In M.E. Lamb (ed.), Handbook of Child Psychology (3:4: 1-46). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
2014
Doom, J.R., Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F.A. (2014). Longitudinal patterns of cortisol regulation differ in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(11), 1206-1215.
Doom, J.R. & Georgieff, M.K. (2014). Striking while the iron is hot: Understanding the biological and neurodevelopmental effects of iron deficiency to optimize intervention in early childhood. Current Pediatrics Reports, 2, 291-298. doi: 10.1007/s40124-014-0058-4
Doom, J.R., Gunnar, M.R., Georgieff, M.K., Kroupina, M., Frenn, K.A, Fuglestad, A.J. & Carlson, S.M. (2014). Beyond stimulus deprivation: Iron deficiency and cognitive deficits in post-institutionalized children. Child Development, 85(5), 1805-12.
2013
Doom, J.R., Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F.A., & Dackis, M.N. (2013). Child maltreatment and gender interactions as predictors of differential neuroendocrine profiles. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38, 1442-1454. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.12.019
Doom, J.R., & Gunnar, M.R. (2013). Stress physiology and developmental psychopathology: Past, present and future. Development and Psychopathology, 25,1359-1373.
Doom, J.R., & Haeffel, G.J. (2013). Teasing apart the effects of cognition, stress, and depression on health. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(5), 610-619.
Note: Copies of these publications are for individual, non-commercial use only.